The Reverend's Favorite New Albums of 2025

Much like the swallows return to Capistrano, each year I check out the various "best of" album lists in different publications. As I've stated before, I'm old as dirt, and a lot of today's pop music isn't being made for me. I'm OK with this...my tastes are pretty eclectic, anyway. 

Much of today's disposable pop music does little but enrich the bank accounts of record label execs, and few of those featured on today's lists will forge long-term careers. I see few legit new "rock" LPs on young writers' lists, and absolutely no blues grooves. So I thought I'd put together my own danged list. 

Yeah, because I'm a rockin' geezer, my list tends to skew towards classic rock and blues musicians. These aren't necessarily the 25 "best" albums of the year to anybody but me, and the list largely reflects the new music I bought or acquired in 2025...

The Black Keys - No Rain, No Flowers
Steve Boyd - King of the Losers
Tommy Castro - Closer To the Bone
Bootsy Collins - Album of the Year #1 Funkateer
Alice Cooper - The Revenge of Alice Cooper
Marshall Crenshaw - From the Hellhole
Guided By Voices - Thick Rich and Delicious
Buddy Guy - Ain't Done With the Blues
Luke Haines & Peter Buck - Going Down To the River To Blow My Mind
Curtis Harding - Departures & Arrivals
Peter Holsapple - The Face of 68
Cristone "Kingfish" Ingram - Hard Road
Jason Isbell - Foxes In the Snow
Jethro Tull - Curious Ruminant
Willie Nile - The Great Yellow Light
Old Town Crier - Peterson Motel
Richie Owens - Redemption
Rich Pagano & the Sugarcane Cups - Hold Still Light Escapes
Piper & the Hard Times - Good Company
Robert Plant - Saving Grace
Mitch Ryder - With Love
Todd Snider - High, Lonesome & Then Some
Dave Specter - Live At SPACE
St Paul & the Broken Bones - St Paul & the Broken Bones
Superchunk - Songs In the Key of Yikes
Tedeschi Trucks Band - Mad Dogs & Englishmen Revisited
Walter Trout - Sign of the Times 
William Tyler - Time Indefinite
Webb Wilder - Hillbilly Speedball
Tommy Womack - Live A Little

Links are to That Devil Music album reviews...

 

CD Review: Willie Nile’s The Great Yellow Light (2025)

It’s been 45 years since the release of singer/songwriter Willie Nile’s self-titled debut album by Arista Records, and the mere fact that the artist isn’t a household name on par with, say, his buddy Bruce – with whom he is often compared – is a national disgrace. As high-energy, intelligent, and rocking a debut LP as you’d find in the 1980s, Nile followed it up with the equally spirited 1981 album, Golden Dawn. From this point, though, he followed Springsteen’s path with label disputes, lawsuits, and years spent in the wilderness before signing with Columbia Records for 1991’s Places I Have Never Been, another fine album, and one with which Nile arguably found his creative voice and sound.

Places I Have Never Been received little label support and went nowhere, and Nile lapsed into obscurity. Not that he wasn’t performing, writing songs, and such – Nile recorded and performed during the ‘90s with legends like Ringo Starr, Elvis Costello, Lucinda Williams, and Ian Hunter, among others. No big-league label would touch him, though, and Nile followed his contemporary Joe Grushecky down the rabbit hole and went ‘indie,’ releasing the critically-acclaimed Beautiful Wreck of the World in 1999. Freed from the chains of major label restrictions, Nile went on a musical bender, resulting in a string of incredible albums, starting with 2006’s Streets of New York and extending through House of A Thousand Guitars (2008), American Ride (2013), and Children of Paradise (2018).

Willie Nile’s The Great Yellow Light

The Great Yellow Light is Nile’s 12th studio album since the turn of the century, and his 21st recording overall, and it’s obvious that the artist has yet to run out of fresh and exciting song ideas but, also, at 76 years old, he still has the energy and ambition of his debut album. Witness album-opener “Wild Wild World,” a bristling rocker with florid lyrics delivered with a fervor artists half Nile’s age can’t muster. The song’s gonzo storytelling is all over the map, but it boils down to the now-quaint (but never outdated) message that the Beatles gave us so many years ago, “all you need is love.” The twangy throwback guitar on the performance reminds of James Burton and really tickles the eardrums. Opening with a livewire guitar lick, “Electrify Me” kicks off with Nile’s earnest plea, rolling into a crackling new perspective on romance that is punkish in its intensity but Dylanesque in its joyous wordplay.

Willie Nile photo courtesy Willie Nile

 

“An Irish Goodbye” is a duet with underrated Irish singer/songwriter Paul Brady, a magnificently epic performance with crackerjack lyrics (“here’s fire in your whiskey, here’s mud in your eye”) and brilliant storytelling delivered with soulful nuance. Brady’s gruffer, accented vocals play off Nile’s wiry tenor quite nicely, and the musical addition of tin whistle and uillean pipes (courtesy of Black 47’s Fred Parcels and Chris Byrne, respectively…) reflect elements of the beloved Pogues. As Lou Reed once told Elliott Murphy, “if you want to hide poetry, put it in a rock ‘n’ roll song because no one will ever look there*,” and the album’s title track – the title a reference to Vincent Van Gogh – offers up brilliant poetic imagery in the service to a gorgeous romantic fantasy with crescendos of instrumentation and breathless vocals.

The self-referential “Tryin’ To Make A Livin’ In the U.S.A.” welds a familiar Nile melody to a hillbilly rocker that re-imagines Nile’s career with tongue-in-cheek lyrics (“there’s nothing wrong with me a hit record wouldn’t cure”) and the undeniable spirit of a man who has forged his own path through the barbed wire-clad minefield of the music business. Nile’s not afraid to offer a bit of trenchant social commentary with his songs, typically delivered with insight, and The Great Yellow Light includes two such “call to arms” in “Wake Up America” and “Washington’s Day.” The former, a duet with Nile’s country equivalent Steve Earle, is a wonderfully wry look at the state of the nation that points out the hypocrisy of hate and bigotry while the latter is a mid-tempo rocker which evokes the founding fathers in a brilliant essay on brotherhood and sacrifice.   

