Neville Brothers: Walkin' In The Shadow Of Life

(Herald rating: * * * * )

Anyone thinking this might bear some resemblance to the band known for albums such as Yellow Moon and Brother's Keeper at the start of the 90s - or the one further back that cracked Fiyo on the Bayou and Neville-ization - should read the fine print. There's a new generation of younger Nevilles in the line-up now and that perhaps accounts for the urban soul-funk on material such as Can't Stop the Funk, which puts the band closer to Parliament/Funkadelic than the Tipitinas club in New Orleans.

This is no bad thing, although it has already caught out older fans who expected more of that spooky Nawlins sound and Aaron's angelic balladry.

Me, I'm into the urgent, updated reworking of the old Motown classic Ball of Confusion, the menacing Kingdom Come, co-written by Cyril Neville and Bono, and Junkie Child, which looks back to Curtis Mayfield.

Aaron's son Ivan - who had a solo career and recorded with the Stones - had a hand in writing many of the tracks and we might attribute the changed attitude to him and his younger cousins.

Alongside the spiritual positivity (the title track, Brothers) there is more ghetto than bayou here, and while the customary Neville Brothers style is still evident (Rivers of Babylon) this is the sound of the old guard passing the torch.

Label: EMI