Little Willies: Big Fun

The Little Willies
The Little Willies
(Milking Bull/EMI)

Norah Jones might have collected an armload of Grammys for her jazz/pop confection "Come Away With Me" in 2003, but she's always had a country side. She grew up in Texas an unabashed Willie Nelson fan, covered Hank Williams' "Cold, Cold Heart" on that award-winning debut and enlisted Dolly Parton to sing on her follow-up, "Feels Like Home." So it's hardly a surprise that her latest project is an album of country covers and a handful of originals recorded with friends playing under the tee-hee-inducing moniker The Little Willies.

Aside from Jones (vocals, piano), the group comprises country-jazz guitarist Jim Campilongo, singer-songwriter Richard Julian (vocals, guitar), bassist Lee Alexander and drummer Dan Rieser. They cover a lot of ground, touching on country, western swing and blues and exhibit outstanding musicianship in each style.

The players' jazz leanings are discernable, but their respectful treatment of the music shows that it's passion and not pearl-snap shirts that makes it authentic. These are seasoned players who hang out in hip New York clubs and yet it's clear that they not only like the music but they have fun playing it. That's really the key here: this disc will grab you because you can hear the fun, from the band name down to the joyful noise coming out of your speakers.

Double entendre aside, the band name is a tribute to Nelson, who is represented here by "I Gotta Get Drunk" and "Night Life." The group does justice to his tunes and the other covers, which include Fred Rose's "Roly Poly," the Rose-Hank Williams co-write "I'll Never Get Out of This World Alive," Kris Kristofferson's "Best of All Possible Worlds," Townes Van Zandt's "No Place to Fall," Tompall Glaser and Harlan Howard's "Streets of Baltimore," and Jimmy Driftwood's "Tennessee Stud."

Though she's only 26, Jones' sultry voice has become an instantly recognizable signature, and it serves her well on "Night Life" and Julian's "It's Not You It's Me." Julian has a gently weathered, Lyle Lovett-like quality to his voice that is pleasingly effective, particularly on "Best of All Possible Worlds" and Alexander's "Roll On." Jones and Julian duet sweetly on Julian and Campilongo's "Easy as the Rain."

In fact, there's only one sour note � the closer, "Lou Reed." The premise is good � the band imagines it sees Lou Reed out tipping cows � but it's much better on paper than in practice. It's entertaining the first time but, like most novelty songs, it's tiresome when the novelty wears off.

Though "Lou Reed" certainly fits the album's overarching theme of "fun," a little more Willie would have been nice instead. More Little Willies discs would be welcome, too.