Search - Neville Brothers :: Uptown Rulin': The Best of the Neville Brothers

Lagniappe

Denny Angelle | Richmond, Texas United States | 01/04/2001

(3 out of 5 stars)

"In Louisiana, they use the term "lagniappe" to mean "a little bit of everything," which usually applies to a Cajun cooking technique. It might sound dreadful, but most of the time it tastes mighty fine. "Uptown Rulin" is a lagniappe from the Nevilles, who have been known to mix some absolutely amazing Crescent City funk with particularly horrific cover versions of pop songs.I lost count of the various Neville Brothers compilations and "Best Ofs" two or three years ago. "Uptown Rulin'" is at least the fourth or fifth one offered by a major label and just about half of the CD is great. The first four songs, from the classic album "Fiyo on the Bayou," set the New Orleans groove deep, and the subsequent five selections from the equally essential "Yellow Moon" album (the version of "Voodoo" here is live) keep the buzz going. The rest of this stuff is pretty disposable, and that's the trouble with pretty much all of these Neville compilations: they just don't stack up against the original album releases.You can't go wrong with a copy of "Fiyo" or "Yellow Moon" -- and "Live at Tipitina's" if you want some concert ambiance -- and maybe "Brother's Keeper" if you can't get enough. However, if you're up in Minnesota instead of New Orleans this Mardi Gras, "Uptown Rulin'" would be a great choice to slap on the CD player and melt that snow with some truly Tabasco funk."

Gumbo Ya Ya

Gumbeaux13 | New Orleans, LA United States | 09/04/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The Neville Brothers are the hands-down winners as the ultimate New Orleans funksters and don't fit neatly into any musical category. Herein lies their genius. This compilation of songs is a great representation of the band's unique groovin' sound. I say without hesitation that all of the songs through 'Voodoo' are absolutely excellent, especially 'Fiyo On The Bayou', 'Iko', 'Hey Pocky Way.' 'Hey Pocky Way' is constantly copied by local club bands to get the crowd up and to pay tribute to the rulers of the local scene. The tunes beyond this are not a drop off despite reviews to the contrary.With most artists, the last songs on an album tend to drop off in quality and are sometimes just 'a little extra' fo finish off the CD. In this case, the last four tunes just miss the high quality lyrics, tempo, rhythm and creativity I dig so much from the Nevilles but are nevertheless great pieces of music. Make no mistake, I enjoy the heck out of this entire album and make no apologies to anyone. I prefer this album ever so slightly over 'The Very Best'. Since I've been fortunate enough to see them live many times, I also own the 2-CD set 'Live At Tipitinas'. This set offers great variety as well as a chance to hear the live sound of a great club band.P.S. My good neighbor from Texas wrote an excellent review, but "lagniappe" is actually a Creole term meaning "a little extra." :-)"