Aaron Neville

My True StoryBlue Note ****

The doo-wop era of the 1950s and early 1960s has long had a hold over the pop imagination. Those velvet harmonies and burning tales of teen angst helped create, in the shadow of the Cold War, a world of innocence and charm. Was it manufactured or real? New Orleans singing legend Aaron Neville, he of the angelic vibrato, has no doubts. He was but a boy when he heard songs such as The Drifters' On the Boardwalk, Clyde McPhatters's Little Bitty Pretty One and Tears on My Pillow by Little Anthony and the Imperials, but they made a lasting impression. They also impressed the young Keith Richards, who produced this 12-track tribute with love and care; there are no liberties taken with the original arrangements nor with interpretation. This is both a strength and a weakness – it is hard to imagine Neville (71) as a love-struck teenager. aaronneville.com

Download:Tears on My Pillow, Under the Boardwalk