With the energy, passion and fun put into their self-titled debut album The Little Willies could have easily chosen to call themselves The Big Willies. Names aside, this jamming five-piece band blends barrel house rhythm and blues with honky tonk country, reminding us of a time thought long past. The band, Lee Alexander (bass) Jim Campilongo (electric guitar) Norah Jones (piano, vocals) Richard Julian (guitar, vocals) Dan Rieser (drums), and their name conjure up images of backwoods shacks and hole-in-the-wall juke joints packed with all kinds of cats having a good time late into the night. And that’s just what this band of musician friends from New York does: have a good time.
The band kicks off the disk with a classic of western swing “Roly Poly.” The band shows its ability to jump quickly. From the opening bass/drum thump and guitar picking you can feel where these guys are going and where they’re coming from. Twenty-five seconds into the song and you’re jumping when Miss Jones flies to the front, tickling the ivories like Pete Johnson’s granddaughter instead of Ravi Shankar’s. Campilongo gives us just a taste of his picking prowess right before Jones and Julian come crashing in with hopping-mad vocals. Reenter Campilongo and more cooking guitar work, again followed by Jones who is simply on fire on this non-stop jump number, but not to be forgotten, the rhythm section comes back up front to close this solid sender. Check out Alexander’s bass run at the end, dueling with the piano before he thunders the track to a close.
The Little Willies keep their momentum going into the rolling “I’ll Never Get Out.” With Julian’s fine vocals and Jones’ backing you almost forget that this brother’s world is in a spin. Campilongo and Rieser really show us what they’ve got here; Campilongo is a gifted guitar slinger who can handle blues guitar like he was born and raised on Chicago’s south side.
After letting us know how hard they can jump and swing, The Willies let us rest a little but still leave us breathless with a wonderful reworking of the Lieber and Stoller classic “Love Me,” made popular by Elvis Presley. Yet here with Norah doing lead vocals and Richard supporting, we’re reminded, whether intentional or not, of the original R&B version by Willie and Ruth. I dig this track because The Little Willies blend both versions of this song perfectly, combining the melodic backing vocals from Presley’s version combined with strong R&B guitar work.
Article comments
1 - Lono
Bicho, great piece. I am crazy in love with this CD. I feel powerless against the charms of 'Streets of Baltimore', and am probably going to draft up a piece on same album for here as well.