The Reverend’s Bottom Line

There’s not a dud among the ten songs on The Great Yellow Light, which is more than I can say about even the most erstwhile talents on the charts. Nile brings a fervor and heartfelt energy to every song as if his life depended on it. Much like his spiritual brethren – artists like Joe Grushecky, Elliott Murphy, Steve Wynn, and a few others – Nile is a poet in rock ‘n’ roll garb, a guise, a ruse, and a commercial burden that he’s carried across five decades but which has never kept him from shooting for the brass ring while staying true to his muse. I can honestly say that I’ve never heard a bad Willie Nile album, and that the man continues to deliver music as vital and intelligent as that on The Great Yellow Light is a testament to his talent, vision, and artistic ambitions. Grade: A+ (River House Records, released June 20th, 2025)

* Lou Reed quote from Fred De Vries’ wonderful Elliott Murphy interview in Record Time zine issue #3

Buy the album from Amazon: Willie Nile’s The Great Yellow Light

Also on That Devil Music:
Willie Nile - Positively Bob: Willie Nile Sings Bob Dylan review
Willie Nile - Children of Paradise review
Willie Nile - Beautiful Wreck of the World review

New Music Monthly: August 2020 releases

Is it hot enough for ya?! Yeah, it's August and the summer has been every bit the slog we thought it would be. Half the country is eat up with the Covid and the other half is trying to avoid the virus. The good news is that while the month starts out slow, it picks up by week three with a slew of new music from folks like King Buzzo, Cidny Bullens, Guided by Voices, the Lemon Twigs, Chuck Prophet, Deep Purple, reggae legends Toots & the Maytals, and blues giants Walter Trout and Bobby Rush, among others. Throw in a live sets from Iggy & the Stooge and Nils Lofgren and reissues from the Flamin' Groovies, the Tom Tom Club, and Collective Soul and August is starting to look pretty good! 

Release dates are probably gonna change and nobody tells me when they do. If you’re interesting in buying an album, just hit the ‘Buy!’ link to get it from Amazon.com...it’s just that damn easy! Your purchase puts valuable ‘store credit’ in the Reverend’s pocket that he’ll use to buy more music to write about in a never-ending loop of rock ‘n’ roll ecstasy! If you're boycotting Amazon and don't have an indie record store close by, may we suggest shopping with our friends at Grimey's Music in Nashville? They have a great selection of vinyl available by mail order, offer quick service, and if you don't see what you want on their website, check out their Discogs shop!

AUGUST 7
Collective Soul - Collective Soul [vinyl reissue]   BUY!
Collective Soul - Hints, Allegations and Things Left Unsaid [vinyl reissue]   BUY!
Deep Purple - Whoosh!   BUY!
The Flamin' Groovies - Jumpin' In the Night   BUY!
Glass Animals - Dreamland   BUY!
The Stooges - Live At Goose Lake: August 8th, 1970   BUY!

AUGUST 14
Biffy Clyro - A Celebration of Endings   BUY!
King Buzzo - Gift of Sacrifice   BUY!
Robbby Krieger - The Ritual Begins At Sundown   BUY!

AUGUST 21
Cidny Bullens - Walkin' Through This World   BUY!
The Georgia Thunderbolts - The Georgia Thunderbolts EP   BUY!
Guided By Voices - Mirrored Aztec   BUY!
The Killers - Imploding the Mirage   BUY!
The Lemon Twigs - Songs For the General Public   BUY!
Nils Lofgren - Weathered [live album]   BUY!
Old 97's - Twelfth   BUY!
Chuck Prophet - The Land That Time Forgot   BUY!
Tom Tom Club - Tom Tom Club [vinyl reissue]   BUY!
Various Artists - Willie Nile Uncovered [tribute album w/Nils Lofgren, Graham Parker, Elliott Murphy, others]   BUY!

AUGUST 28
My Morning Jacket - The Waterfall II   BUY!
Dan Penn - Living On Mercy [Memphis soul legend]   BUY!
Bobby Rush - Rawer Than Raw   BUY!
Savoy Brown - Ain't Done Yet   BUY!
Toots & the Maytals - Got To Be Tough   BUY!
Walter Trout - Ordinary Madness   BUY!

Album of the Month: It's no secret that we're big Willie Nile fans 'round these parts (Willie is from WNY, after all!), but even in a month with new albums from the great Walter Trout and a live Nils Lofgren set, the tribute compilation Willie Nile Uncovered would stand out. Nile is an extremely gifted songwriter, and this two-disc, 26-song set features other very talented folks like Elliott Murphy, Graham Parker, Dan Bern, Richard Barone, Nils Lofgren, John Gorka, and Lucy Kaplansky, among many others, interpreting songs from across the four decades of Nile's critically-acclaimed career. If you're unfamiliar with Mr. Nile, you owe it to yourself to check out Willie Nile Uncovered!   

New Music Monthly: May 2020 Releases

Maybe May will be the month that this damn Covid-19 crapola goes the way of the do-do and we can all get out again to the clubs and record stores and imbibe on our favorite tunes. Distribution woes aside, the month promises an impressive slate of new tunes, including albums by American Aquarium, Willie Nile, Steve Earle, Jason Isbell, Marshall Chapman, and King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard, among many others! For those of you who dig the sounds of the past, check out the six-disc live set from Todd Rundgren's Utopia or the more affordable two-disc live set from Richard Thompson. No matter your taste in music, there's something here for everybody...

Release dates are subject to change and nobody tells me when they do. If you’re interesting in buying an album, just hit the ‘Buy!’ link to get it from Amazon.com...it’s just that damn easy! Your purchase puts valuable ‘store credit’ in the Reverend’s pocket that he’ll use to buy more music to write about in a never-ending loop of rock ‘n’ roll ecstasy!

MAY 1
American Aquarium - Lamentations   BUY!
Built to Spill - Built To Spill Plays the Songs of Daniel Johnston   BUY!
The Psychedelic Furs - Made of Rain   BUY!
Todd Rundgren's Utopia - Benefit For Moogy Klingman [six-CD live box]   BUY!

