| The Brothers: An Autobiography | 
 enlarge | Authors: David Ritz, Charles Neville, Aaron Neville, Cyril Neville, Art Neville
Publisher: Da Capo Press
Category: Book
List Price: $17.95
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Avg. Customer Rating:  5 reviews
Sales Rank: 423017
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 352
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.3
Dimensions (in): 8.9 x 5.9 x 1.2
ISBN: 0306810530
Dewey Decimal Number: 780
EAN: 9780306810534
ASIN: 0306810530
Publication Date: November 2001
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Amazon.com Review
After decades as cult musicians, New Orleans's Neville Brothers spent the '90s solidifying their position as a minor American institution. Torchbearers for both tight, lean funk (Art and Cyril were key players in the profoundly influential '70s combo the Meters) and soul-gripping balladry (Aaron scored a 1966 No. 2 hit with "Tell It Like It Is" before resurfacing as a solo and group star in the late '80s), the Neville Brothers band has found a diverse audience with open ears for its message of rhythm and community. Before that happened, though, the brothers lived thug life as hard as Tupac Shakur ever did. Open the first two-thirds of this oral history to any random page, and you'll find rhapsodies about musicians as far afield as Professor Longhair, Ellis Marsalis, and Billy Stewart--or something quite a bit darker, like Cyril's remembrance of a near deadly razor fight: "I'm bleeding like a hog.... [T]hey needed 180 stitches to sew my neck together... [and] some Demerol to get me even higher and let me go back to the gig--the same night--where I carried on, singing 'Cold Sweat' and 'Heard It Through the Grapevine' as though the shit had never happened." Vividly told by the Nevilles and smartly organized by Ray Charles and Marvin Gaye biographer David Ritz, this is a resounding look at how these musicians put drugs, violence, and industry troubles behind them to become a veteran touring act and Grammy machine. If not quite the equal of drummer (and fellow New Orleanian) Earl Palmer's Backbeat, this is a fine, often chilling look both back and forward. --Rickey Wright
Product Description
Born to a music-loving family, the Neville brothers grew up immersed in the sounds and culture of New Orleans, and the blended rhythms of the city are reflected in their wide range of musical styles. The result, like their native city, is a rich gumbo of flavors: Art, with his keyboard wizardry; Aaron, with his angelic voice; Charles, a spiritual seeker and jazz devotee; and Cyril, whose passion for music matches the intensity of his politics. In The Brothers, each tells his story candidly, recounting the early hits, the problems with drugs and the law, and the circuitous route to success. Along the way, the brothers tell the story of the New Orleans culture as well—the birth of rhythm and blues, the folklore behind the fabulous Mardi Gras Indians, the painful racial climate, and the family whose legacy is now a part of our musical history.
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| Customer Reviews:
A Musical Journey to Self Discovery October 23, 2005
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
The Brothers is a extraordinary look at how music and culture nurture us and redeem us. The power of this book lies in the unashamed honesty of the Neville Brothers and the wisdom and confidence of the author to allow the brothers to tell their own story. Unencumbered by analysis or author's comments, the brothers simply present their stories while the author ties the threads together to show how the Neville brothers as individuals worked through their personal problems and came together as a family and a musical group. There is no other book that means more to me than The Brothers. Their story has helped me to make sense of my own journey as an American journalist and music critic living and working on the island of Trinidad in the West Indies.
Extraordinary! October 9, 2001
6 out of 6 found this review helpful
David Ritz has helped many rhythm and blues musicians write their autobiographies, including Ray Charles, B. B. King, Marvin Gaye, Etta James, and Aretha Franklin. The characteristics that these books share is the sense that the subject is writing directly to you as you read, and that the bad times as well as the good times are revealed. If you are a fan of the musician, you feel like you have a better understanding of them once you've read the book Ritz helped them write. The Neville Brothers' story must have been complicated to organize because there are 4 Neville Brothers, Art, Charles, Aaron and Cyrille. They tell their stories simultaneously, a paragraph or two by one brother and then a paragraph or two by another and so on. The story they tell is fascinating and often horrific! Violence, drug abuse, crazy characters, prison terms and danger fill virtually every page. These are fascinating lives to read about, but I wouldn't want to live them! Aaron and Charles seem to be the most forthcoming and the most sympathetic of the brothers. If you love Neville Brothers' music, you'll want to own this book!
very complete November 26, 2000
7 out of 8 found this review helpful
THe Neville Brothers are a very solid unit.Great talents.this book takes them not only as a Group but also as People with feelings&outlooks.David Ritz does a Great job of doing books.always Interesting reads.this is a very complete book.long overdue on these greats.but better late than never.
The Nevilles: the road to reognition and resolution October 5, 2000
14 out of 14 found this review helpful
The Brothers is a coherent and compelling series of autobiographical narratives, alternating among Art, Charles, Aaron, and Cyril. These perspectives are a valuable record of collective memory, as well as moving individual journeys. American culture from the late 1930s to the close of century informs and drives these voices: here is camaraderie and racism, love and alienation, spirituality and hedonism, cruelty and tenderness, peace and rage, cocky determination and chilling fear, triumph and despair--all related with a palpable frankness. Those of us born in the 30s and 40s will find parts of ourselves here; those born later will see how true it is that "past is present." Lovers of jazz, blues, early rock'roll, funk and r&b, and New Orleans rhythms will revel in the stories of contacts with the "greats." The street language may put off some readers. With all respect to those readers, I suggest their tolerance. It is no small thing that those who struggle with personal demons may find a light to their paths between the covers of this book. Over 300 pages, family photos, discographies, and an index.
Exellent bios September 12, 2000
17 out of 18 found this review helpful
This autobiography is actually a quartet of autobiographies as the essence of each of the four Neville brothers come alive in this book. The non-fiction focuses on the individual personalities, their personal take on music including their solo careers and group performances and recordings. It also Includes their evaluation of the last four decades of music especially in New Orleans and their personal trials and tribulations. All this marks this non-fiction, as several cuts above the typical wave of rock and roll biographies that seem like perfect flavors of the month. Instead this tome provides a "Tell It Like It Is" feel that fans of the New Orleans sound will enjoy. Anyone who reads THE BROTHERS NEVILLE will seek other works by master music biographer David Ritz (see his works on Ray Charles, Marvin Gaye, and Aretha Franklin, etc.) as this reviewer plans to do. Harriet Klausner
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