The Neville Brothers & Friends: Tell It Like It Is

As one of New Orleans' best and most durable bands, the Neville Brothers could easily have pulled off this gig (recorded in their hometown in 1989) by themselves, so the fact that they're joined by more than a dozen guests is, for the most part, gravy on the gumbo (or something like that). Some of the pairings are genuinely inspired: Bonnie Raitt, playing slide guitar and singing, joins the Nevilles (Art on keys, Charles on sax, Cyril on percussion, and the inimitable Aaron on vocals) on the title tune, duets with Ivan Neville (son of Aaron) on “Falling Out of Love,” and backs Gregg Allman on the semi-classic “Midnight Rider.” John Hiatt is cool (on “Yellow Moon,” the title track of the Neville Brothers' then-current album), as are Daniel Lanois (“My Blood”), Buckwheat Zydeco (doing Lee Dorsey's “Ya Ya”), the Dirty Dozen Brass Band (“Fire and Brimstone”), and the Dixie Cups (performing the eternal New Orleans standard “Iko Iko”). Of course, having keyboard great Herbie Hancock as musical director doesn't hurt. On the minus side, even Raitt can't lift actor Dennis Quaid's (not a bad singer, but out of his league here) “Closer to You” above the merely pedestrian, while Ed Bradley's mercifully brief turn at the mike (on “Sixty Minute Man”) proves that as a singer, he makes a great newsman. Presented in Dolby Digital 5.1 and PCM stereo, this is--on balance--a very good show. Recommended. Aud: P. (S. Graham)