MAY 8
Airborne Toxic Event - Hollywood Park   BUY!
Lamb of God - Lamb of God   BUY!
Mark Lanegan - Straight Songs of Sorrow   BUY!
John Stewart - Old Forgotten Altars: The 1960s Demos   BUY!
Richard Thompson - Live At Rock City: Nottingham 1986   BUY!

MAY 15
Marshall Chapman - Songs I Can't Live Without   BUY!
Ruthie Foster Big Band - Live At the Paramount   BUY!
Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit - Reunions   BUY!
King Buzzo - Gift of Sacrifice   BUY!
Magnetic Fields - Quickies   BUY!
Moby - All Visible Objects   BUY!
Willie Nile - New York At Night   BUY!
Sparks - A Steady Drip, Drip, Drip   BUY!
Weezer - Van Weezer   BUY!

MAY 22
The 1975 - Notes On A Conditional Form   BUY!
Steve Earle & the Dukes - Ghosts of West Virginia   BUY!
Iron City Houserockers - Have A Good Time...But Get Out Alive!   BUY!
Throwing Muses - Sun Racket   BUY!
Woods - Strange To Explain   BUY!

MAY 29
Mick Hayes - My Claim To Fame   BUY!
The Killers - Imploding the Mirage   BUY!
King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard - Chunky Shrapnel   BUY!
Static-X - Project Regeneration   BUY!
Vandenberg - 2020   BUY!

Album of the Month: Tough choice, what with new music from personal faves like Willie Nile, King Gizzard, Jason Isbell, and Steve Earle this month, but I'm gonna have to go with an oldie-but-goodie that has endured for 40 years now – Iron City Houserocker's Have A Good Time...But Get Out Alive! Originally released in 1980, the sophomore effort from these Pittsburgh rockers is even more fierce the band's debut and this two-disc deluxe reissue includes the original LP as well as a bonus disc comprised of 16 previously-unreleased demo tracks including cool covers of "Rooster Blues" and "Doo Wah Diddy." Co-produced by Ian Hunter, Mick Ronson, and Little Steven the album features a batch of original Joe Grushecky songs guaranteed to rock yer turntable! A vinyl version will be released in June with a download card for all the bonus material. The Rev sez "check it out!"

The Rev's Favorite Rock 'n' Roll Albums of 2018

Rock ‘n’ roll ain’t dead, people, it’s just thriving on the fringes of pop culture while a mess of young and old artists alike are banging the gong and getting it on. The following ten albums listed below aren’t necessarily the “best” of 2018 but rather those that were my favorite releases for the year and spent the most time on my stereo. I’ve also listed another ten albums that almost, but not quite made the cut but, truth is, any of these albums would make a great addition to your music library. Check out the Rev’s lists of favorite archive/reissue and blues music albums from 2018 while you’re here!

Joe Grushecky & the Houserockers – More Yesterdays Than Tomorrows (Schoolkids Records)
Joe Grushecky’s More Yesterdays Than Tomorrows is an entertaining, exciting work that takes full advantage of the Houserockers’ immense musical chemistry – forged by decades of hard knocks and a shared faith in the religion of rock ‘n’ roll – to create a wonderful collection of songs that rock recklessly but pump the brakes when needed. Reunited with his longtime band after a handful of solo albums, Grushecky displays a renewed fervor and commitment to rock music as both soapbox and as a catalyst for social change. With More Yesterdays Than Tomorrows, Grushecky delivers a career milestone, outdoing himself once again.   BUY!

Tom Guerra – American Garden (Casa del Soul Records)
Singer, songwriter, and guitarist Tom Guerra is a veteran musician that’s been toiling in the shadows far too long while lesser talents grab the spotlight. American Garden features a high-octane blend of guitar-driven classic rock and blues music with Guerra’s smart (and often timely) lyrics paired with a clamorous soundtrack that reminds of similar rockers like Bruce Springsteen and Joe Grushecky. Tom Guerra’s American Garden is a solid collection of muscular, no-frills, old-school rock ‘n’ roll.   BUY!

Handsome Jack – Everything’s Gonna Be Alright (Alive Natural Sound Records)
Buffalo NY area “boogie soul” power trio Handsome Jack have one foot in the blustery hard rock sound of the ‘70s and the other in the guitar-driven British blues explosion of the ‘60s; the band’s raw, immediate garage-rock worldview builds on the past while looking defiantly towards the future. Everything’s Gonna Be Alright is the band’s sophomore effort and it’s a real fine barn-burner, Handsome Jack the real thing, a switchblade-toting gang of ‘Rust Belt’ blues-rock thugs demanding your time, money, and attention.   BUY!

Peter Holsapple – Game Day (Omnivore Recordings)
The voice of the revered power-pop outfit the dB’s, Peter Holsapple hasn’t released a solo album in 21 years (since 1997’s Out of My Way), but he climbs back in the saddle effortlessly with the gorgeous, shimmering Game Day. Holsapple’s deft songwriting chops and emotive vocals have always fueled his band’s best material, and with his second solo effort, he dials up the intensity to eleven. Holsapple plays nearly every note on the excellent Game Day, making it a true “solo album.”   BUY!

Howlin Rain – The Alligator Bride (Silver Current Records)
A damn fine rock band, Howlin Rain nevertheless brings a soupçon of its previous Americana-styled twang to the songs on The Alligator Bride, their fifth album. Infusing deceptively complex tunes with elements of the Grateful Dead, Neil Young, and even Joe Walsh, The Alligator Bride provides a shining display of frontman Ethan Miller’s songwriting chops and the band’s immense instrumental skills. There are a lot of echoes of the past in these grooves and the album’s wonderfully-balanced musical dynamics make it sound like it’s 1975 all over again.   BUY!

Willie Nile – Children of Paradise (River House Records)
Longtime Willie Nile fans won’t be disappointed by the more topical material on Children of Paradise, most of which is delivered with a rock ‘n’ roll spirit. In spite of the album’s frequent lyrical vision of a world in flames, Nile closes out the song cycle with the hopeful, pastoral “All God’s Children.” The song offers salvation through faith in our fellow humans and (unspoken) the power of rock ‘n’ roll to transcend life’s indignities. Nile’s simple plea of “sing for the angels, sing for the sinners, all of the losers one day will be winners…” provides a ray of light piercing the darkness that has enveloped our society. You can ask of nothing more from the true artist.   BUY!

