TOP 40 songwriter-for-hire Diane Warren and contemporary R&B mega-producer Babyface penned “Say What’s In My Heart,” the lead-off track and single from Aaron Neville’s fourth solo album. That combination suggests more emphasis on cash registers ringing than Aaron’s singing, but while To Make Me Who I Am certainly boasts its share of radio-friendly synthesized drums and cotton – candy keyboard swirls, there’s also five strong songs written by Neville, some beautiful string arrangements to compliment his heavenly voice, and a stirring and personal title track that shows artistic inspiration matters to Neville as much as career calculation.
The. unifying theme of the CD is love, love and more love, in all its forms. Aspiring Romeos should ponder “Just To Be With You,” “The First Time I Ever Saw Your Face,” “Yes I Love You,” “Your Sweet and Smiling Eyes,” and “God Made Me For You,” using Neville’s signature vocal flutter as a guidepost. The tracks that address regret leave more lasting impressions; Neville reunites with his duet partner Linda Ronstadt for a heartbreaking reading of Rodney Crowell’s “Remember Me,” and the remembrances in “Sweet Amelia,” a tale of a 1963 romance with a southern woman who “could calm a hurricane,” offer a wistful New Orleans touch. Songwriter Warren’s other contribution, “I Can’t Change the Way You Don’t Feel,” is a perfect match for the vulnerability in Neville’s delivery.
The song “To Make Me Who I Am” is the strongest indicator that no matter how far Neville branches out towards the mainstream, his roots are deeply entrenched. Using vocal and lyrical motifs from “Amazing Grace” and the Sam Cooke classic “A Change Is Gonna Come,” Neville acknowledges he’s “traveled some crooked roads,” and “shot up with the junkie,” but realizes his scars have helped make him the man he is today. A mid-song spoken speech to his friends in jail adds to the message’s resonance. It’s one of Neville’s finest vocal performances on record, and the standout track among a handful of winners on To Make Me Who I Am.
–Scott Jordan
