Search - Neville Brothers :: Gold

The Heart and Soul of New Orleans

Steve Vrana | Aurora, NE | 03/01/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"As I write this, it's the evening of Fat Tuesday. A scaled-down Mardi Gras celebration in a city ravished by hurricanes attempts to add a sense of what passes for normalcy these days in the Crescent City. There are a number of acts closely identified with New Orleans: Huey "Piano" Smith, Professor Longhair, Fats Domino, Dr. John. But one of the pillars of New Orleans R&B are the Neville Brothers. And this 2-disc compilation covers five decades of their history from the Art Neville-led Hawketts' 1954 hit "Mardi Gras Mambo" through 2004's "Walkin' in the Shadow of Life" (from the album of the same name).



Across 32 tracks, this collection hits all the right notes. There's Aaron's first hit from 1960 "Over You," as well as his signature song, "Tell It Like It Is." As the Meters, Art had an instrumental hit with "Cissy Strut" in 1969 and "Look-Ka Py Py" in 1970. As The Wild Tchoupitoulas, they record "Brother John in 1976. It wasn't until 1977 that they recorded as The Neville Brothers, including "Brother John" and "Washable Ink" from their eponymous debut. Perhaps their best album was FIYO ON THE BAYOU. Four tracks are included from this landmark recording: "Sitting in Limbo," "Mona Lisa (Dedicated to Bette Middler)," "Fire on the Bayou" and "Hey Pocky Way." [This album impressed the Rolling Stones enough to have The Neville Brothers as the opening act for several shows during their 1982 US tour.]



The collection finishes with highlights from YELLOW (1989), BROTHER'S KEEPER (1990), FAMILY GROOVE (1992) and LIVE ON PLANET EARTH (1994), including a sizzling live version of "Voodoo." All told, this is two hours of the best of The Neville Brothers, who represent the heart and soul of New Orleans. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

"

Neville's 101

John J. Petersen | Pompton Plains, NJ USA | 03/29/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"As a casual Neville Brothers fan this is a great place to begin. The production of this cd is very gradual, because you are begining with primitive 1950's-60's soul and funk and gradually hearing more modern and funkier Nevilles sounds, In addition Aarons vocals are entirely different from all others.



This 2 disc cd is however a vital education into the evolution of not just Neville Brothers, but the history their particular genre of music. So kick back and enjoy"