WELCOME BACK Willie Nile

After four years, the New Yorker's new album was worth the wait. He also has a documentary on the way...

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Willie Nile released his self-titled debut in 1980. A singersongwriter with a rock'n'roll heart, he became the toast of NYC. After weathering more than a little record company drama and leaving the business for a decade, Nile returned. His new album, The Great Yellow Light, is a 10-track collection that includes anthemic rockers, passionate ballads and even an Irish singalong. It ranks with his debut, his 2006 masterpiece Streets Of New York and 2013's American Ride as one of his best records.

It's been almost four years since your last studio album. For you, that's a long time. Tell us about the past few years.

I put out nine albums in 12 years from 2009 to 2021. New York At Night came out at the very beginning of Covid, so that was [early] 2020. Then the next year I put out The Day The Earth Stood Still. It came out in the summer of 2021.