Aaron Neville

Although it not surprisingly shares a whopping nine tracks with 2000's The Very Best of Aaron Neville, 2001's Ultimate Collection cherry picks from a far wider range of years (1960-1997) than the A&M period which was used almost exclusively for the former anthology. As such, it's a considerably broader and ultimately a better representation of the Neville Brothers' famed muscular singer with the impossibly angelic falsetto voice. The compilation kicks off with the string-laden "To Make Me Who I Am," a sort of capsule of Neville's tough life, complete with a heartfelt spoken coda which would have made a perfect album closer, certainly better than "Tell It Like It Is," his first crossover hit from 1966. The track does make a good lead-in to "Don't Know Much," the singer's smash duet with Linda Ronstadt though. From there the disc gradually shifts moods and years, smartly bunching most of the upbeat '60s selections (including some interesting obscurities like "Why Worry," the original B-side of "Tell It Like It Is") toward the middle. The collection also rescues a pair of gorgeous R&B covers ("Pledging My Love" and "For Your Precious Love") from an obscure 1985 Joel Dorn-produced EP, as well as "The 10 Commandments of Love," included in the difficult to find Neville Brothers' 1981 release, Fiyo on the Bayou. It smartly plays down the rest of their music which is easily available elsewhere, but does include Aaron's dramatic rendition of Sam Cooke's "A Change Is Gonna Come," one of his most stirring performances from Yellow Moon. Thankfully the album doesn't get bogged down in some of the slick and sappy concoctions Neville often gravitates to. While the rather forced rock & roll of Chuck Berry's "You Never Can Tell" doesn't quite fit the predominantly languorous mood, and the track list strangely omits Neville's version of George Jones' "The Grand Tour" or Skylark's "Wildflower" -- both of which remain concert staples -- this is a stunning and consistently enjoyable representation of one of the most distinctive and memorable voices in American music. ~ Hal Horowitz, All Music Guide