David Olney – This Side or the Other (Black Hen Music)
Singer/songwriter David Olney has been making music in Nashville for over 40 years, and the humble, talented scribe has been exploring the depths of folk, rock, and country music just as long, breaking through genre barriers years before anybody coined the “Americana” term. This Side or the Other, Olney’s debut for Steve Dawson’s Black Hen label, proves to be a snug artistic fit, the like-minded Dawson producing and adding his considerable six-string skills to the songs. Olney’s poetic wordplay, intriguing story-songs, and world-weary vocals put him in a class by himself, the man’s talents transcending mediocrity to deliver the truly magnificent with This Side or the Other.   BUY!

Shuggie Otis – Inter-Fusion (Cleopatra Records)
When everybody else in popular music is running, lemming-like, in a single direction, Shuggie Otis is veering off towards left field. For his first studio album in better than forty years, the songwriter responsible for soulful gems like “Strawberry Letter 23” and “Inspiration Information” delivers a mostly-instrumental set guaranteed to blow your  mind. A buffet of rock, soul, funk, and jazz, Inter-Fusion is a breathtaking collection of virtuosity, proof that Otis has lost none of the chops, imagination, or innovation that made him a legend in the first place.   BUY!

Sour Ops – Family Circuit (Feralette Records)
Contrary to conventional industry wisdom, rock ‘n’ roll ain’t dead – and Sour Ops proves my point with the delightfully raucous Family Circuit. Price Harrison and his musical gang take their obvious cues from the legends of classic ‘70s and ‘80s rock but manage to provide this original material with a contemporary spin via their imaginative songwriting and skilled instrumentation. In addition to Family Circuit, Sour Ops also released a fab 12” single this year comprised of “Photograph” and “Mind Like Glue,” two of the album’s best tunes and a safe bet for vinyl collectors looking for cheap thrills.   BUY!

The Textones – Old Stone Gang (Blue Elan Records)
The Textones’ Carla Olson put the original band back together for another shot at the brass ring, and their first new album in 30+ years sounds like they never really left the game. The band’s pioneering hybrid of rock, country, and a touch of soul (i.e. ‘Americana’) is much in evidence here and the Textones’ Old Stone Gang offers a lot of twang and bang for your buck. If you didn’t know them back in the ‘80s, you owe it to yourself to discover the band today.   BUY!

Honorable Mention: Arthur Buck’s Arthur Buck; Crack the Sky’s Living In Reverse; The Damned’s Evil Spirits, Alejandro Escovedo’s The Crossing; Graveyard’s Peace; Wilko Johnson’s Blow Your Mind; King Crimson’s Live In Vienna; King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard’s Gumboot Soup; Uriah Heep’s Living the Dream; Barrence Whitfield’s Soul Flowers of Titan.

CD Review: Willie Nile's Children of Paradise (2018)

Willie Nile is the “Old Faithful” of the rock ‘n’ roll world…you can depend on getting a brand new studio album from the talented singer/songwriter every couple of years, and you always know that it’s gonna be great! Nile has released six studio albums (and several live discs) over the past twelve years, including some of the true gems in his catalog – masterworks like 2006’s Streets of New York, 2009’s House of A Thousand Guitars, and 2016’s World War Willie. Nile stepped outside of his own comfort zone for 2017’s Positively Bob: Willie Nile Sings Bob Dylan, a collection of, er...well, Dylan tunes…which means that he’s otherwise penned dozens of original songs over the past decade or so.

It wasn’t always this way, though...Nile took the long road to achieving his relative success. By the time that his self-titled debut album was released in 1980, Nile had already established himself as a folk-rock songwriter performing with punkish intensity. The following year’s Golden Dawn received praise equal to his debut, but legal issues kept Nile out of the studio until 1991’s long-delayed Places I Have Never Been, which included guest turns from folks like Richard Thompson and Roger McGuinn. Nile’s career was subsequently misplaced during the grunge tsunami in the ‘90s, the artist releasing Beautiful Wreck of the World on his own in 1999.

Willie Nile’s Children of Paradise

So yes, Nile has suffered his share of indignities during his career, but he’s been undeterred from pursuing his unique musical vision, delivering some of the most reliably rockin’ albums you’ll find on your local record store’s shelves since the turn of the millennium. Following up on his Positively Bob LP, 2018 brings us Nile’s Children of Paradise, a twelve-track collection that could be seen as the songwriter’s response to the political upheaval of the past couple of years. It is, perhaps, the most socially-conscious work of Nile’s nearly 40 years in the trenches; but there are no morose dirges or dire folk entreaties to be found on Children of Paradise. Instead, Nile infuses his songs with hope and humor, and the music crackles with the electricity of a live power line.

The album opens with the gorgeous “Seeds of A Revolution,” a defiant statement of inclusivity that offers unity for humanity in spite of the “sound of distant thunder,” regardless of race, gender, or nationality. It’s an uplifting effort that spits in the face of our contemporary society’s tragic embrace of racism, homophobia, and xenophobia. Nile has an answer for corporate greed as well, the hilarious and very punk “Don’t” offering the sage advice “don’t let the fuckers kill your buzz.” The rockin’, up-tempo “All Dressed Up and No Place To Go” is the sort of Dylanesque tune that has become Nile’s signature, filled to the brim with brilliant imagery and imaginative character portraits.

Earth Blues

Nile’s “Earth Blues” is as up-to-the-minute topical as a songwriter can be and is the best song about Mother Earth that’s been written in decades. Referencing California wildfires, melting arctic ice, animal extinction, climate change, and other planetary tragedies, Nile concludes “there’s a storm outside that’s ragin’, it smells like Judgement Day. When the landlord comes to take a look, there’s gonna be hell to pay.” His apocalyptic poetry is accompanied by a fierce soundtrack of strutting rhythms and martial drumbeats. The album’s title track is a mid-tempo ode to lost souls everywhere, delivered with the same sort of anthemic instrumentation as Springsteen’s “Born To Run” and it features a scorching guitar solo.

