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When venerable New York roots-rocker Willie Nile was readying Streets of New York for release in 2006, he did a club show at Manhattan’s Mercury Lounge to present its  consistently strong material, like “Welcome to My Head,” “Asking Annie Out” and the now-eulogistic “The Day I Saw Bo Diddley in Washington Square,” as well as a few choice back-catalogue selections. That live performance has now been released on DVD, with an audio CD of the performance included.

Nile is energetic and his voice – a folksinger’s whine energized into a rocker’s shout – is defiant. His band – Brad Albetta (bass), Frankie Lee and Rick Pagano (both percussion), Jimmy Vivino (guitar and keyboards) and Andy York (guitar) – has a tight, intuitive relationship with him, which especially comes through on the DVD. Performing mostly on guitar, Nile switches to piano for the last song, his mournful, gently romantic ballad “Streets of New York.” This should be a classic; it’s one of the finest songs about New York ever. Nile should keep releasing it every two years until it receives its due.

Standout Tracks (CD): “Heaven Help the Lonely,” “Streets of New York”

Special Features (DVD): Profile of the band members, with short interview snippets that explain how they and Nile met and how much they hold each other in regard (5 minutes); song introductions going through the DVD/CD tracklisting song by song as Nile, with input from the band, explains each tune’s origins along with other relevant details (25 minutes).

STEVEN ROSEN