Willie Nile is an underappreciated rock & roll hero who has been living in New York City's Greenwich Village since the early 1970s, so if anyone would be a good choice to write an album about life in the city, it would be him. Of course, he's not the first New Yorker to try that, and it's not even
Nile's first shot at this, having released
Streets of New York in 2006. But while
Lou Reed's 1989 masterpiece
New York was a warts-and-all appreciation of the best and worst the city had to offer,
Nile's 2020 release
New York at Night is the work of a guy who has nothing but love for his hometown, to the point that plenty of these songs could be used to lure visitors to the Big Apple.
Nile's album is divided between celebrations of the possibilities of life in New York and character sketches informed by his many years there. The songs are just gritty enough to suggest this was informed by the pre-gentrification era of the city, but laced with enough romance that he wasn't going to badmouth his favorite place in the world, even if it was in decline.
New York at Night might suggest a certain nostalgia for past glories rather than a cold, clear look at the city in the 21st century (it's actually kind of sweet that he thinks they're still listening to New Jack Swing in Bed-Stuy), but the songs about after-dark adventures are plenty of fun, the love songs are full of heart and wonder, and the live-wire passion that has always informed
Nile's best work is still strong and plentiful here, no small thing considering this was released less than a month before the guy turned 72.
Nile's band (featuring
Jimi K. Bones and
Matt Hogan on guitars,
Johnny Pisano on bass, and Jon Webe on drums) brings snap and fire to the performances, and producer
Stewart Lerman keeps the audio full-bodied but clear and clean.
New York at Night may not be the best album ever made about the Greatest City in the World, but it's smart, exciting, and hot-wired rock & roll from a guy who clearly knows plenty about his city and his music, and it's a reminder that he's one of the best rockers New York has left.