Sometimes I tend to buy albums on blind faith. In a constant search for new music and with hopes of further broadening my horizons I endlessly search music stores for music that just looks like it might be interesting. Now I would say this is not a smart way to go about finding music, considering I have BitTorrent at my disposal and everything. I'll admit I've made quite a few mistakes (The Dears, Aiden, The Swarm of the Locust, etc.) but that hasn't stopped me. And thus, I was casually waiting for my grande chai tea latte at the local Starbucks and decided to look at the albums on display there. Typical, yawn-inducing coffee house music...but who are these Little Willies? And what kind of name is that? In a strange pique of interest I decided to look at it and to my surprise saw Norah Jones was a member of this band, and being a huge fan of her as I am I decided one more random album purchase won't hurt...
And thus I present to you the Little Willies, named respectively in honor of Willie Nelson, comprised of a bunch of unknown musicians...but most importantly Norah Jones. Basically, the album is almost entirely covers, somethng I didn't find out until about halfway through listening. They are covers primarily of classic country and blues songs, and a whole lot of Willie Nelson. Sprinkled throughout are a couple of originals as well.
The overall feel of the album is very old-fashioned and kind of interesting. It really does throw me back to the golden days of Willie Nelson (even though I was not alive then) and makes me respect him more as a musician. Some of them are just too awkward to be considered good covers though, especially their rendition of "Gotta Get Drunk". This song is sung entirely by Norah Jones, and although hearing her normally soft-spoken, swooning voice break loose into something spectacular is quite the spectacle, it's odd hearing such a sweet, innocent looking beauty of a woman belt lyrics about downing beers and getting drunk. That being said, it's still an enjoyable listen and throws me back thirty years in time...it's quite the trip.
The Hank Williams cover of "I'll Never Get Out of this World Alive" is also rather interesting, but the male vocalist of this band doesn't really fit. His voice is in no way the kind of music that fits in the genre. It's not that his voice is bad, it's just not very country. Without that familar twang it's hard to fully revel in the great musicianship of these covers. The Gram Parson's cover of "Streets of Baltimore" is well put together and once again pays tribute to a great in a great way.
The true standouts of this album though come solely because of Jones and her wonderful voice and lovely piano skills. The covers of "Love Me" and "Roll On" use her to her highest potential, and shows that she actually does gel quite nicely with the rest of the band. It's truly worth hearing this album just to hear Norah Jones really break loose like I've never heard her before.
Now, with all these covers, what about the only two originals on this album? It's hard to judge a band's songwriting skills based on just two originals, but I will tell you this..."Easy as the Rain" is an incredible, down-beat country ballad that actually mixes in well with the covers of classics. In fact, I will go as far to say that this is probably one of my favorite tracks on here. Norah Jones resorts back to her soft whispering vocals and the duet with her band counterpart Richard Julian is nice. Their voices fit together more on this song than on any other. However, the other original on this album named "Lou Reed"...I honestly think just has to be a joke. Just look at these lyrics:
And we don't mean to sound like we're trippin'
But we swear to God we saw Lou Reed cow-tippin'
That made me laugh. And it gets even more amusing...as dialogue between Norah Jones and Richard Julian ensues, trading horrible non funny lines about Lou Reed and cow-tippin'. Horrible. But it does have it's strengths, as it does remind me of a bunch of drunks gathered at a bar singing a song. There's even a group of deep voiced guys adding background vocals that remind me of that scene in Beauty and the Beast where Gustan is singing in the bar....(yeah don't ask). And please listen about halfway through, you will hear Norah Jones sing like she never has before...it's quite amazing actually considering the song is the cheesiest thing I have ever heard.
"Do you really think that was Lou Reed?"
"Sure he was, he was wearing black levi's!"
"I thought he was a vegetarian?"
"He was just tippin' em' over, he wasn't eating em'!"
Aside from that amusing escapade, the album isn't too bad. It's a nice mixture of blues, honky-tonk, and country. It's a beautiful tribute to the artists that made those genres. It's another chance to hear Norah Jones and that alone makes it all worth it. Overall, I'm slightly dissappointed that is was a mainly covers record...because if they could write stuff more like "Easy as the Rain" they could become something interesting. They just have to stay away from the cheesy humor of "Lou Reed" because it just isn't working for them. Still, it's a good album for what it is and is a very enjoyable listen, it's just not for everyone.
Standout tracks:
Love Me
I'll Never Get Out of this World Alive
Roll On
I Gotta Get Drunk
Easy as the Rain
