Valence Street

Valence Street Artist: The Neville Brothers
Label: Sony
Category: Music


Average customer rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
Media: Audio Cassette
Number Of Discs: 1


UPC: 074646890646
EAN: 0074646890646
ASIN: B00000I864


Release Date: 1999-02-09

Valence Street


Related Categories:

General General
Categories | R&B | Styles | Music
General General
Categories | Soul | R&B | Styles | Music
General General
Categories | Funk | R&B | Styles | Music

Tracks:

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

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Amazon.com

On <I>Valence Street</I>, the brothers offer few surprises: the groove is mighty, while the choice of material weakens the disc's overall impact. "If I Had a Hammer" is hardly as indelible a social statement as their chilling version of Bob Dylan's "With God on Our Side" was on Yellow Moon, while too many of the new songs rely on tired romantic clichés. Everything falls together on a few tracks, particularly Richard Thompson's "Dimming of the Day" and "Mona Lisa," a collaboration with Wyclef Jean that originally appeared on his Carnival album. The ghostly funk of "Tears" and "The Dealer" also shows them at their best, suggesting that more fire and brimstone and less "Little Piece of Heaven" is the way to go. --Rickey Wright</I>

Customer Reviews:

4 out of 5 stars Funky, Fun and Folky.......2004-05-19

The Neville Brothers deliver a blend of funk, rock, folk and soul on "Valence Street". There are two absolutely outstanding songs - the first two. "Over Africa" opens with a wicked guitar lick, then accordion, vocal and drums, finally, the whole band at the end of the first verse. What a perfect knockout song! Also perfect, in a mellower way is "Utterly Beloved", in the tradition of pretty, harmonic, 70s soul. Very, very tasty. Every other song is enjoyable (some more than others), but none are as great as the first two. The best of the other songs are "Until We Meet Again", "The Dealer", "Dimming of the Day" (written by British folk-rocker Richard Thompson), "Give Me A Reason" (Aaron's only really strong showing on the album) and "Tears". There is a little too much luke-warm "comfortable cruising" in some of the cuts to merit the distinction of a 5-star rating, but there is good, sweet funkiness throughout, and interesting lyrics sung with warmth and laced with occasional humor. Overall, a very successful effort by the fantastically talented "funky four".

5 out of 5 stars Utterly Fantastic.......1999-02-27

Recently the Neville Brothers were in Omaha for a concert. We enjoyed hearing some of the Valance Street CD. I have listened to Valence Street at least six times since it was purchased. The lyrics combine nature, life and human emotions, and add the Neville Brother twist. My favorite tunes are Utterly Beloved, Mona Lisa, Little Piece of Heaven, Until we meet again, Over Africa in that order. I love listening to the combination of instruments enriched with the hypnotic voices of Aaron, Cyril and Charles. Thank you Amelia and Arthur L. Neville, Sr.

4 out of 5 stars Pretty Damned Good!.......1999-02-17

While not possessing quite the borderline-religious-experience, funky-to-the-bone hysteria of the Nevilles' live shows (especially those old two-set Mardi Gras marathons at Tipitina's), this is probably the Brothers' best studio record since Yellow Moon. It has a nice balance, showcasing the diverse talents of all four Neville Brothers (Art, Charles, Aaron, and Cyril), and the sound is uncluttered and with emphasis on the vocals. The ballads ("Dimming of the Day", "Utterly Beloved") are lovely, and the New Orleans-Caribbean version of "If I Had a Hammer" is a highlight, as is that Uptown New Orleans party entitled "Real Funk." Still, an added spice of Cyril's congas and percussion here and there, and perhaps an acapella-harmony "Indian Red" (as I have heard them do live) might have elevated the record to a masterpiece. As it stands, it's merely pretty damned good.

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