Kenny Neal - Devil Child (1989)

Posted By: Designol

Date: Oct. 6, 2024

Backed by a punchy horn section and sizzling rhythms, Neal didn't suffer from any sophomore jinx. Between Neal, his bass-playing co-producer Bob Greenlee, and drummer Jim Payne, there's some very crafty songwriting going on here – "Any Fool Will Do," "Bad Check," and "Can't Have Your Cake (And Eat It Too)" are among the standouts.

Review by Bill Dahl, Allmusic.com

On his second Alligator release, Kenny Neal vigorously meshes with special guest Edgar Winter and prominent band members such as Lucky Peterson. Neal, a Baton Rouge native, learned to play bass in his father's (Raful Neal) band. At 17 Neal was on the road with Buddy Guy. In the early 80s, he formed the Neal Brothers Band and moved to Toronto. In the late 80s, he returned to the States thanks to a recording contract. Neal's Alligator debut was very credible. Devil Child is monumental as all aspects of Neal (songwriting, vocals, guitar, and harp) have progressed. Neal co-wrote eight of the 11 songs and includes a cover by one of his father's songs. The songs prominent themes include challenging relationships and problematical personalities. No doubt Kenny's chugging harp was influenced by his Dad while Buddy Guy's affect exposes itself on Kenny's controlled guitar.

The pulsating King Snake Horns are full of energy and add finesse throughout 40 minutes. Via their interweaving, they create a party on "Can't Have Your Cake And Eat It Too". They push "Yack Yack Yack" along with a forceful current. Here, like "Our Love Is Running Out, the distinguished bass guitars of Bob Greenlee or Kenny's brother Noel can be heard. As Peterson's commanding keys add phenomenal fills, Jim Payne's heavy drums carry a loping beat on the opener "Any Fool Will Do". Lucky's outrageous funk grooves anoint "The Further We Go". During the title track, Neal's churning harp takes you to the Deep South. You will struggle to decide which you like the most - his guitar or harp skills. While, Neal exposes his heart and soul via hungry vocals and arresting guitar, "The Son I Never Knew" tackles a complicated situation. It forces the listener to ponder what life this father and son may have had if they had met and begun a relationship. The radio friendly "I Owe It All To You" details a strong woman who is there to support her man. Using deep, ahead-of-his-time vocals, "On My Way To Heaven" showcases Neal as the premier voice of a new blues generation. This significant album, which was recorded when he was in his early 30s, established Kenny Neal as one of the best contemporary blues artists.

Review by Tim Holek

Kenny Neal at Allmusic
Kenny Neal Website
Kenny Neal at Wiki

Tracklist:

01. Any Fool Will Do (03:57)
02. Bad Check (03:21)
03. Our Love Is Running Out (04:26)
04. Can't Have Your Cake ( And Eat it Too) (03:20)
05. Devil Child (03:13)
06. The Son I Never Knew (03:47)
07. On My Way To Heaven (03:42)
08. Yack Yack Yack (03:07)
09. Change My Way Of Livin' (04:46)
10. I Owe It All To You (03:53)
11. The Further We Go (03:08)

EAC log

Exact Audio Copy V1.0 beta 6 from 9. April 2015

EAC extraction logfile from 18. November 2016, 13:25

Kenny Neal / Devil Child

Used drive : PLEXTOR DVDR PX-891SA Adapter: 0 ID: 2

Read mode : Secure
Utilize accurate stream : Yes
Defeat audio cache : Yes
Make use of C2 pointers : No

Read offset correction : 6
Overread into Lead-In and Lead-Out : No
Fill up missing offset samples with silence : Yes
Delete leading and trailing silent blocks : No
Null samples used in CRC calculations : Yes
Used interface : Installed external ASPI interface

Used output format : User Defined Encoder
Selected bitrate : 320 kBit/s
Quality : High
Add ID3 tag : No
Command line compressor : C:\Program Files\Exact Audio Copy 1.0 b6\Exact Audio Copy\Flac\flac.exe
Additional command line options : -V -8 -T "Date=%year%" -T "Genre=%genre%" %source%