“Getting’ Ugly Out There” is another dance with the devil you know, a bluesy acoustic tale where “Baby Jesus” is getting the hell out of town and the Reaper laughs. Children of Paradise isn’t devoid of old-fashioned love songs, though. “Have I Ever Told You” is a lyrically beautiful tune rife with emotion while “Lookin’ For Someone” displays a troubadour’s heart and a true romantic’s yearning with its protagonist wanting to “be a painting, I don’t wanna be a sketch” while “looking for someone who is breakin’ just like me.” The song’s use of mandolin adds to power of the wistful lyrics. By contrast, “Rock ‘N’ Roll Sister” blows out of the gate like a nitro-drunk hot rod, Nile singing of a woman who is “a risk-takin’, I ain’t fakin’, body shakin’ meteorite” above a rollicking, unbridled arrangement, the song name-checking Springsteen, the Stones, the Kinks, the Clash, and the Who as it shakes the rafters with no-frills rock ‘n’ roll.

The Reverend’s Bottom Line

Longtime Willie Nile fans won’t be disappointed by the more topical material on Children of Paradise, most of which is delivered with a rock ‘n’ roll spirit. In spite of the album’s frequent lyrical vision of a world in flames, Nile closes out the song cycle with the hopeful, pastoral “All God’s Children.” The song offers salvation through faith in our fellow humans and (unspoken) the power of rock ‘n’ roll to transcend life’s indignities. Nile’s simple plea of “sing for the angels, sing for the sinners, all of the losers one day will be winners…” provides a ray of light piercing the darkness that has enveloped our society. You can ask of nothing more from the true artist. Grade: A+ (River House Records, released July 27, 2018)

Buy the CD from Amazon.com:
Willie Nile’s Children of Paradise 

Also on That Devil Music.com:
Willie Nile’s Positively Bob: Willie Nile Sings Bob Dylan CD review
Willie Nile’s Beautiful Wreck of the World CD review

New Music Monthly: July 2018 Releases

The industry typically slows down during the dog days of summer, but July this year has a bounty of great music by some solid rock, blues, and Americana artists. For you blooze fans, check out new tunes by Rory Block, Boz Scaggs, and the Apocalypse Blues Revue. For the rockers among you, there are reissues of classic LPs by folks like Guadalcanal Diary, Soul Asylum, and the almighty Lords of the New Church as well as new jams from folks like Ty Segall, Willie Nile, and Peter Holsapple.

I didn't forget my Americana friends, either, the genre represented this month by the legendary Kinky Friedman's first album of new music in 40 years as well as platters by the Jayhawks and Elvin Bishop (which, to be fair, treads the fine line between Americana and blues). And for those folks that prefer their music on vinyl, how about reissues of albums by Rolling Stone bassist Bill Wyman, Americana star Jason Isbell, British space music pioneers Hawkwind, Swans, and U2?! No matter your taste in music, there's something this month for everybody!

If we wrote about it here on the site, there will be a link to it in the album title; if you want an album, hit the 'Buy!' link to get it from Amazon.com...it's just that damn easy! Your purchase puts money in the Reverend's pocket that he'll use to buy more music to write about in a never-ending loop of rock 'n' roll ecstasy!

JULY 6
The Animals - Animalisms   BUY!
Rory Block - A Woman's Soul   BUY!
Fate's Warning - Live Over Europe   BUY!
Kinky Friedman - Circus of Life [first new album in 40 years]   BUY!
Hawkwind - Live Hits [vinyl]   BUY!
The Nude Party - The Nude Party   BUY!
Wishbone Ash - Here to Hear (import)   BUY!

JULY 13
Cowboy Junkies - All That Reckoning   BUY!
Elvin Bishop's Big Fun Trio - Something Smells Funky 'Round Here   BUY!
Guadalcanal Diary - At Your Birthday Party   BUY!
Jason Isbell - Sirens of the Ditch [vinyl reissue]   BUY!
The Jayhawks - Back Roads and Abandoned Motels   BUY!
Bill Wyman - Monkey Grip [vinyl reissue]   BUY!
Bill Wyman - Stone Alone [vinyl reissue]   BUY! 

JULY 20
Apocalypse Blues Revue - The Shape of Blues To Come   BUY!
Lords of the New Church - Lords of the New Church: Special Edition   BUY!
Ty Segall & White Fence - Joy   BUY!
Soul Asylum - Made To Be Broken   BUY!
Soul Asylum - Say What You Will...Everything Can Happen   BUY!
Swans - Soundtracks For the Blind [vinyl reissue]   BUY!

JULY 27
Galen Ayers - Monument [daughter of Kevin Ayers]  BUY!
Drivin N Cryin' - Too Late To Turn Back Now [reissue]   BUY!
Peter Holsapple - Game Day   BUY!
Willie Nile - Children of Paradise   BUY!
Michael Romeo - War of the Worlds, Pt. 1   BUY!
Boz Scaggs - Out of the Blues   BUY!
Dee Snider - For the Love of Metal   BUY!
U2 - Achtung Baby [vinyl reissue]   BUY!
U2 - The Best of 1980-1990 [vinyl reissue]   BUY!
U2 - Zooropa [vinyl reissue]   BUY!

Album of the Month: In a month with promising new albums from both Peter Holsapple of the dB's and Willie Nile, I'm going to have to go with Nile's Children of Paradise. Although Holsapple is an extremely talented songwriter and musician, he hasn't released a solo album in 21 years, and his last recording altogether was six years ago, with the wonderful dB's 2012 reunion album Falling Off the Sky. We're not sure what we're going to get, we just figure that it's going to be good. With Nile, though, who has been cranking out new music every couple of years, the singer/songwriter may be at the top of his game; his songwriting pen is sharp and his lyrics insightful and concise, the music rockin' like nobody's business. If you could only afford one album this month, I'd go with the Willie Nile. But if you can squeeze two CD purchases into July, grab the Peter Holsapple disc, too...you'll be glad that you did!  

CD Preview: Willie Nile’s Children of Paradise

Buffalo’s favorite son Willie Nile is one of our favorite singer/songwriters ‘round these parts. Ever since hearing Nile’s 1980 self-titled debut album, and his sophomore follow-up, 1981’s Golden Down, the Reverend has been a fan of Nile’s erudite lyricism and rockin’ melodic sense, which always roars out of the speakers like truth from the horn of Jericho.

