The Neville Brothers – Valence Street – CD

The Neville Brothers are a world-famous R&B and soul group that came together in 1977 in New Orleans, Louisiana, and consists of four brothers from the Neville family. The title cut ‘Valence Street’, originally released in 1999, is a funky-blues instrumental and is named after the street the four Neville brothers grew up on in New Orleans. The songs range across the many permutations of relationships one can have—and this is perhaps because they reach back to all the influences and people that they knew and worked with to concoct their style. The album art contains incredibly beautiful black and white images of Louisiana bayous, New Orleans streets, and the brothers themselves. Cuts to pay particular attention to are ‘Utterly Beloved,’ inspired by the Oprah film, ‘Until We Meet Again,’ a grown-up R&B love song, and ‘Tears,’ inspired by Native American culture. Speaking about love songs, ‘Mona Lisa’, produced by Wyclef, reinforces that there is nothing like a hip-hop love song.

1. Over Africa
2. Utterly Beloved
3. A Little Piece of Heaven
4. Valence Street
5. If I Had a Hammer
6. Until We Meet Again
7. The Dealer
8. Mona Lisa
9. Dimming of the Day
10. Real Funk
11. Give Me a Reason
12. Tears