一聽音樂網

One?of?the?freshest?country?albums?of?the?year?comes?not?out?of?Nashville,?but?rather?New?York,?from?a?sporadic?band?with?the?unlikely?(and?somewhat?suggestive)?moniker?of?the?Little?Willies.?At?times,?the?fivesome?(named?in?homage?to?Willie?Nelson)?hearkens?to?the?great?historic?western-swing?bands--crack,?loose-limbed?musicians?fronted?by?a?hypnotically?sublime?girl?singer.?If?that?sleepy?female?voice?(and?her?distinctive?piano)?sounds?astonishingly?like?Norah?Jones,?that's?because?it?is?Jones,?exploring?the?country?side?of?the?blues.?The?group--rounded?out?by?Lee?Alexander?(bass),?Jim?Campilongo?(electric?guitar),?Richard?Julian?(guitar,?vocals),?and?Dan?Rieser?(drums)--formed?in?2003?to?play?the?Living?Room?on?New?York's?Lower?East?Side?and?just?do?the?classic?American?music?they?grew?up?enjoying.?That's?why?their?low-key?labor?of?love,?recorded?without?commercial?expectations?and?promoted?under?the?radar,?includes?both?originals?(including?the?achingly?sweet?"Easy?as?the?Rain")?and?covers?of?Hank?Williams's?"I'll?Never?Get?Out?of?This?World?Alive";?Nelson's?"I?Gotta?Get?Drunk"?and?"Nightlife";?Kris?Kristofferson's?"Best?of?All?Possible?Worlds";?Townes?Van?Zandt's?"No?Place?to?Fall";?and?Leiber?&?Stoller's?"Love?Me"?(made?great?by?Elvis?Presley).?Throughout,?the?record?maintains?the?slightly?inebriated,?bar-band?feel?of?a?live?club?performance,?especially?on?"Lou?Reed,"?a?very?funny?saga?of?a?cow-tipping?incident?possibly?involving?the?dark?rocker.?This?is?an?extraordinary?record,?
not?only?for?its?musicianship,?but?for?the?infectious?joy?and?exuberance?of?performers?who?remember?just?how?fun?it?is?to?play?music?from?the?inside?out.?--Alanna?Nash