The Neville Brothers

Listening to the Neville Brothers' Family Groove in the aftermath of the Rodney King verdict
lends an undeniable poignancy, as well as an aura of sad prescience, to what might
otherwise have sounded like overused uplifting bromides and familiar depictions of
despair. Songs like "Line of Fire" ("Put down that gun .../Get off that corner/You're in the
line of fire"), "Day to Day Thing" ("You turn on the evening news/And find out the... More >

On a braver album, "Fly Like an Eagle" might be a coup, freedom fighters seizing the '60s-are-over sentimentality of a pop tune about a revolution Steve Miller wasn't so sorry we lost. On this record it's a reproach--the hook no song doctor can sell. Socially conscious, romantically ardent, or trading on their good name, their material just sits there waiting for you to like it. Where on the notorious Uptown they were a confused CHR band who deserved more airplay than they got, here they're a second-rate commercial funk band who get more than they deserve. At least Aaron's Ronstadt outing had the courage of her aesthetic convictions. (Grade: B-)