The major label Universal Music is the repository for the recordings
the Righteous Brothers made in the 1960s, separately and together, for Moonglow, Philles, Verve, and MGM Records. Universal's
Gold reissue series, like Sony BMG's Essential series, consists of two-CD compilations of label artists. The Righteous Brothers scored 22 entries on the Billboard Hot 100 between 1963 and 1974, 21 of which are included here. (The exception is a cover of the
Jerry Butler hit "He Will Break Your Heart," which spent one week at number 91 as the B-side of the Top 20 hit "He.") Since the set contains 48 tracks in total, that means the format allows plenty of space for non-hits and album tracks. In
the Righteous Brothers' case, it also allows for some of the many solo efforts of duo members
Bobby Hatfield and
Bill Medley. (They recorded separately in 1963, then split up in 1967, and
Hatfield partnered with Jimmy Walker as
the Righteous Brothers in 1969 before reuniting with
Medley in the '70s.) It's worth noting, therefore, that while Universal has licensed the three comeback hits
the Righteous Brothers scored on Haven Records in 1974 (including the chart-topping novelty "Rock and Roll Heaven") from EMI, it has not gone after tracks
Medley made for other labels, so his 1987 number-one duet with
Jennifer Warnes, "(I've Had) The Time of My Life," from the film Dirty Dancing, released by RCA, is not included. Stylistically, that's just as well. Even stretching the collection to 1974 gives a somewhat deceptive sense of this act's popularity; of those 22 chart entries, 14 reached their peaks in 1965 and 1966, when
the Righteous Brothers reigned as one of the ten most successful singles artists in the U.S. All their immortal hits -- "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'," "Just Once in My Life," "Unchained Melody," "Ebb Tide," and "(You're My) Soul and Inspiration" -- came in that two-year period. The big hits were melodramatic ballads, in some cases produced by
Phil Spector. Before that period, on their Moonglow recordings,
the Righteous Brothers made rough R&B, examples here including
Muddy Waters' "I Just Want to Make Love to You" and
Ray Charles' "This Little Girl of Mine." After the hits subsided, they tried to re-create their popular sound and find equally memorable songs, sometimes by working again with songwriters
Barry Mann and
Cynthia Weil (who had teamed with
Spector to write "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'"). This material, which makes up most of the second disc, is often interesting (e.g.,
Medley's recording of
Jimmy Webb's "Someone Is Standing Outside"), but rarely impressive for itself. There is more here than the average fans really wants, but it's hard to criticize the set for containing too much. There was room, so why not? (By comparison, Anthology [1962-1974], Rhino Records' 1989 two-disc
Righteous Brothers compilation, is 16 tracks and 43-minutes shorter.) It's unlikely there will ever be a three- or four-CD box set on
the Righteous Brothers, not only for commercial reasons, but because they don't really deserve one. And absent that, this is likely to be the most extensive collection of their work ever to be attempted. ~ William Ruhlmann