Rating:
Genre:
Rock
Release Date: 03/07/2006
The Little Willies could be called a supergroup if they had more than one star in their lineup. Instead, the quintet is a group of five New York musicians -- highlighted by pianist/vocalist
Norah Jones, but also featuring her regular bassist
Lee Alexander, guitarist/vocalist
Richard Julian, guitarist
Jim Campilongo, and drummer
Dan Rieser -- who originally came together to play a one-shot gig in 2003 at
the Living Room, and soon came to play the venue regularly, which eventually led to an eponymous album released in March of 2006. It's a casual, appealing collection of
country covers, spiked with four originals from various members of the band. It's so relaxed and low-key that it could be argued that
The Little Willies wouldn't garner much attention if it weren't for that one star in its midst,
Norah Jones, who became a superstar in part because her 2002 debut,
Come Away with Me, recalled the mellow, burnished vibe of classic
singer/songwriter albums from the '70s. A big part of that sound was built on
country-rock and both of
Jones' albums had an undercurrent of
country, so the
honky tonk and
Western swing stylings of
the Little Willies aren't a big stretch for her. In fact, their album has an intimate, relaxed feel reminiscent of the nightclub aura of
Come Away with Me, but that shouldn't suggest that
Jones is the star here. If anything,
the Little Willies are led by
Richard Julian, an N.Y.C.-based singer/songwriter who has released four albums since 1997. He not only takes lead vocals on just as many songs as
Jones, but he has a hand in three of the four originals (the
Jones-sung
"It's Not You It's Me," "Easy as the Rain," and
"Lou Reed"; the other,
"Roll On," was written by
Alexander, though it's also sung by
Jones), all of which fit well among such
standards as
"Roly Poly," "I'll Never Get Out of This World Alive," "Streets of Baltimore," "Tennessee Stud," and
"Night Life." But to suggest that there is a leader to
the Little Willies kind of misses the point -- this is a group that got together for a good time, and accordingly there's very little ego to be heard in the music itself. But where some jam sessions can veer toward the indulgent and insular, this is warm and friendly, unassuming and unpretentious, even when it gets a little jokey at the end with
"Lou Reed." And while
the Little Willies don't mess around with the arrangements of these familiar tunes at all --
"Roly Poly" begins just like
Bob Wills' original,
Elvis'
"Love Me" gets backing vocals patterned after
the Jordanaires (and the vocalists are punningly called
the Ordinaires on the back cover) -- it doesn't matter, because the band is not only good, but there's a palpable sense of enjoyment in their performances that comes through even though the music is decidedly low-key. Yet that relaxed nature is the very thing that makes
The Little Willies a gentle surprise -- maybe this isn't a major record, but it's thoroughly likeable record that doesn't lose its charm on repeated plays.
~Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
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