Valence Street (CD - 1999)

The Neville Brothers: Charles Neville (vocals, flute, soprano, alto & tenor saxophones); Art Neville (vocals, organ, keyboards); Aaron Neville, Cyril Neville (vocals).

The Neville Brothers Band: Shane Theriot (guitar); Eric Kolb, Saya Saito (keyboards); Nick Daniels (bass, background vocals); Willie Green (drums); Earl Smith (background vocals).

Additional personnel: Tommy Sims (acoustic & electric guitars, keyboards, bass, background vocals); Phil Madeira (electric, slide & lap steel guitars, slide dobro, accordion, Hammond B-3 organ, Wurlitzer piano); Jerry McPherson (electric & E-bow guitars); Gordon Kennedy, William Owsley, Andrew Ramsey (electric guitar); Mark Douthit (flute, tenor saxophone); Tim Akers (clarinet, piano); Michael Haynes (trumpet); Barry Green (trombone); Jennifer Kummer (French horn); Jerry Duplessis (bass); Steve Brewster, Dan Needham (drums); Darrell Tibbs (percussion); DJ Skribble (scratches); Aaron Neville Jr (background vocals); The Nashville String Machine.

Producers: The Neville Brothers, Wyclef Jean.

Recorded at Woodland Studios and Sound Stage, Nashville, Tennessee; American Sector Studios, New Orleans, Louisiana; Chung King Studios, New York, New York.

VALENCE STREET was nominated for the 2000 Grammy Award for Best R&B Vocal Performance.

Personnel: Shane Theriot (guitar); Tommy Sims (acoustic guitar, electric guitar, keyboards, background vocals); Phil Madeira (electric guitar, slide guitar, lap steel guitar, dobro, accordion, Wurlitzer organ); Gordon Kennedy, Jerry McPherson, Andrew Ramsey (electric guitar); Carl Gorodetzky (strings); Mark Douthit (flute, tenor saxophone); Tim Akers (clarinet, piano); Michael Haynes (trumpet); Barry Green (trombone); Eric Kolb (keyboards); Willie Green , Steve Brewster, Dan Needham (drums); Nick Daniels (background vocals).

Audio Mixer: David Leonard.

Recording information: American Sector Studios, New Orleans, LA; Chung King St; Sound Stage, Nashville, TN; Woodland Studios, Nashville, TN.

For their Columbia Records debut, the Neville Brothers returned to a classic production and songwriting style more typical of their early years than of their work of the 1980s and '90s, and they named it after the street they grew up on to signal their renewed focus on local concerns. Gone was the wet, murky sound mix of Daniel Lanois, replaced by dry aural clarity and precise instrument placement in a production by the brothers themselves. While retaining the second-line funk rhythms of New Orleans, their music hewed much more to a traditional R&B/soul sound, with little dabbling in world music. The title track, written by Charles, was even an instrumental that wouldn't have sounded out of place on a Meters album, and you could also say that about "Real Funk," co-written by Art. Though the brothers traded off vocals and Cyril turned in an excellent performance on the soulful romantic ballad "Until We Meet Again," co-written by Charles, Aaron's voice had long since become so identifiable beyond the group that his vocals on songs like "Little Piece of Heaven," the standard "If I Had a Hammer," and "Give Me a Reason," and even in occasional asides on other songs, tended to stick out the way Michael Jackson used to on Jackson's albums, rendering him, through no one's fault, a solo artist within a group and hurting the record's overall balance. ~ William Ruhlmann

Named after the uptown New Orleans block where the Neville Brothers grew up, VALENCE STREET finds Louisiana's first musical family exploring different corners of the black music idiom. This record ranges from the sinewy instrumental title track, led by the saxophone of Charles Neville, to the syncopated rhythms and chants of "Real Funk," the latter bringing to mind Art Neville's work with The Meters. The Nevilles also handle contemporary R&B well. Such quiet-storm fare as "Until We Meet Again" and "Utterly Beloved" is gilded with lush string arrangements and made noteworthy by younger brother Cyril's raspy vocal style. A duet with Wyclef Jean on "Mona Lisa" finds the Nevilles easily absorbing the nuances and beats of hip-hop.

Aaron Neville's angelic voice continues to soar with a depth seemingly unaffected by time, most notably on the Cate Brothers' "Give Me A Reason." Other interesting covers include a version of Pete Seeger's "If I Had A Hammer" that percolates with insistent rhythms, and the Brothers' take on Richard Thompson's "Dimming Of The Day," sung by eldest brother Art Neville and reverberating with Phil Madeira's twangy lap steel. minimize