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b"In his three and a half decades as a recording artist, Willie Nile has earned a reputation as both a fiercely committed rock\\xa0\\u2019n\\u2019 roller and a singularly insightful songwriter. It\\u2019s Nile\\u2019s introspective side that fuels If I Was A River, a deeply compelling ten-song collection that diverges from his usual sound, while affirming the remarkable melodic and lyrical skills that have long endeared the artist to his passionately loyal fan base.Working with Grammy-winning producer Stewart Lerman (Boardwalk Empire, Antony and the Johnsons, Loudon Wainwright III, Dar Williams) Nile recorded the material in an appropriately spare environment that helped to capture the songs\\u2019 intimacy and immediacy. He also employed the same Steinway Grand piano that he'd played 34 years earlier on the evening of the death of John Lennon, while both Lennon and Nile were recording at Manhattan\\u2019s Record Plant. When Nile was working on If I Was A River, the legendary piano was residing at Hobo Sound in Weehawken, NJ, where he recorded the new album with a minimum of embellishment or trickery.\\xa0\\xa0If I Was A River also features some\\xa0contributions from guitar master Steuart Smith (of Eagles/Rosanne Cash/Rodney Crowell fame) and multi-instrumental stringmaster David Mansfield (whose voluminous credits range from Bob Dylan to Johnny Cash to Yo La Tengo), along with backing vocals from singer-songwriter and frequent Nile co-writer Frankie Lee.It\\u2019s hard to think of many other artists who are doing some of their best work in the fourth decade of their careers, but Willie Nile continues to seek out new creative challenges and conquer new musical territory.\\u201cDoing this album was liberating in many ways,\\u201d he states. \\u201cI learned that it\\u2019s fun to change horses and take different roads from time to time as one travels through life, and I think I'll carry that lesson with me in the records that I make in the future.?"