It has been more than a quarter century since the debut release of Willie Nile’s acclaimed self-titled LP on Arista Records in 1980, following it a year later with 'Golden Down'.These freshman and sophmore albums were accompanied by music critics comparing him to Dylan and Springsteen. The spellbinding newly released 'Streets of New York' finds Nile in his mid-fifties, his youthful energy still present and unfaltered by the years, and to this faithful listener, he’s never sounded more committed to the song-writing themes he presents on this album. The gamut of topics covered range from the gritty title track to the visceral “Cell Phones Ringing (in the Pockets of the Dead),� his chilling and unfliching response to the train bombings in Madrid.

Listening to it initialy, I described it to a friend as Nile's London Calling, what with a lively cover of “Police on My Back,� the Eddy Grant-written classic, and his very own souped-up reggae tune “When One Stands�; both divulge the sense of spiritual kinship with the Clash.

There is no doubt that Nile is a songwriters’ songwriter. Singer-songwriters across the board hail his talents. 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. Lou Reed proclaims Streets of New York as “a great album,� while Little Steven adds, “Willie Nile is so good I can’t believe he’s not from New Jersey!�

The rock 'n' roll world is full of forgotten wonders who at one time seemed destined for stardom, now relegated to playing lesser venues, imagining all the while of what might have been.
Do yourself a favor, buy Streets of New York, listen to it and revele in the strength, clarity and messages of insight delivered by a great voice of our times and-in the case of Willie Nile, what should have been.