A cool surf guitar intro leads into the energetic opening number, "Wild Wild World." It does feel like we are dancing toward oblivion these days, doesn't it? And this song has that exact vibe; it is a whole lot of fun, feeling like a party, while the lyrics are about some of the crazy stuff happening, natural and otherwise. It certainly is a wild, wild world. And so what do we do? My selfish inclination is to enjoy myself as much as possible. We get only one shot at this thing. So who the hell wants to spend what little time he or she has all stressed out and miserable? This music encourages us to dance, to throw ourselves about in delightful abandon, and that is just what I aim to do. "Laughter in the Kremlin, chuckles in Versailles/Big guffaws in Washington, and I think I know why/'Cause it's a wild, wild, wild, wild world." It's a great, positive celebration to kick off the album. Then "We Are, We Are" has a harder rock vibe from the beginning, a sort of rock anthem. "We're young and strong, we are we are/We're righting wrongs, we are we are/We're heading for the stars." Yes, so positive here too, and we need that. Don't be surprised if you find yourself singing along with this track. And though Willie Nile is about to be 77, he is not fooling you with that "We're young and strong" line. His energy is tremendous. If you get the chance, I highly recommend seeing him in concert. You'll get a sense of what his live shows are about when listening to this track.
"Electrify Me" is another energetic rock number. I've heard people say things like fifty is the new forty, that sort of idea, but when Willie Nile is the subject, seventy-six is the new twenty-one. This song seriously rocks. We need this music. Our bodies, our souls are eager for it, for its taste, for its spirit. "You look like water but you taste like wine/Your touch sends shivers up and down my spine/Electrify me." That's followed by "An Irish Goodbye," one of the songs he played at that show on my birthday. That night he talked a bit about what people mean by an Irish goodbye. Basically, it's when you leave a party, or any sort of gathering I suppose, without any kind of formal farewell, just slipping out without a word. And the song is about that final goodbye. Most of us slip out without proclaiming our exits, without any special final words. This track has something of a different sound from the previous tracks. That is in part due to the presence of Chris Byrne (of Black 47) on uilleann pipes and bodhran, Fred Parcells (of Black 47) on tin whistle and trombone, and David Mansfield (who has played with Bob Dylan and Bruce Hornsby) on mandolin. Yeah, there is a wonderful Celtic vibe to this track. At the concert, Willie had the audience singing along to this song: "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, the angels know why/I'll just say an Irish goodbye." Paul Brady joins Willie on vocals on this track, and Larry Kirwan (of Black 47) is on backing vocals. This is a wonderful and uplifting song about death, featuring some delicious percussion.
The album's title track, "The Great Yellow Light," is another highlight. I love the way it builds at the beginning as he describes that magical moment. And what a fantastic vocal performance. "I was dreaming of a girl/With wonder in her eyes and thunder in her heart." Then it suddenly kicks in. We feel we are experiencing that joy, that wonder, that magic ourselves. Willie Nile is able to tap into our own memories of great joy, to reshape our memories, make them shine brighter, make them even more momentous, more meaningful, more powerful. The music and our pasts combine, along with our own desires for the present. This track returns us to the beginning at the end. Andy Burton is on keys for this one. That's followed by "Tryin' To Make A Livin' In The U.S.A.," another song that he played at that concert on my birthday. It's a playful number about the good a hit record would do for his bank account, and also about the fun of being a musician. We can feel that fun in every beat, every note, particularly in his vocal performance. "The bums I used to know now can sleep in satin sheets/All the people that I owe will be dancin' in the streets/They're gonna put my face on the hundred dollar bill/Open tab at the bar, gonna drink my fill." I love Rob Ryman's work on accordion. And I love the line, "If this is all a dream, don't wake me up."
"Fall On Me" has a sweeter vibe, its opening lines being, "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 you're gonna fall, fall on me." This one will likely speak to most of us, with lines like "When all your dreams just won't come true/And you can't take it like you could before." Don't we all feel a bit sad, a bit broken? We all need a special someone who will be there when we crumble, and crumbling feels inevitable these days. But, maybe, just maybe, with music like this, we'll manage to avoid it. This music catches us even before we fall. Isn't it wonderful how music can do that? This song was written by Willie Nile and Frankie Lee. "What Color Is Love" was also written by Willie Nile and Frankie Lee. This is a pretty song with a passionate, moving vocal performance. "So far have I traveled, so much have I seen/How long must I wonder is it all a dream."
"Wake up America, red white and blue/You used to be great, what happened to you?" Willie Nile sings in "Wake Up America," addressing the country as a whole. I'm not sure exactly when this nation was great, but we all know it really did try to live up to its ideals until very recently. We all know that something went horribly wrong in 2016 and even worse in 2024, that things were much better before the fascist morons took over. This country has lost nearly all the things that were good about it. Actually, it didn't lose them so much as deliberately jettison them. Is it too late to get them back? Listening to Willie Nile, the answer seems to be no. Hope still lives here. And Steve Earle joins him on vocals for this one. "Sometimes you get it right, sometimes you get it wrong/I know you're not perfect, sometimes you break down," Steve sings. And Waddy Wachtel is on electric guitar for this one. "Wake up America, do you know who I am/I'm one of the millions, do you even give a damn/I'm the son of immigrants, I'm a daughter of slaves." What is sad to me is that the people who need to hear this song will certainly not hear it. Yet the music is still hopeful. We are better than everything that is happening now. I hope that's true. "Wake up America before it's too late." The album concludes with another hopeful song, "Washington's Day," in which Willie sings, "Now when this world and that world collide/And the powers that be hit you low/When you're feelin' so small in the face of it all." Eric Bazilian (of The Hooters) plays mandola on this track, and co-wrote the song with Rob Hyman, Rick Chertoff and Willie Nile. It's a song of compassion and the promise of a better, more humane tomorrow. It is a song that feels like a great embrace, a song that pulls everyone in, a song we need.
CD Track List
- Wild Wild World
- We Are, We Are
- Electrify Me
- An Irish Goodbye
- The Great Yellow Light
- Tryin' To Make A Livin' In The U.S.A.
- Fall On Me
- What Color Is Love
- Wake Up America
- Washington's Day
The Great Yellow Light is scheduled to be released on June 20, 2025 on River House Records.
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