The Neville Brothers

Despite having a fearsomely soulful lead singer, flawless harmony vocals, and the finest rhythm section in New Orleans, the Neville Brothers have never achieved a level of success commensurate with their talent. Although the four Nevilles, Aaron, Art, Charles, and Cyril, had been kicking around the New Orleans music scene since the mid-'50s, when Aaron and Art were members of the Hawketts, the Neville Brothers as such didn't come together as a band until after the quartet had united behind the Wild Tchoupitoulas. What made the Tchoupitoulas album so exciting was the ease with which the group meshed contemporary funk licks with traditional Mardi Gras parade rhythms. But there's almost no sign of that sound on The Neville Brothers, where the group wastes its time on such calculated attempts at R&B currency as "Dancin' Jones" (an insipid paean to the Rolling Stones) and "Vieux Carré Rouge" (a pleasant-but-pedestrian soul ballad). Only "All Nights, All Right" and a version of John Hiatt's "Washable Ink" save the album from irrelevancy. Fiyo on the Bayou puts the band back on track. Some of the added punch can be attributed to the addition of guitarist Leo Nocentelli (who'd played in the Meters with Art and Cyril) to the rhythm section, but the real secret to this album's success is the shift in focus away from the R&B charts and toward the Crescent City. Apart from "Mona Lisa" and "The Ten Commandments of Love," a pair of oldies included to frame Aaron's otherworldly tenor, the songs are mostly traditional, lending the album a rootsy richness. Yet despite rave reviews, Fiyo on the Bayou made barely a blip on the pop charts; likewise, the stunning Neville-ization, which documents the group's legendary live act, failed to reach beyond the faithful. (Live at Tipitina's offers additional material from the same concert). Perhaps that explains the desperation of Uptown, an ill-advised attempt at mainstream respectability that not only downplays the New Orleans elements, but actually stiffens the groove with sequencers and electronic percussion.

By this point, the Nevilles' past appeared far more promising than their future -- hence the intoxicating nostalgia of Treacherous, which mixes early solo singles by Art, Aaron, and Cyril with selections from The Wild Tchoupitoulas, The Neville Brothers, and Fiyo on the Bayou. Treacherous Too! continues in that vein, with more solo stuff and excerpts from Neville-ization, while Charly's Legacy takes a pre–Neville Brothers approach, augmenting its Art and Aaron tracks with tunes by the Meters. But just when it seemed the Nevilles would never find a way to reconcile their sound with the modern pop market, the group went into the studio with producer Daniel Lanois, emerging with the triumphant Yellow Moon, an album that manages to find room for such contemporary touches as rap ("Sister Rosa," a tribute to civil rights figure Rosa Parks) without compromising or corrupting the Nevilles' identity. Having found their formula, the Nevilles went back for more on Brother's Keeper, which may lack the eerie atmospherics of Yellow Moon but otherwise maintains its musical balance, thanks to touches like the low-key funk of "Witness" or the thick, dark harmonies of "Brother Blood." With the exception of the rootsy Valence Street, none of the band's recent work has come close. (J.D. CONSIDINE)

From 2004's The New Rolling Stone Album Guide