In early 1980, Willie Nile seemingly had it all: his eponymous debut LP garnered both commercial and critical acclaim, and he was dubbed the latest in a long line of “new Dylans.� Like so many that came before and since, however, Nile saw that appellation become a crown of thorns, as his 1981 Golden Down LP failed to meet the lofty expectations set for it. Nile disappeared from the spotlight for nearly two decades, releasing only one LP and one EP of new material before 1999’s splendid Beautiful Wreck of the World. Now, Nile has returned with Streets of New York, his first release of the new millennium and a most welcome return to form. In a gutsy move, Nile sounds most Dylanesque on the autobiographical “Back Home,� wherein he addresses his early brush with success (“Joined a rock and roll band/Made 500 grand/Saw it all turn to sand…�). Elsewhere, however, Nile’s sound is purely his own, from the giddy “Welcome to My Head,� detailing the dangers inherent to life in the information age; to the straight ahead rocker “Best Friends Money Can Buy.� He continues to expand his musical palette, such as the bluegrass-tinged “Asking Annie Out� or the Celtic influenced “The Day I Saw Bo Diddley in Washington Square.� But true to his folkie soul, Nile is at his best on those songs with an emotional bent, most notably “Cell Phones Ringing (In the Pockets of the Dead),� a moving tribute to the victims of the 2004 Madrid train bombing, and a surprisingly tender cover of “Police on My Back,� dedicated to Joe Strummer.
