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Popular Neville Brothers: Nevillization II: Live at Tipitinas (Spindletop) We say: Glad to have it.
With so much contemporary pop music being processed, compressed and otherwise sanitized, it's a real treat to hear soulful ensemble music presented in such a direct, unfettered manner as Nevillization II. The album is a sequel to 1984's Nevillization (Black Top/Rounder), which showcased New Orleans' first family of music, the Neville Brothers, in a wonderfully spontaneous live show recorded in a hometown nightclub.
Although there are clearly some leftovers here, the album as a whole is first-rate. The eight-piece group, which contains four Nevilles, proves that in 1982 when the performances were recorded, it was one of the best live bands to be heard anywhere. Furthermore, the passage of more than five years has done nothing to dim the freshness of the music.
Although not prolific composers, the Nevilles show how creatively they can interpret other people's music. A flowing, reggae version of the Temptations' My Girl is enchanting; the corny 1973 Skylark hit Wildflower is transformed into a warm soulful ballad. Both of these songs are carried by the throaty, quavering falsetto of Aaron Neville. He also shines on the warm, lush ballad All Over Again.
The Nevilles, immersed in the Afro-Caribbean element of the Crescent City sound, play a strong, biting reggae original, Everybody's Got to Wake Up. With Art Neville's soul shout the song is driven by little more than bass and drums. Keyboards are added for color.
The sheer versatility of the band is further underscored by the instrumental Saib's Groove, a simple riff, based on blues changes, that blends a driving funk-rock beat with Bryan Stoltz's screaming, heavy metal-style guitar and a skittering soprano sax solo by Charles Neville. Most fusion bands wish they could spark this kind of energy.
The sassy, syncopated New Orleans sound is also on hand. The group gives the classic Little Liza Jane a rough-and-ready reading and on Rock 'n' Roll Medley the band smoothly shifts gears through some of the Crescent City's most noted tunes: Rockin' Pneumonia and the Boogie Woogie Flu, Chris Kenner's Something You Got, Barbara George's I Know and Everybody Loves a Lover.
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