Believe

Performer: Aaron Neville
Artist: John Jarvis; Phil Perry; Dirty Dozen Brass Band
Distributor: EMI Music Distribution

Notes: Personnel: Aaron Neville (vocals); Wardell Quezengue (conductor); Blue Miller (acoustic guitar); Dean Parks, Shane Theriot (electric guitar); Judith Armistead, Burton Callahan (violin); Lauren Lemmier, Richard Woehrle (viola); Jonathan Gerhardt (cello); Jim Horn (alto saxophone, baritone saxophone); Sam Levine (tenor saxophone); Steve patrick (trumpet, flugelhorn); Chris Dunn (trombone); The Dirty Dozen Brass Band (horns); John Jarvis (piano, keyboards); Jim Cox (Wurlitzer piano, Hammond B-3 organ); Michael Rhodes (bass); Eddie Bayers (drums); Mark Beckett (percussion); Alvin Chea, Jim Gilstrap, Phil Perry, Darryl Phinnessee, Maxi Anderson, Alex Brown, Jacquelyn Gouche, Sandtown Childrens Choir (background vocals). Producers include: Barry Beckett, Aaron Neville, Art Neville, Gary Lux, Mark Mazzetti. BELIEVE was nominated for the 2004 Grammy Award for Best Traditional Soul Gospel Album. Aaron Neville's is an angel's voice contained within the body of a dockworker (which he once was), and it turns out to be perfect for gospel. BELIEVE is the New Orleans native's second full-length release of religious material. Teaming with noted Muscle Shoals session cat Barry Beckett, Neville delivers an interesting slate of material that finds him rejoicing in his faith without becoming preachy. Original material is sprinkled throughout, including the smooth, acoustic-guitar-driven "Let Go," and "Jesus, Jesus, Jesus" with its robust brass arrangements. Otherwise, Neville is priming the pump for other people's material. Among the notable songs included are a casual reading of Pete Seeger's "If I Had a Hammer," a vibrant remake of the Edwin Hawkins Singers 1969 gospel-pop crossover smash "Oh Happy Day," and a punchy cover of Hank Williams's "I Saw The Light" featuring The Dirty Dozen Brass Band. Other highlights include a reading of Dylan's "Gotta Serve Somebody," (whose original version also featured Beckett.), a goosebump-inducing "Ava Maria," and a picture-perfect "A Change Is Gonna Come." Aaron Neville's is an angel's voice contained within the body of a dockworker (which he once was), and it turns out to be perfect for gospel. BELIEVE is the New Orleans native's second full-length release of religious material. Teaming with noted Muscle Shoals session cat Barry Beckett, Neville delivers an interesting slate of material that finds him rejoicing in his faith without becoming preachy. Original material is sprinkled throughout, including the smooth, acoustic-guitar-driven "Let Go," and "Jesus, Jesus, Jesus" with its robust brass arrangements. Otherwise, Neville is priming the pump for other people's material. Among the notable songs included are a casual reading of Pete Seeger's "If I Had a Hammer," a vibrant remake of the Edwin Hawkins Singers' 1969 gospel-pop crossover smash "Oh Happy Day," and a punchy cover of Hank Williams's "I Saw The Light" featuring The Dirty Dozen Brass Band. Other highlights include a reading of Dylan's "Gotta Serve Somebody," (whose original version also featured Beckett), a goosebump-inducing "Ava Maria," and a picture-perfect "A Change Is Gonna Come."

Living Blues (6/03, p.93) - "...'Amazing Grace' culminates in a wordless tour-de-force that might be the most jaw-dropping display of vocal technique Neville has ever put on record. It's an appropriate finale for a masterfully executed, musically superb, and profoundly inspiring set..."

New Orleans-based singer Aaron Neville has been singing since the late 1950s, working both as a solo artist and as a member of The Neville Brothers. His distinctive voice finally caught the world's full attention through his duets with Linda Ronstadt in the late 1980s. Neville's work is at its best when his angelic, tremulous voice is given center stage, unmuffled by glossy production, and he is free to bring the delicate emotions of a well-written ballad to fragile-but-rapturous life.

Click Here for Shipping Options and Policies

Shipping or Dimension weight in pounds: 0.25