New Orleans Cookin'

They Say...

Review by Rose of Sharon Witmer, All Music Guide

Cyril Neville pays homage to his hometown, New Orleans, and its R&B tradition on this CD, which features tunes from a number of the genre's local masters, such as Fats Domino, Eddie Bo, and Henry Byrd -- known to the world as Professor Longhair. Like Professor Longhair, Neville has his "Red Beans Cookin'" on this record. The diverse songs cook down into a delicious dish, so much like the New Orleans gustatory style that gives the CD its name. There are many similarities between making good food and good music in New Orleans: the right ingredients, the right attitude, and the right spices to bring out the flavor. And good cooks. All these basics are in evidence here. The youngest of the renowned Neville Brothers, drummer Cyril Neville wrote the title cut with New Orleans piano legend Allen Toussaint, who joins him on the recording. In perfect New Orleans style, they wax eloquent about the shared attributes of a lady love and an oyster po'boy. The song was chosen as the best of 2000 in the Best of the Beat Awards given by Offbeat, the New Orleans music magazine. Also contributing to the musical mix are Marva Wright, Roderick Paulin, and the "Satchmo of the Ghetto," James Andrews. The clarity of the horns and the rich voice of the blues diva produce some hot tracks. Together, the group covers some tasty territory with songs like "I'm Ready," "Tipitina," "Fortune Teller," and "Tell It Like It Is" (a song brother Aaron Neville made popular in the early '60s). Cyril Neville has a "one world" outlook, often paying homage to traditions and ancestors from the reggae heroes of Jamaica to Afro-Caribbean masters to Native Americans of the western United States. On this CD, he pays honorable tribute to the R&B ancestors in his own backyard.