Aaron Neville returns with new music

I enjoyed seeing Neville for the first time live last month at the Doheny Blues Festival (see review elsewhere on this blog). I look forward to his new music...

 

Apache, the new album from multiple Grammy award-winner Aaron Neville—member of the world-renowned Neville Brothers and one of the most recognizable voices in American music history—set for release on July 15 via Tell It Records and Kobalt Label Services.

 

The album celebrates Neville’s 75th birthday, while 2016 marks the 50th anniversary of his first number one single, “Tell It Like It Is.” Additionally, the lead track off the record, “Be Your Man,” premieres on The Wall Street Journal. Listen here: http://smarturl.it/an_bym_wsj. Fans can buy it via iTunes here http://smarturl.it/an_bym_itunes and stream it here http://smarturl.it/an_bym_spotify.

In support of the record, Neville will tour nationwide this summer with a very special performance at the historic Apollo Theater celebrating his 75th birthday and 50th anniversary of the release of “Tell It Like It Is" on August 4 in New York City, as well as intimate dates in Baton Rouge, Chicago, San Francisco, Austin, Atlanta and more. See below for full list of dates.

Apache was recorded at Studio G in Brooklyn and produced by multi Grammy-winning artist and producer Eric Krasno (Soulive, Lettuce, Tedeschi Trucks Band). Of the album Neville says, “It brought out another side of me; people were used to me doing a lot of ballads, but this is more gritty, and some of it has the New Orleans feel.” He adds, “One song talks about my roots ‘Stompin’ Ground.’ It names a lot of real people that were in my life at different points in time. Another one, ‘Orchid In The Storm,’ was inspired by my wife Sarah; she’s been my orchid in a storm, and still is. Another song is ‘Heaven,’ from a poem I wrote a while back. My inspirations come from real things in life and I have many more where these came from.”

In addition, Neville & Krasno brought in elite musicians such as David Guy (Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings, Menahan Street Band), Cochemea Gastelum (Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings, The Budos Band), Ryan Zoidis (Lettuce, Soulive) and Eric Bloom (Lettuce, Blue Öyster Cult) who contribute on the horn section throughout.

In January 2013, Neville released My True Story, which was co-produced by Blue Note Records president Don Was and Rolling Stone Keith Richards. The record earned Neville his first Top 10 album and highest-charting set of his five-decade career (No. 7 on Billboard’s Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart). Of the album, People says “if ever there was an album that Aaron Neville was born to make, it’s this collection of doo-wop classics,” while Rolling Stone proclaimed, “Welcome back to the sweetest falsetto in human history” and called Neville “a true soul master at work.” 

Aaron Neville first rose to national prominence when his song “Tell It Like It Is” topped Billboard’s R&B chart for five weeks in 1967 and quickly sold over one million copies. Neville again reached the top of the charts in 1989 with his album of duets with Linda Ronstadt, Cry Like a Rainstorm, Howl Like the Wind. The album featured the #1 Grammy-winning hits “Don’t Know Much” and “All My Life.” Neville earned wide acclaim for his hits “Everybody Plays the Fool,” “Don’t Take Away My Heaven” and “Hercules,” among many others.

Track list:

 

1. Be Your Man

2. All Of The Above

3. Orchid In The Storm

4. Stompin’ Ground

5. Heaven

6. Hard To Believe

7. Ain’t Gonna Judge You

8. I Wanna Love You

9. Sarah Ann

10. Make Your Momma Cry

11. Fragile World

Tour dates:

 

July 14 & 15—Chicago, IL—City Winery
July 22 & 23—Atlanta, GA—City Winery
August 4—New York, NY—Apollo Theater—75th Birthday Concert
August 6—Atlantic City, NJ—Golden Nugget
September 16—Cincinnati, OH—Live at Ludlow Garage
September 23—Durham, NC—Baldwin Auditorium

September 24—Wilmington, NC—CFCC Fine Arts Center 

October 7—Brownfield, ME—Stone Mountain Arts
October 8—Lincolnville, ME—Cellardoor Winery
October 22—Reno, NV—MontBleu Resort & Casino
November 11—Austin, TX—Paramount Theatre
December 3—Bossier City, LA—Margaritaville Resort & Casino
December 9—Baton Rouge, LA—L’Auberge Casino
December 10—Rancho Cucamonga, CA—Lewis Family Playhouse
December 11—Orange, CA—Musco Center
December 13—Redding, CA—Cascade Theatre

December 15 & 16—San Francisco, CA—SFJazz Center
December 17—Santa Rosa, CA—Luther Burbank Center