An Evening with Aaron Neville

Until now, it’s been easy to separate Aaron Neville’s career into two separate but equal strains: the funky stuff he’s favored when working with his esteemed band of brothers, and the angelic balladry you associate with him when he’s punching his own time card as a solo artist. Casual fans might admit they don’t know much — to borrow a phrase — about Neville’s musical center, but they’ve perceived a certain split in his career. An education is about to be provided, then, in the form of Apache, a solo album that makes the case for Aaron Neville as the most holistic of soul men. Its hard R&B side matches anything the Neville Brothers ever recorded for true grit, while still allowing plenty of space for a singer who’s arguably the most distinctive vocal stylist on the planet to tell it like it is. Musically, of course, you know Aaron Neville as a lover, not a fighter. The strange trajectory of his recording career began in 1960 when he recorded a single with producer/writer Allen Toussaint. It didn’t seem like a good omen when the record company misspelled his name as 'Arron” on the label, but it was an auspicious beginning, musically if not commercially. The Toussaint-penned A-side was 'Over You.' But it wasn’t till his second single, six years later, that Neville experienced at least a fleeting taste of stardom. 'Tell It Like It Is' became a No. 2 pop hit and No. 1 R&B smash!