Willie Nile's style has never been monochromatic, either as a songwriter or a performer, but over the course of a recording career that was launched in 1980, two things have been consistent – the guy clearly loves rock & roll, and he sure likes guitars (Nile even released an album called House of a Thousand Guitars). So was anyone out there expecting Nile to make an entire album of contemplative, midtempo acoustic numbers built around the guy playing piano? In many respects, If I Were a River upends the average fan's expectations about a Willie Nile album (especially after 2013's decisively rockin' American Ride), although the dramatic force of Nile's songwriting and the passion of his vocals should be more than familiar to anyone who has been listening to his music over the years

"There's a lot going on in this world between the good, the bad and the in-between, and this album attempts to ride some of those horses," Willie Nile says of his memorably-titled new album World War Willie. The dozen-song set lives up to Nile's reputation as a world-class songwriter, a singularly energetic performer and a true rock 'n' roll believer. Currently in the fourth decade of a recording career that's yielded a panoply of musical riches, the New York-bred artist is currently experiencing an exciting renaissance at a time when many of his contemporaries are winding down or giving up. World War Willie lives up to that standard with some of the most resonant songwriting and performances of Nile's career.

After releasing a pair of fine albums for Arista, Willie Nile signed a deal with Geffen Records in 1982, but a dispute with the label put Nile's recording career in limbo, and he ended up not making an album until he struck a deal with Columbia and released Places I Have Never Been in 1991. While in many respects Nile's debut was the purest expression of his music, Places I Have Never Been is where he really nailed the elements of record making; unlike the lean, stark textures of Willie Nile or the overcooked bombast of Golden Down, Places I Have Never Been boasts a sound and an approach that really flatter Nile's songs, and it's certainly his most eclectic and musically adventurous major-label set. T-Bone Wolk and Stewart Lerman produced the album with Nile, and though there's a bit more polish on these tracks than they really need, the team also matched up Nile with some stellar studio players (as well as some Grade-A guest stars, among them Roger McGuinn and Richard Thompson), and they fill out Nile's arrangements with a lot more finesse than on his previous sets.

If early 2006 is remembered for nothing else, it will go down in history for the two greatest urban Americana albums of the 21st century to date – Dion's Bronx in Blue and Willie Nile's Streets of New York, a swaggering braggart of a disc that is to the modern Apple everything that Lou Reed's New York was 15 years before. The opening "Welcome to My Head" sets the stage, raising the curtain on a fantasy vision of the city nightlife that sums up every dream Broadway and beyond have ever instilled in the mind of the outsider, and set to a crunchy guitar melody that is as real as the streets that stretch out from there. It might be Nile's first album in six years, but it sounds as though he's been planning it his entire life – even the songs that slip outside of the city concept ("Asking Annie Out" is the first) share the crowded, bustling air of the more "relevant" rockers, while "The Day I Saw Bo Diddley in Washington Square" paints the scene so firmly that you'll see him, too. Even more impressively, the backing rarely motors in the directions you'd expect. Fiddles keen and a mandolin pounds, while Nile borrowed his band from as far afield as John Mellencamp and Rosanne Cash.

Willie Nile, The Bottom Line Archive 1980-2000, is two disc set, separated by a 20 year gap, and is a great example of Nile's long term staying power, and the loyalty that Bottom Line owner/curator, Allan Pepper (booker, or talent buyer does not suffice) extends to the artists that he really believes in. Exhibit a is this double-disc affair, highlighting two distinct eras in Nile's 35-year career. It is worth noting that one of the primary reasons we can enjoy the temporal contrasts contained in this collection is simply because, when Willie was ready to come back, Allan Pepper was just as ready to welcome him back to The Bottom Line. It was a second home for me, gushes Nile. Allan and the whole vibe of the club was so musician-friendly and warm. It was just the best place to play for that reason.

American Ride is the ninth studio album from American musician Willie Nile. It was released in June 2013 under Loud & Proud Records. A hell of a lot has been written about rock & roll singer/songwriter Willie Nile since he made his Arista debut in 1981. Musicians and press alike have sung his praises across the globe, yet mainstream success has always proved elusive. It hasn't deterred him, however; he's continued to issue new recordings – albeit sporadically – that have been lyrically consistent, and contain enough deft, melodic hooks, to justify his unrepentant swagger. The recording of American Ride, the follow-up to his killer Innocent Ones from 2011, was funded by a successful Pledge Music campaign; it was to be issued independently. Loud & Proud's Tom Lipsky intervened after hearing it, and made Nile the signature signing for the label's new distribution deal with Sony's RED.

Willie Nile Uncovered -40 Years of Willie Nile, celebrates the illustrious career of one of Rock 'n' Roll's unsung heroes. Featuring tracks by Nils Lofgren, Graham Parker, Richard Barone, Richard Shindell, Elliott Murphy, John Gorka, Slaid Cleaves, James Maddock, Dan Bern, Kenny White, Rod Picott, Jen Chapin, Caroline Doctorow, Emily Duff, Pete Mancini and more, we look back on Willie Nile's vast catalog of songs. His songs are interpreted in many styles including Rock, Americana, Country, Roots, Folk and more.