We live in troubled times, but thankfully Nile is coming along just in time with a new album, Children of Paradise, to be released on July 27th, 2018 on Nile’s on River House label. In a press release for Children of Paradise Nile says, “I made this album because I needed a pick-me-up from the blues that’s all around us. The music always lifts my spirits, and that’s what these songs do for me and it’s why I wrote them. Hopefully they can lift others’ spirits as well.”

Children of Paradise offers a dozen new original songs, Nile’s intelligent lyrics combined with a gritty rock ‘n’ roll soundtrack. The album was co-produced by Nile and Grammy™ Award winner and longtime collaborator Stewart Lerman (who has also worked with Elvis Costello and Patti Smith, among others). The album includes such timely songs as “Seeds of A Revolution,” “All Dressed Up and No Place To Go,” “Don’t,” “Earth Blues, and “Getting’ Ugly Out There.” Nile wrote “Lookin’ For Someone” with his friend Andrew Dorff, who has written country hits for artists like Tim McGraw and Kenny Chesney. Dorff died unexpectedly after the two finished the song, and Nile has dedicated Children of Paradise to his late friend.

Nile plays acoustic and electric guitars and piano on Children of Paradise, and is joined in the studio by members of his live band – guitarist Matt Hogan, bassist Johnny Pisano, and drummer Jon Weber. Guitarist and multi-instrumentalist Steuart Smith and keyboardist Andy Burton also lent their talents to the sessions, and backing vocals on the songs are provided by James Maddock, Leslie Mendelson, and Frankie Lee. Nile, needless to say, is pleased with the resulting album, saying, “it’s one of my personal favorites for sure.”

“I thought from the time I started putting this album together that it was going to be something special,” muses Nile. “It’s full of fire and passion and spirit, and it feels like real life to me. The songs come out of the box roaring and rocking, yet there are also songs of intimacy and tenderness. It’s got all the power and promise of what I love best about rock ‘n’ roll. It’s heartfelt, pissed off, in love, on fire and out of its mind all at the same time. A perfect recipe for a good party and a great album…”

Also on That Devil Music:
Q5: Willie Nile talks about Bob Dylan
Willie Nile - Positively Bob: Willie Nile Sings Bob Dylan CD review
Willie Nile - Beautiful Wreck of the World CD review

Archive Review: Willie Nile's Beautiful Wreck of the World (1999)

Released in 1999, I recently found this criminally overlooked album in the discount bin at the local used music store. If my memory hasn't failed me quite yet, Willie Nile was hanging around Nashville in late '99 – so it's possible that this copy might have come into my greedy little hands via some unappreciative person who originally received it from Willie himself. Regardless, as a long-time fan I was glad to stumble across it and if you, gentle reader, care a whit about finely-crafted songs and intelligent lyricism, you should be digging up your own copy.

Saddled with the “new Springsteen” albatross early in his career (the '80 version of the “new Dylan” comparison leveled by unimaginative critics in the '70s), Nile never quite recovered from the critical overkill and commercial indifference. He only released three albums for Columbia before being shuttled off to relative obscurity. 'Tis a shame, too, since Beautiful Wreck of the World proves that not only have Nile's artistic chops not diminished any since his 1980 debut, his skills have sharpened and matured during the past two decades.

Nile's greatest asset as a songwriter is his observational ability and the skill with which he shares what he sees. Beautiful Wreck of the World kicks off with the ultra-clever and rocking “You Gotta Be A Buddha (In A Place Like This).” A wickedly tongue-in-cheek rundown of the modern world and tribute to the virtue of patience, the song includes one of my favorite refrains: “You laugh, you cry, you live, you die/you wake up in the morning and don't know why.” The title track is a whimsical and humorous look at a world turned upside down while “Brain Damage” is a slightly offbeat love song that is as witty as it is accurate. “On The Road To Calvary,” dedicated to Jeff Buckley, is filled with beautiful imagery and wordplay, as haunting a tribute to the late songwriter as will be written.

Although Nile's work evokes Dylan and Springsteen – his obvious artistic forebears – he is nevertheless an original voice with a singular lyrical vision. A vastly underrated talent, Nile has been frozen out of the mainstream music biz by trend-following cretins unable to recognize the man's skills or the aging 35-50 year old demographic that would appreciate a fresh and original singer/songwriter. Much like his contemporary Carolyn Mas or the recent efforts of wordsmiths such as Dan Bern or Nashville's Threk Michaels, Willie Nile is a man without a country.

Talented as hell, Nile is nonetheless out of step with the industry in which he's trying to make a living. Then again, as long as he makes records like Beautiful Wreck Of The World, we'll gladly march to the sound of Nile's different drummer. (River House Records, released 1999)

Originally published by Alt.Culture.Guide webzine, 2000

Also on That Devil Music.com:
Q5: Willie Nile talks about Bob Dylan
CD review: Willie Nile's Positively Bob
 

Buy the digital download from Amazon.com (CD out of print): Willie Nile's Beautiful Wreck of the World

Q5: Willie Nile talks about Bob Dylan

Photo courtesy Conqueroo Music Publicity

 
Singer/songwriter Willie Nile is one of rock music’s lesser-known treasures, a talented performer and artist who has forged his own path to create an enduring career and a catalog of recordings that would be the pride of any musician.

The Reverend has long been a fan of Nile’s music and songwriting skills, from his 1980 self-titled debut and the following year’s Golden Down to more recent work like 2009’s House of A Thousand Guitars or 2016’s World War Willie (and a lot of great records in between). As I’m also a big Bob Dylan fan (no surprise), I’ve been particular enamored as of late by Nile’s recently-released tribute album Positively Bob: Willie Nile Sings Bob Dylan.

Nile provides the ten-song collection of vintage Bob with his own reverent but unique spin on the songs, making for an exhilarating and entertaining listen. I thought it would be interesting to get a little behind-the-scenes info on Positively Bob, and Nile was gracious enough to answer a few questions by email for this Q5 interview, providing answers that are as intelligent and enlightening as his music usually is. You can check out the Reverend’s review of Positively Bob here.     

Q1. What does Bob Dylan mean to you as an artist and as a fan?

