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From rock and pop to second-line neoclassicism and cocktail
funk, the Neville Brothers have made lots of commendable albums
since 1977, when the four of them invested their collective 80-plus
years of professional experience in a single group. But only Yellow
Moon (A&M) has accomplished their cherished goal
of taking New Orleans into the future. Though gumbo purists will
claim that producer Daniel Lanois, a longtime associate of new Nevilles
sideman Brian Eno, isn't greasy enough, the old beats are there
in all their sweet, swaying syncopation. And if Lanois downplays
trap drums in favor of subtler percussion devices, getting a coolly
sublime sound that's sophisticated without ever whispering lounge,
the material thrives under the treatment: from black history lessons
like "My Blood" and "Sister Rosa" to New Orleans neoclassics like
"Voo Doo" and "Wild Injuns," these are the group's most articulate
songs ever. And then there are the voices. It's no surprise that
brother Aaron sings the shit out of "With God on Our Side"--this
man has sung the shit out of the Mickey Mouse Club theme. But wait
till you hear what brother Art, aided by a cunning bottleneck guitar,
does with "The Ballad of Hollis Brown."
Fine Young Cannibals' The Raw and the Cooked (I.R.S.) isn't
sublime, or ridiculous either. Slight, maybe--entertaining. Fronted
by the cutting vocal attack of Sammy and Rosie Get Laid sex
symbol Roland Gift and completed by onetime English Beat bass-and-guitar
David Steele and Andy Cox, the Cannibals have turned from bastard
ska to the undeniable pop English Beat mastermind David Wakeling
has jawed about since he broke up the band. The techno rhythms evoke
both Hot Chocolate (remember You Sexy Thing?) and up-to-the-minute
dance music, and Gift's affectations are affecting. With She
Drives Me Crazy mounting the charts as I write, this one could
make somebody rich. Enjoy.
Playboy, Mar. 1989
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Feb. 1989 |
Apr. 1989 |
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