Royal Southern Brotherhood – The Royal Gospel
Royal Southern Brotherhood – The Royal Gospel: Where There’s Smoke There’s Fire, I’ve Seen Enough To Know, Blood Is Thicker Than Water, I Wonder Why, I’m Coming Home, Everybody Pays Some Dues, Face Of Love, Land Of Broken Hearts, Spirit Man, Hooked On The Plastic, Can’t Waste Time, Stand Up
Royal Southern Brotherhood – The Royal Gospel: Cyril Neville: vocals, percussion, Bart Walker: electric and acoustic guitars, vocals, Tyrone Vaughan: electric guitar, vocals, Darrell Phillips: bass guitar, back-up vocals, Yonrico Scott: drums, percussion, Special Guest: Norman Caesar: Hammond B3
Royal Southern Brotherhood – The Royal Gospel was produced by David Z, and Executive Producers Rueben M. Williams and Thomas Ruf on the Ruf Records label.
A little about the line-up for those new to the Royal Southern Brotherhood, Cyril Neville was born in New Orleans, has a "royal musical lineage" in his DNA as the youngest brother of Art, Charles, Aaron, and Ivan Neville (The Neville Brothers band, of which Cyril was a member), and is a preeminent singer, songwriter, percussionist, poet, philosopher, and Grammy® award winner.
Drummer, percussionist Yonrico Scott was born in Detroit, Michigan and started performing professionally with gospel groups at the age of 7. Among his many achievements include being a Grammy® winner as a member of the Derek Trucks band. Together with Cyril Neville, Yonrico founded the Royal Southern Brotherhood.
Young guitarist, songwriter Bart Walker joined the Royal Southern Brotherhood in 2014 replacing Mike Zito, and musically distinguished himself when he won the 2012 International Blues Challenge’s prestigious Best Guitarist award.
Guitarist, songwriter Tyrone Vaughan replaced Devon Allman on guitar in 2015. He hails from Texas and also has a "royal musical pedigree," his father is Grammy® winner Blues Rock guitarist Jimmie Vaughn and his uncle was Stevie Ray Vaughn. He started playing guitar at the age of 5 and has since become a force to be reckoned with.
Rounding out the multi-talented band is new member, bass player Darrell Phillip, also from Texas, who started playing bass at age 12 and was previously a member of the Sister 7 band.
Keyboardist Norman Caesar is a special guest on this album and also played on Cyril Neville’s solo album, Magic Honey. Like the SRB members, he has his own musical heritage (his brother is acclaimed drummer Rickey Caesar and together, Norman and Rickey are The Caesar Brothers).
Cyril Neville’s comments, "The whole record is geared towards making a joyful noise, but while we’re partying we still need to be thinking about what’s going on around us. It covers what we’ve seen in our travels over the last few years, and what we’ve lived personally as citizens of the world."
Sit back and pay attention as the 12-track release opens with the hard driving Cyril Neville, Tyrone Vaughn song, Where There’s Smoke There’s Fire which has some incredible guitar licks that set the tone for the rest of this delicious release. Next up is I’ve Seen Enough To Know, written by Jeff Silbar and Billy Valentine.
Cyril and Bart Walker join writing forces on Blood Is Thicker Than Water that opens with a guitar intro to act as a bridge to Cyril Neville’s vocals, and has a slight reggae feel reminiscent of Bob Marley with its chant of "blood is thicker than water … there’s nothing more sacred than the love of a son or a daughter" with some memorable guitar passages throughout making it one of my favorites on the release.
I Wonder Why written by Roebuck Staples has a Texas Blues opening that is slow, steady, and hypnotic. Cyril and Bart team up again on the credits for I’m Coming Home, which picks up the pace with fine guitar work and organ compliments of Norman Caesar on a Hammond B3. Next in the line-up is Everybody Pays Some Dues, another Cyril and Bart song, which has a rollicking Blues opening that proves the duo’s writing prowess.
The band slows the pace with Face Of Love, written by Jeff Silbar, Michael McDonald, and Tommy Sims, which has a lovely acoustic guitar opening and lyrics "…You put a smile on the face of love" that begs you to grab your special someone and dance up close.
Land Of Broken Hearts, another of my favorites, written by Bart Walker and Cyril’s son, Omari Neville, who proves the apple does not fall far from the tree with its lyrics, "I’m on my own now, I need a place to rest my head, I need a new town…"
The band segues into the funk with the Bart Walker, Gary Nicholson, and Cyril Neville song Spirit Man; Cyril and Bart join forces again on the song, Hooked On The Plastic, a song that draws you in to add your voice to the blended vocals of the band.
Yonrico Scott sets the beat on Can’t Waste Time, written by Cyril and Tyrone Vaughn, another catchy song. The release closes with the Cyril Neville, Bart Walker song Stand Up, a get up, stand up, and dance kind of song that will have you hitting the play button again.
The album moves from different Blues Rock styles like a well-planned, multi-course meal that will leave you completely satisfied.
For information on upcoming Royal Southern Brotherhood tours, please visit the website: www.RoyalSouthernBrotherhood.com
Listen to sample cuts: www.RoyalSouthernBrotherhood.com
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Websites where you can procure Royal Southern Brotherhood – The Royal Gospel are Amazon, Best Buy, and Ruf Records.
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