It’s true that, owing to a combination of in-office vacations and furloughs, I have been spread thin — like the last packet of orange marmalade at an IHOP table of nine lumberjacks.

Which is one way of saying I haven’t Waxed Pithily in this space for a while, but that’s over now. At least until I go on vacation.

We’ll worry about that later.

In the meantime, a rather sudden, late-breaking observation occurred to me the other day. Since it came out 1989, I’ve always believed Yellow Moon was the definitive Neville Brothers album.

And, now, for reasons I can’t explain, I’m starting to seriously wonder if Brother's Keeper might not be a better album. How can that be?

Purists, of course, will suggest that Live at Tipitina's, Vol. 2 is the ultimate Nevilles’ statement, though I personally believe it relies too much on other folks’ songs. You could also argue that The Wild Tchoupitoulas is the best Neville Brothers album, even though they weren't the Neville Brothers yet because they were the Wild Tchoupitoulas. I also don't overlook Fiyo On the Bayou.

All of this has resulted in a frenzy of Nevilles listening, which is good until it’s not good — and it becomes not good because the music by definition reminds me of New Orleans, which then reminds me that BP has probably ruined the Gulf Coast, ecologically and economically, for at least the next century.

But in times of stress and trouble, music heals and soothes. And so the Nevilles listening marathon become good again, and I am grateful for their magic. I am grateful that they have, as the song says, the hearts of lions, the strength of dragons, and the drums of the spirit.

What is their best album? (And was their closing set at the 1991 JazzFest the best concert I’ve ever seen? You tell me.) Oh, and one more thing: the Nevilles need a new batch of their signature purple t-shirts. We don't want new designs. We want the old purple ones (as on the cover of Live at Tip's.) I can no longer, alas, fit in mine.