The Little Willies debut rounds up with a couple of originals: the slow ballad “Easy As The Rain” and the humorous “Lou Reed,” which should be noted is the band’s longest number, soaring high at a whopping 4:14. That says a little something right there. “Easy As The Rain,” penned by Julian and Campilongo, is a beautiful love song that spotlights the chemistry of Jones and Julian’s vocals. This sweet ballad is easy on the ears and tugs on heartstrings without being overly sentimental or sappy. The closing track is the odd “Lou Reed,” a very playful little ditty that has Julian giving his best impression of the fellow New Yorker and rock pioneer; what a wonderful way to end their first album. On their final number, we get a chance to hear the entire band join in on vocals and have a blast together, solidifying their “live” sound.
The Little Willies debut album is a joyous expression of five talented musicians coming together to have a good time making music the way music should be made. Simple and passionate without being overdone or pretentious this band is tight and yet maintains a loose, live sound that keeps this album moving right along. The entire band is solid from the backbone of Lee Alexander and the bottom of Dan Rieser to the piano/vocal skills of Norah Jones and Richard Julian’s singing/ songwriting weaved all together by Campilongo. This New York City unit is purely masterful at what they do. They deliver on that big sound and keep us longing to hear more from them in the future. One can only hope that it’s the near future and a venue close to home because with every spin this disk just keeps getting better and better.
Here’s to the Little Willies and their big sound so let’s all “take another round.”
And for those interested in originality and a strong country sound I recommend looking for Jesse Dayton’s Tall Texas Tales; Jesse has more of a country feel but that same passion for what he does.
Review by Fantasma el Rey
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.