Newspapers / Winston-Salem Chronicle (Winston-Salem, N.C.) / April 22, 1993, edition 1 / Page 22
Part of Winston-Salem Chronicle (Winston-Salem, N.C.) / About this page
This page has errors
The date, title, or page description is wrong
This page has harmful content
This page contains sensitive or offensive material
Entertainment Aaron Neville Has Lived What He Sings About Aaron Neville has heard the stones. About a clinic in England ? ttirrt plays his records igr^oolhe " addicts going though detoxification. Kids in India who speed their mope ds to the top of a hump backed bridge, timing their arrival to coin cide with one of Neville's ethereal falsettos. * From a woman who simply asked to touch him, then explained that his music had stopped her from committing suicide - Heavy stuff. But not a complete sin prise to Neville, a deeply reli gious man. "1 know it's coming from some where else,'' he says of his singing which has been likened nrore than once to sounds from an angel. "A lot of times I might be hoarse before a show, but then I say a little prayer before I go out, and it's gone. "I think} innocence is the key word. Sometime when I sing I get choked up because I'm thinking of all the people I've known and wish ing there was a way I could ease some of the pain that I've seen and felt. I try to share that in my music. And I'm singing for all the people that didn't have a song, or that fell by the wayside, a lot of my friends. I ain't got but a few left you know." he adds. "A lot of them are either dead, crazy or in the penitentiary." Such are the contradictions of being Aaron Neville, a man who has lived much of his 52 years with his feet on the ground and his voice in the sky. "People say to me. how can such a sweet voice come out of the body of a linebacker?" he relates dryly. "I tell them. 'Hey man, it's the perfect package.^ Much of the same could be said of the grand tour, Aaron Neville's second solo album for A&M Records. It is a collection of songs that in ways, both deliberate but unforced, suggests a kind of musical biography. Produced by Steve Lind sey twho has worked recently with singers as disparate as Alexander O'Neal. Diane Schuur and Leonard Cohen), it's a record that resurrects timeless strains of soul, R&B. coun try. gospel, rock and roll. Tin Pan Alley. Mardi Gras music and con temporary pop. All rendered with a continuity of style and purpose that seems to travel the world without ever abandoning the spirit of New Orleans ? the birthplace of Ameri r;m muhic.-aml of course. Neville himself. Not coincidentally, many of the songs here also suggest key touchstones from a career and life very much in progress. The third of the famous Neville Brothers grew up in the Calliope housing project. His mother and uncle has been a song and dance team good enough to elicit an offer - lo go on the road with bandleader - Louis Prima ( "But my grandmother said no." Aaron explains with a laugh. "Otherwise, there might not have been any Neville Brothers"). Art. the oldest of the Neville Broth ers. was one of Aaron's earliest influences, but it was his father's collection of smooth Nat King Cole records that gave Aaron his first direction as a singer. As a kid he fell in love with doo-wop groups like the Orioles and the Platters, and discovered he had a natural gift for high tenor leads. Not surprisingly. Aaron perfor mance here of the standard "These Foolish Things" envokes the ghost of Nat King Cole. 3s well as of the singer whose influence on his career is most apparent. Sam Cooke. "I first heard that song on a Sam Cooke album call Mr. Soul," hr recaHs? And ! would put thai record on the turntable and lay on the floor and listen to it over and over." While the arran-gements to another standard here, "Ain't No Way" will remind some listeners of ?? Aaron Neville the version by Aretha Franklin. Neville's sensitively nuanced vocal - heard the way he croons Sure Ain't No Way Toward' the song s end - once more underlines the bond he shares with the late, great Cooke. A new song "My Brother, My Brother,'' harkens in both texture and theme to the music of Marvin Gaye, and in particular his unforget tably trenchant "What's Goin On." Neville uses the occasion to make a personal statement about family ties brothers Cyril, Art and Charles formed as a duet with Linda Ron stadt . "We have chemistry when we sing. It's like we sang together in a different life, you know? " he said. The grand tour is certainly a giant step in the right direction. The title song was once a hit for country legend George Jones, anoth er singer for whom Neville feels an affinity. _ . "George has lived all that stuff Nevil tr~atsu peifunn- on this tune ? he sings^bout^ Because to be able to that works as a metaphor for the feel what you're singing about you larger brotherhood of Man." have to live it, or at least witness it. Aaron bookends his new album "In my case," he says, "I've with "Song of Bernadette," per- lived it." . PHILLIP S. BANKS III PERSONAL INJURY Personalized Service - ALL COURTS - FREE INITIAL CONSULTATION Office Hours By Appointment 3000 Bethesda Place 659-091 1 j T The Italian Girl In Algiers The Italian Girl In Algiers By Cioacchino Rossini Sung in English FRIDAY, APRIL 23 (8:00 PM) , Sunday. April 25 (3:00 pm) Tuesday, April 27 (7:30 pm) Stevens Center. Winston-Salem. North Carolina For^ticket information call Piedmont Opera Theatre: 919-725-2022 The April 23rd performance is sponsored by Decision Point Marketing, Inc The April 27th performance is sponsored by Salem Leasing Corporation International bay Held at WSStf Winston-Salem State Universi ty will hold its traditional Interna tional Day from 12-5 p.m. today in the student mall area of the campus. The public is invited to enjoy the festivities, which include music and dance, ethnic fashions, artist and crafts, skits performed in for eign languages, face painting, and a w ide variety of vendor sales. Ethnic foods will also be available. The event attracts hundreds of school age children, preschoolers, college students, senior citizens and the community at large. The theme of this year's cele bration is "International Day: A Global Affair." For more information, call the Office of Public Affairs, 750-2150. Artist Present Studio Tour Associated Artists of Winston Salem Inc. will sponsor an Artist's Studios Tour on Sunday from 1-5 p.m. Nine Winston-Salem artists will open their studios to the public during this tour. The following artists will par ticipate: Nicholas Bragg; Joe King; Earline Heath King; Jean Parish; Elsie Dinsmore Popkin; Norma Rogers; Anne Kesler Shields; Tony Swider; Linda Weaver. Cost of the tour is S6. Tickets may be purchased in advance at the Associated Artists office, located in the Sawtooth Building at 226 N. Marshall St. On the day of the tour, tickets will be available at all studio locations. Call 722-0340 for more infor mation. WAYNE'S Friday, April 2Jrd Janice Price ct Priceless <>:M) - 1:30 ILIA SK) \ 9:30 - 1:30 1 2S V ( 'hcrrv SI reel Winston-Salem, NC 2711)1 IHione: 9 19-723- 1 1 50 l ull I* nod SlTvilT \Viiilsihli* Live ./rtr.r every Friday and Saturday J Weekly Drink Specials \ni|)l( Itit l\nkin^ ? \ ' ^ ? Y? f > <T .. ? N- ' ' *V?t . ' . ? ,\v? ? ?V,: 'VV\ ' ''V^.-v . -v?l ?>>? .??' v r , ' ! ^ '.? ... V -'JV> ?' VjLv^.- * >7- 'I. V ' a: '$ ;?;-?,> , \\ % 2 >?' ?; HA .' / i i? 1 -i bJB 33 * i: x; ? i i fi rf .1 V> 4 4 I ' J ->i r 1 1 '? * Im>? j ? I i I s .?|^r mi m i, It. in W lu>k. \ III nut Shi* V iU ..l i.l U% ^, ? N..i I. \ \ .III 'I. I Sll ,.,...1 ?*-V?-ir - j? :j Q } r: ft : I I Vs. I host' who upprec iTitc qwahtx riij<t\ iTrrsponsihlx *r.sr?M r M ?? ^ V \ N v ? ?v : mt \ \-\Ki ^ 'W x r& U Wf[ ?. ui. ?/ ?# .*?
Winston-Salem Chronicle (Winston-Salem, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
April 22, 1993, edition 1
22
Click "Submit" to request a review of this page. NCDHC staff will check .
0 / 75