TOC of the extracted CD

Track | Start | Length | Start sector | End sector
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––-
1 | 0:00.00 | 3:57.37 | 0 | 17811
2 | 3:57.37 | 3:21.10 | 17812 | 32896
3 | 7:18.47 | 4:26.65 | 32897 | 52911
4 | 11:45.37 | 3:20.08 | 52912 | 67919
5 | 15:05.45 | 3:13.57 | 67920 | 82451
6 | 18:19.27 | 3:47.50 | 82452 | 99526
7 | 22:07.02 | 3:42.65 | 99527 | 116241
8 | 25:49.67 | 3:07.23 | 116242 | 130289
9 | 28:57.15 | 4:46.50 | 130290 | 151789
10 | 33:43.65 | 3:53.15 | 151790 | 169279
11 | 37:37.05 | 3:08.62 | 169280 | 183441

Range status and errors

Selected range

Filename L:\Lossless Temp\Kenny Neal\1989. Kenny Neal - Devil Child (1989 Aliigator Records, ALCD 4774, USA)\Kenny Neal - Devil Child.wav

Peak level 100.0 %
Extraction speed 7.7 X
Range quality 100.0 %
Test CRC 5A8C4092
Copy CRC 5A8C4092
Copy OK

No errors occurred

AccurateRip summary

Track 1 accurately ripped (confidence 1) [42277A91] (AR v1)
Track 2 accurately ripped (confidence 1) [A99857AE] (AR v1)
Track 3 accurately ripped (confidence 1) [FF7859A4] (AR v1)
Track 4 accurately ripped (confidence 1) [6982E685] (AR v1)
Track 5 accurately ripped (confidence 1) [5F3D1EEC] (AR v1)
Track 6 accurately ripped (confidence 1) [AB2C71E3] (AR v1)
Track 7 accurately ripped (confidence 1) [104C5B9D] (AR v1)
Track 8 accurately ripped (confidence 1) [1962EEB3] (AR v1)
Track 9 accurately ripped (confidence 1) [68AA8A21] (AR v1)
Track 10 accurately ripped (confidence 1) [6F5DFC85] (AR v1)
Track 11 accurately ripped (confidence 1) [087EF8B3] (AR v1)

All tracks accurately ripped

End of status report

==== Log checksum 3CC92A5DB99710257127F19647CA828B4B53A005D430230286CA63ADD6F47158 ====

DR log

foobar2000 1.2 / Dynamic Range Meter 1.1.1
log date: 2016-12-12 20:53:51

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Analyzed: Kenny Neal / Devil Child
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

DR Peak RMS Duration Track
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
DR16 0.00 dB -18.53 dB 3:57 01-Any Fool Will Do
DR14 -1.89 dB -17.79 dB 3:21 02-Bad Check
DR15 0.00 dB -17.44 dB 4:27 03-Our Love Is Running Out
DR14 -1.40 dB -16.94 dB 3:20 04-Can't Have Your Cake ( And Eat it Too)
DR14 -1.12 dB -16.81 dB 3:14 05-Devil Child
DR15 -0.59 dB -18.24 dB 3:48 06-The Son I Never Knew
DR14 -0.50 dB -16.70 dB 3:43 07-On My Way To Heaven
DR13 -0.40 dB -15.78 dB 3:07 08-Yack Yack Yack
DR13 -1.50 dB -16.40 dB 4:47 09-Change My Way Of Livin'
DR14 -1.46 dB -17.42 dB 3:53 10-I Owe It All To You
DR15 -1.00 dB -18.56 dB 3:09 11-The Further We Go
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Number of tracks: 11
Official DR value: DR14

Samplerate: 44100 Hz
Channels: 2
Bits per sample: 16
Bitrate: 826 kbps
Codec: FLAC
================================================================================

All thanks to original releaser

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