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The third of four bothers, Aaron Neville - whose voice at times seems to on loan from a higher power - was born January 24, 1941, and grew up in a close knit family on Valence Street in Uptown New Orleans before moving to the newly constructed Calliope Projects. Neville's father, Arthur, worked in the merchant marine and drove a cab; his mother, Amelia, took care of rearing the children.

"My mother was the sweetest and most understanding woman I ever knew," said Neville. "She read us Peter Rabbit. I've always felt I got my strength from my father, my compassion from my mother."

As a youth, Neville was a fan of radio serials, especially those with a Western theme. When he had some change in his pocket, he'd go to the Carver or the nearby Gallo Theater to watch Roy Rogers, Lone Ranger, Hop Along Cassidy and Gene Autry films. Inspired by what he say at the movies, Neville organized games of Cowboys and Indians in the Calliope's courtyard. He referred to himself as "Apache Red" and terrorized his playmates on a stick horse he made from his mother's floor mop.

Entire CD is a must have for Neville fans, less we mention the arrangements and often composed songs by Allen Toussaint...appreciation to ~ Jeff Hannusch (compilation producer), Dana G. Smart (co-producer), Pat Lawrence (executive producer) and Hip-O/Universal Music for sharing this smooth listen and the early '60s tunes from the one-and-only ~ "Ultimate Aaron Neville"!

You might try other Hip-O titles, all worthy of a good listen ~ "R&B Live! Essentials (314-545-241-2)..."Broken-Hearted Soul Essentials" (314-545-239-2)..."More Broken-Hearted Soul Essentials (314-545-238-2)...please check out my reviews on amazon.com/music.

Total Time: 69:31 on 20 Tracks ~ Hip-O Records 314-520-192-2 ~ (2001)


Great Cd   February 13, 2005
 4 out of 4 found this review helpful

This was a must have addition to my husband's collection. You won't be disappointed with this CD.