The Neville Brothers (Acadia)
Neville Brothers
Producer: Jack Nitzche
Acadia, 2008
1 CD
Catalogue #: 8202
EAN: 0805772820227
UPC: 805772820227
You save: 20%
Neville Brothers: Charles Neville (horns, percussion, vocals); Arthur Neville, Jr. (keyboards, vocals); Cyril Neville (congas, vocals); Aaron Neville (percussion, vocals).
Additional personnel: Casey Kelly (guitar, harmonica); Jimmie Ballero, Tony Berg (guitar); Gerald Tillman (organ); Eugene Synegal (bass); Newton Mossop, Jr. (drums).
Recorded at Studio In The Country, Bogalusa, Louisiana.
In the 1980s, the Neville Brothers would become New Orleans' musical ambassadors, not just to the rest of the U.S., but to the world at large. Though there are Crescent City fingerprints on everything the band has done, their 1978 debut album is a bit less New Orleans-centric than some of their later releases. The rock, funk, and soul elements of the band's sound are less syncretic in this early stage; the John Hiatt tune "Washable Ink" and the Lieber & Stoller oddity "Dancin' Jones" bear a little less of the overt swampy mojo that would become the Nevilles' stock in trade, But other tracks are Big Easy all over. One of the Nevilles' most powerful weapons, Aaron Neville's tremulous R&B choirboy vocal delivery (which would eventually come to seem like an overused affectation) is soft-pedaled here, and seems all the more effective for it. While this release undeniably finds the Neville Brothers in an embryonic state, they were nevertheless already an ensemble with which to be reckoned, and it's an intriguing chapter in the band's history.
Tracklist
Neville Brothers
Individually and collectively, the Neville Brothers hold an important place in the annals of New Orleans musical history. Since his first hit in 1966, Aaron Neville has had a successful solo career, while brother Art was a founding member of what is essentially the Crescent City's house band, the Meters. The four brothers, who also include Charles and Cyril, came together as a group in 1976 and offered a smooth mix of R&B, jazz, blues, and soul that could come only from New Orleans. The brothers continued to perform well into the 2000s, and were instrumental in the various projects to preserve New Orleans's cultural heritage in the wake of 2005's Hurricane Katrina.
