Valence Street is the follow-up to the 1996 family album Mitakuye Oyasin Oyasin. With this album the Neville Brothers again deliver an entertaining and varied record. The record does need a few spins before you come to this conclusion. Jazz, funk, soul and, thanks to the collaboration of Wyclef Jean, a touch of rap are the main ingredients on Valence Street. Soulful sound songs like Utterly Beloved
… written and sung by Cyril Neville and Until We Meet Again written and sung by Charles Neville. Charles Neville's input on saxophone can be heard in the jazzy instrumental title piece Valence Street. Aaron Neville's falsetto voice comes into its own in the ballad Give Me A Reason. Also notable are their renditions of the folk classics If I Had A Hammer (Pete Seeger) and Dimming Of The Day (Richard Thompson). (CK)more
