Willie Nile

The Great Yellow Light

River House Records

Willie Nile was born Robert Noonan in Buffalo, New York in 1948. He attended the University of Buffalo and later moved to New York’s Greenwich Village to begin his recording career. He frequented the nightclub CBGB’s where he was first inspired by the Ramones. Nile released his self-titled debut album on Arista Records in 1980 and was invited to join “The Who” on their summer tour. This is Nile’s 21st recording his last being 2024’s “Live from Daryl’s House Club”. “The Great Yellow Light” is produced by Stewart Lerman and Nile, at Hobo Sound in  Weehawken, N.J.

Nile, electric guitar, piano and vocals fronts an ensemble that includes; Jimi Bones, guitars and  backing vocals; Johnny Pisano, bass and backing vocals; John Weber, drums; Bob Hyman,  organ, accordion, piano, and backing vocals; Eric Bazilian, mandola, guitars and backing vocals; Waddy Wachtel, electric guitar; Fred Parcells, tin whistle and trombone; Chris Payne, uillean  pipes and bodhran; David Mansfield, mandolin; James Freeze, percussion; special guest vocalists Paul Brady, and Steve Earle; and backing vocalists James Maddock, and Larry Kirwin.

The opening track “Wild Wild World” features guitarists Nile and Bones, as Nile sings “Well, it’s a wild, wild, wild, wild, world and it’s a wild, wild, wild, wild world, it’s so wild you can bet you will  take what you can get, cause it’s a wild, wild, wild, wild, world…Suzie’s off to college, Leroy’s out  there too, out there seeking knowledge for what good it can do, laughter in the Kremlin, chuckles in Versailles, big guffaws in Washington, I think I know why”.

“We Are, We Are” is a rollicking anthem and battle cry for liberty, and refusing to give into the darkness, “Can I give you the key, you can take it from me, there’s a flame that we must tend, forever always ain’t no end…take a hold of my hand, you and I we will stand, ain’t no fighting ain’t no war, we don’t need that anymore”.

“Electrify Me” features Andy Burton keyboards as Nile belts out “Electrify me, set me on fire,  won’t you take me walkin’ on your high, high wire, hit me with the cure, solve the mystery,  come on pretty baby and electrify me…I’ll electrify you, you electrify me, yeah, yeah, yeah”. “An Irish Goodbye” features vocalist Paul Brady, with Hyman on the Hammond organ, Byrne on the uilleann pipes, Mansfield on mandolin, and Kirwin with the backing vocal, “An Irish goodbye, an Irish goodbye, here’s fire in your whiskey, here’s mud in your eye, it’s high time to leave here, it’s my turn to fly, I’ll just say an Irish goodbye”.

On the title track “The Great Yellow Light” once again with Burton on keys, Nile chimes “I was dreaming of a girl, with wonder in her eyes, and thunder in her heart, you were standing by a  wall, a wall of iron and steel, I wonder if you know that I was dreaming of a girl with wonder in her eyes, and thunder in her heart, she has wheels of fire, searchlights of her own, she is my desire in this great unknown”.

“Trying To Make A Livin’ In The U.S.A.”, features Hyman on accordion as Nile chirps “Ooo wah Ooo wah, Ooo wah yay, tryin’ to make a livin’ in the U.S.A. there’s nothin’ wrong with me a hit record wouldn’t cure. The blues and the clap, yeah they all can re-occur, but a song on the  charts could do a lot of good, why I’d run buck-naked through my neighborhood, Ooo wah, Ooo wah, Ooo wah yay, tryin’ to make a livin’ in the U.S.A.”

“Fall On Me” again with Burton on keys, as Nile chants “If you’re gonna fall, fall on me, If you’re gonna cry, cry to me, when you think you’ve seen it all, when your back’s against the wall, If you think your gonna fall, fall on me…call me when you’re broken, call me when you’re sad, call me  when the one you love’s taken everything you had…if you think your gonna fall, call on me”.

“What Color Is Love” with some great piano, features Nile as he sings “What color is love, O how will it show, has anybody seen it, O how will I know, will it touch my hand, will I know it’s face, will there be a memory, will it leave a trace, what color is love”. “Wake Up America” includes Waddy Wachtel joining Nile on electric guitar, Jon Weber on drums, and guest vocalist Steve Earle “Wake Up America, rise and shine, the sun’s goin’ down and it’s all on the line, wake up America, red,  white and blue, you used to be great, what happened to you, wake up America, rich and poor, do  you have enough or do you want more, wake up America, land of the free, are you everything, that you say you want to be…wake up, wake up, America”.

On the closer “Washington’s Day” written by Hyman, Bazilian, Rich Chertoff and Nile; Nile croons “Did you think that I could ever forget, the night by the Arlington flame, in the silence I heard it  through the streets so deserted, you whispered and called me by name, did you think I could ever forget the rocket’s red glare in your eye, where Lincoln stood strong, there you held me so long  there, that night on the Fourth of July. I hope and I pray, that you’ll be here with me, when the  mountains that rise, tumble into the sea, when the kingdoms that come set us free on our way, hope you’ll be here with me, home on Washington’s Day”.

Working on his own terms has allowed Willie Nile to expand his audience to encompass much of the planet, he’s toured North America and overseas regularly building a sizeable and devoted  following. His loyal fan base includes Bruce Springsteen, Pete Townshend, Bono, Lou Reed, Graham Parker, Little Steven, and Lucinda Williams who says “Willie Nile is a great artist. If there  was any justice in this world, I’d be opening for him instead of him for me”. In 2020, Paradiddle  Records released “Uncovered”, a compilation of twenty-six Willie Nile songs, sung by twenty- six artists including Emily Duff, James Maddock, Dan Bern, Elliott Murphy, Richard Barone, Graham Parker, Leland Sundries, Nils Lofgren, John Gorka, Slaid Cleaves, Lucy Kaplansky, Richard Shindell, and others. It’s a time for celebration for Willie Nile.

Richard Ludmerer

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