As a re-release of a 1990 11-track Capitol CD (cover art and all), the return
of Tell It Like It Is isn’t going to set collectors’ tongues wagging.
It is, however, a decent if short overview of Aaron Neville’s stint on
Par-Lo in the mid-’60s, a tenure which produced the national hit title
song, a solid flipside called “Why Worry,” and not much else of
note.

As a greatest-hits collection, then, this isn’t one. But as music it’s
interesting, if not quite vital, a portrait of a label desperately trying to
mold soul music’s seraph into a latter-day Sam Cooke (with touches of Marvin
Gaye before his social consciousness kicked in). Most of the 11 tracks here—newly
re-mastered, it would appear—are, as you’d expect, attempts to recapture
the lazy lightning of the title track, and some of these cuts come close, most
notably “You Think You’re So Smart” and “She Took You
For A Ride.” Both are swathed in the same tasteful strings and brass as
the hit; both adopt an equally plainspoken approach to romance. “Love,
Love, Love“ and “Since You’re Gone” mine the same sweet
soul groove as Barbara Mason’s “Yes, I’m Ready” and Barbara
Lewis’ “Hello Stranger,” respectively, while Aaron’s
own excellent “Jailhouse”—the only connection to actual R&B
here—is a lament which serves as a precursor to his later “Angola
Bound.” None of the album tracks save the hit and “Why Worry” are
essential to the Neville canon, much less soul music in general, but they’re
pleasant enough.
Of course, you have to expect some flops with an approach like this, such as
the strange, upbeat novelty “Space Man.” And it’s anyone’s
guess as to why two instrumental tracks are taking up space here, unless, as
the liner notes suggest, it’s a tribute to producer/songwriter George Davis,
who served as Aaron’s guiding hand at Par-Lo the same way Allen Toussaint
did at Minit. But Davis, good as he was, was no Toussaint. And no one’s
buying this on his account.