I was a teenager in the ‘60s into all kinds of rock and roll and was knocked out by Bob’s music.  Nobody was writing songs like he did. They were interesting, funny, poignant, mystical, passionate, compassionate, sarcastic, idealistic, realistic, surrealistic. There was nothing remotely like it on the radio. It was really inspiring. He was one of a kind and single-handedly changed the conversation completely. He raised the bar for everyone, artists and listeners alike.

These songs opened up a lot of doors for me, and for a whole generation of kids. Discovering Dylan’s songs in the ‘60s was incredibly liberating; it made me realize that there were no limitations or walls that could not be scaled or knocked down. I started reading the poetry of the Beats, Walt Whitman, Rimbaud, and it was off to the races from there.

Q2. Considering the depth of the Dylan songbook, how did you choose the songs to include on Positively Bob?

When I got the invitation to sing four Dylan songs at a Bob 75th birthday concert in NYC last year I stayed up late one night and just looked at all the songs in his catalog. I wanted to see if there were some songs I could pull off that would be fun to play live. I went by feel and instinct. I grabbed my guitar and went through his song list and tried a few of them that I thought might work in concert and knocked out the arrangements pretty quickly. I didn’t want to force anything. If a song didn’t come together right away, I moved on to something else. They were such a blast to play live I thought it would be fun to do an album of Bob songs. They’re still so relevant and need to be heard. I just wanted to do them justice and bring some good energy in a respectful way.

Q3. What is your favorite Dylan album and why?

That’s a tough one because there’s a lot of great ones. Probably Blonde On Blonde. There are so many great songs on it, including 9 or 10 stone cold classics. There’s humor, sarcasm, beauty, depth, love, sorrow, madness, edge, you name it, it’s there, and it ends with the stunning “Sad-Eyed Lady of the Lowlands.” It’s the voice of a true poet and seeker at the top of his game, and it has that great mercury sound he spoke of. I love the live feel and excitement of the performances. It sounds so real and alive. It’s a high water mark in the history of music.

Q4. What's the hardest aspect of interpreting Dylan's songs?

The songs mean so much to me and after all these years of living they felt like old friends coming around to share some wine and talk about the world. It all happened very naturally in the studio so it wasn’t that hard. We didn’t rehearse. I just played a tape of the arrangement of each song I had recorded on my phone to the band and everybody brought their experience and appreciation of the songs to the table. We’d listen once in the control room, talk a little bit, and go into the studio and play our hearts out. 90% of it was all done in two days. We didn’t labor over it. Most of it is live. It was a labor of love I guess you’d say. If I’d had any doubts I wouldn’t have made the album. I think the key was in picking the right songs so maybe that was the hardest part. Once that was done it all just kind of fell into place.

I think the tallest mountain to climb was attempting “A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall.” It’s such a masterpiece and more relevant today than ever. I wanted to do it justice. My first thought was what if we approached it like “Bolero?” There’s so much power in the lyric and in the melody. There’s nothing like it on radio today. When we cut it I just took a deep breath and went for it. The band killed it and I just gave it all I had. I was pleasantly surprised listening back to it. And to think he was only 21 when he wrote it! Way to go Bob!

Q5. Much of Dylan's music displays a blues influence, as do many of your songs. Will we ever see a Willie Nile blues album and, if so, what shape would it take?

I recorded a blues song on my World War Willie album last year, a song called “Citibank Nile.” I never thought I could pull something like that off but it sure worked out all right. I love how it came out. I don’t know that I’d do a full album of blues songs but you never know. I’m still learning and have a lot more to learn. Maybe one day I’ll get there and be able to do a full album of blues. I could call it Willie Nile Sings The Lookout World Here I Come Blues.

CD Review: Willie Nile's Positively Bob: Willie Nile Sings Bob Dylan (2017)

Willie Nile’s self-titled 1980 debut album earned him membership in an exclusive fraternity of singer/songwriters unfairly dubbed as the “New Dylan.” Of course, the “Old Dylan” was still around at the time, undergoing a religious conversion that resulted in controversial albums like Slow Train Coming and Saved before he returned to his secular senses with 1983’s brilliant Infidels. Nevertheless, Nile’s critically-acclaimed debut was just one in a series of albums upon which the “New Dylan” albatross was hung, from self-titled releases by David Blue (1966) and John Prine (1971), to Bruce Springsteen’s Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J. and Elliott Murphy’s Aquashow (both 1973) or Steve Forbert’s Alive On Arrival (1978), each one signaling the important arrival of something...

Much like those aforementioned artists, so too did Willie Nile emerge from the looming shadow of The Scribe; it could easily be argued that Nile’s debut displayed more of his personality and artistry than many albums by the Dylanesque fraternity. While contemporary music critics aren’t quite as slap-happy in applying the “New Dylan” tag to talented songwriters these days, that’s not to say that the man from Minnesota’s immense lyrical legacy doesn’t continue to influence and inspire new artists to this day. And Dylan’s (largish) catalog of songs has mostly held up pretty well here in the new millennium, a fact proven by Nile’s Positively Bob: Willie Nile Sings Bob Dylan. Plucking ten gems from the Dylan vault, Nile performs them in honor of the man that inspired him to find his own voice as a singer and songwriter, and he does ol’ Bob proud!

Positively Bob: Willie Nile Sings Bob Dylan

Nile’s take on the classic “The Times They Are A Changin’” opens with a mesmerizing guitar riff that swirls itself into a poppier, less folk-oriented reading of the song’s timeless lyrics. Nile’s delivery is fast-paced and, perhaps, lighter-hearted in a sense but no less serious than Dylan’s intense approach some 50+ years ago. I’d put it in a tie for second place (with Will Hoge) behind Dylan as my favorite performance of the song. Nile’s “Rainy Day Women #13 & 35” is less loose-limbed than Dylan’s ramshackle original performance, but Nile handles the lyrical gymnastics with aplomb, with claustrophobic production and chaotic instrumentation providing a sense of reckless abandon in the studio.

