Good Music

More than a quarter century has passed since the release of Willie Nile's first album, accompanied by press notices comparing him to Dylan and Springsteen. The enthralling new Streets of New York finds the artist in his mid-fifties, his youthful energy unflagging, and he's never sounded more committed to the themes he's tackled. They range from the title track-a gritty paean to his adopted hometown that he describes as "my love song to the city"-to the chilling "Cell Phones Ringing (in the Pockets of the Dead)," his unflinching response to the 2004 Madrid train bombings.

Some who have heard the album describe it as Nile's London Calling, a characterization prompted not only by his rousing cover of "Police on My Back," the Eddy Grant-written classic that appeared on Sandinista!, but also by his own hot-rod reggae tune "When One Stands"; both reveal Nile's deep spiritual kinship with the Clash, as does the outspokenness that spews out from songs like "Game of Fools" and "Best Friends Money Can Buy."

Nile is a songwriters' songwriter. No less a personage than Lucinda Williams has said of him, "Willie Nile is a great artist. If there was any justice in this world, I'd be opening up for him instead of him for me." And he's never been more eloquent than he is here. Lou Reed hails Streets of New York as "a great album," while Graham Parker calls it "a real gem-stirring melodies, passionate vocals, intriguing lyrics%u2026every track a winner." Says Ian Hunter, "Willie's from the big-hearted downtown alleyways of NYC (New York commitment). Well done!" Little Steven adds, "Willie Nile is so good I can't believe he's not from New Jersey!"