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3 Issues
2 Reviews
This collection starts off nicely with some classic New Orleans R&B featuring the honey-with-a-touch-of-melancholy vocals of Aaron Neville. That covers the first disc. By the mid-70's the Neville brothers were past their prime. Unfortunately, the quality of disc 2, which covers the mid-70's into the mid-80's doesn't stack up. The songwriting isn't as strong and the production is too glossy.
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This is a very enjoyable selection of songs from the first three decades of the Nevilles' career. It starts off with "Mardi Gras Mambo", a primitive-sounding song by the Hawketts featuring Art Neville. This is followed by a series of solo efforts, mostly by Art and Aaron, stretching into the mid-70s. The songs from this period start out more or less in the doo-wop category; they include the lovely and moving soul ballad "Let's Live", and are marred only by the inclusion of "Over You", which is one of those "I will kill you if you try to leave me" songs that just sound bizarrely psychotic these days. The songs from the early 70s find Aaron moving in the direction of being one more soul singer, albeit one tending towards relatively dark and serious subject matter in the fashion of Marvin Gaye and Curtis Mayfield. An abrupt change comes with the inclusion of two cuts from a 1976 album by the Wild Tchoupitoulas, a Mardi Gras "Indian" group formed by the Nevilles' uncle; the Neville Brothers and members of the Meters help out. The songs have a traditional sound, featuring call-and-response style chants typical of the classic New Orleans Mardi Gras revels. This marked the advent of the Neville Brothers as a group. The remaining songs on the album nicely represent the Brothers' sound: eclectic, rootsy but imbued with the group's personality, and typically with thoughtful and positive lyrics.
Note: I am reviewing the vinyl version of this album. The CD version includes four extra cuts; also, whereas the LP includes the original 1966 version of Aaron's #2 Billboard hit "Tell It Like It Is", the CD apparently substitutes a Neville Brothers version.
Note: I am reviewing the vinyl version of this album. The CD version includes four extra cuts; also, whereas the LP includes the original 1966 version of Aaron's #2 Billboard hit "Tell It Like It Is", the CD apparently substitutes a Neville Brothers version.
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26 Dec 2023
22 Feb 2023
28 Sep 2019
5 Feb 2018
7 May 2017
19 Jan 2017
18 Jul 2016
26 Sep 2015
23 Jan 2015
27 Sep 2014
7 May 2014
11 Nov 2013
23 Jan 2013
3 Jun 2012
29 Mar 2012
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