Dylan’s protest-era treasures “Blowin’ In The Wind” and “A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall” are both provided masterful interpretations. The former benefits from Nile’s energetic vocals and the band’s strident instrumentation (with a raging guitar solo mid-song lighting a fire to the performance), while the latter is afforded a more considered reading, the song’s mouthful of lyrics nevertheless delivered with skill and no little passion by a singer whose vocal similarity to Dylan is undeniable but also uniquely original. “I Want You” is one of my personal favorites from the Dylan songbook, the song’s yearning and desire literally flowing from the record’s grooves to your ears. Nile captures the emotional spirit of the song, with strong but subtle instrumentation supporting his delightfully breathless vocals and obvious infatuation.

Subterranean Homesick Blues

The lyrical roller-coaster of Dylan’s “Subterranean Homesick Blues” is anchored by a rowdy, rockabilly-tinged rhythmic backing with flashes of honky-tonk piano as Nile’s rapid-fire vocals swell to a verbal tsunami by the song’s end. The surrealistic, romantic “Love Minus Zero/No Limit” is complimented by elegant fretwork and, perhaps, Nile’s most overt Dylan impersonation, the singer adding a few flourishes of his own as the band provides lush instrumentation with a vaguely exotic, Spanish vibe. The obscure “Every Grain of Sand” (from 1981’s Shot of Love) is given a simple acoustic backing which only heightens the lyrics’ spiritual message, the song one of the best penned by The Scribe during his infatuation with Christianity. The equally-overlooked “You Ain’t Going’ Nowhere,” which dates back to 1967 and Dylan’s recordings with the Band (subsequently release in ’75 as The Basement Tapes), is a jaunty, country-flavored tune that Nile infuses with plenty of charm and vigor.

The melancholy “Abandoned Love” closes out Positively Bob. Written in 1975 about Dylan’s troubled marriage and remaining unreleased until the 1985 Biograph box set, it’s a hauntingly beautiful albeit wistful love song that is sung perfectly by Nile, who captures every heartbeat of the florid lyrics, every hue of the song’s emotions. Although much has been said here about Nile’s skilled vocal interpretation of these often-difficult songs, his elegant acoustic guitar provides a constant thread through each performance. Nile’s band members should also be praised – guitarists Matt Hogan and James Maddock, bassist Johnny Pisano, pianist Andy Burton, and drummer Aaron Comess – who, along with backing vocalist Leslie Mendelson and percussionist Frankie Lee provide a suitable and finely-textured musical canvas on which Nile paints these songs.

The Reverend’s Bottom Line

There are a couple of different ways to cover a Bob Dylan song. You can skew as close as possible to The Scribe’s original intent, which is just mimicry of Dylan’s recorded performances, something that Dylan himself seldom does these days. Or, you can spin a creative web around Dylan’s words and underrated melodies and interpret the song in your own fashion as an artist. With Positively Bob, Willie Nile eschews the traditional path and instead honors the Master with ten brilliant musical portraits that capture Dylan’s essence while staying true to Nile’s own unique and always-evolving muse.

Nile’s Positively Bob won’t replace Dylan’s original performances these classic songs, but his reverent efforts here might just prompt you to pull those dusty old records off the shelf and give ‘em another spin, reminding you why Mr. Zimmerman continues to be an inspiration and guiding light for generations of talented singer/songwriters like Willie Nile. Grade: A (River House Records, released June 23, 2017)

Related Content: Q5 interview with Willie Nile

Buy the CD from Amazon.com: Willie Nile’s Positively Bob: Willie Nile Sings Bob Dylan

New Music Monthly: June 2017 Releases

It's hard to believe, but another 30 days have passed by and it's time to roll up your coins, cash in those pop bottles, and raid the piggy bank to go out and buy some new music! June promises to be the best month yet in 2017 as far as new music, with anticipated albums from Dan Auerbach of the Black Keys, Roger Waters (ex-Pink Floyd), punk legends Rancid, blues giant Joe Bonamassa and Chicago's Cash Box Kings, among others. Throw in some very cool reissue and archive releases from the likes of Prince, Jesse Ed Davis, Game Theory, Bob Marley, and David Bowie as well as vinyl reissues from Alex Chilton and the Spinto Band, and June may be the month that breaks the bank...

JUNE 2
Dan Auerbach - Waiting On A Song   BUY!
Benjamin Booker - Witness   BUY!
Jesse Ed Davis - Red Dirt Boogie: The Atco Recordings 1970-1972   BUY!
Hawkwind - Live Chronicles   BUY!
Bob Marley & the Wailers - Exodus 40: The Movement Continues   BUY!
U2 - The Joshua Tree: 30th Anniversary   BUY!
Roger Waters - Is This The Life We Really Want?   BUY!
 

JUNE 9
Game Theory - 2 Steps From The Middle Ages   BUY!
Rainbow - Live In Birmingham   BUY!
Rancid - Trouble Maker   BUY!
 

 

 

JUNE 16
Chuck Berry - Chuck   BUY!
Alex Chilton - Take Me Home & Make Me Like It [vinyl]   BUY!
David Bowie - Cracked Actor: Live In Los Angeles 1974   BUY!
Steve Earle - So You Wannabe An Outlaw   BUY!
Fleet Foxes - Crack-Up   BUY!
Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit - The Nashville Sound   BUY!
Spinto Band - Nice and Nicely Done [vinyl reissue]   BUY!

JUNE 23
Joe Bonamassa - Live at Carnegie Hall   BUY!
King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard - Murder of the Universe   BUY!
Glenn Morrow - Cry For Help   BUY!
Prince - Purple Rain Deluxe   BUY!
Jeff Tweedy - Together At Last   BUY!
 

JUNE 30
Chris Bell - Looking Forward (pre-Big Star recordings)   BUY!
The Cash Box Kings - Royal Mint   BUY!
Willie Nile - Positively Bob: Willie Nile Sings Bob Dylan   BUY!

Album of the Month: Chuck Berry's Chuck...the rock 'n' roll pioneers first studio album in nearly 40 years is already garnering rave reviews, and whether as comeback album or a self-conscious goodbye, Berry's legacy is already indelibly carved in granite. Chuck offers up ten mostly new, original songs produced by Berry, who is backed by both his children – guitarist Charles Berry Jr. and harmonica player Ingrid Berry – as well as his longtime stage band from the Blueberry Hill Club in St. Louis. Heck, it's Chuck Berry...what more do you need to know?