Anyone looking for a selection of the Righteous Brothers' hits will have to look somewhere besides this 18-song, 55-minute compilation -- apart from the all-too-ubiquitous title track and their version of "He," there's little here that ever diverted the attention of chart compilers or AM radio disc jockeys. The plus side, however, is that all the tracks on this disc are drawn from the best cuts among the six Verve Records LPs plus some odd Philles Records sides that the duo released between 1966 and 1968, and are not only worth hearing but essential listening for any fan of the Righteous Brothers. In the absence of the familiar single sides, listeners get to luxuriate in their sparkling renditions of "Harlem Shuffle," "In the Midnight Hour," "Let It Be Me," "Come Rain or Come Shine," "Somewhere" (the latter two brilliantly showcasing the talents of Bobby Hatfield), and "Along Came Jones," all of which are so good and so uncannily soulful that they're almost scary to ponder, even 40 years later, knowing full well what the Righteous Brothers sounded like. In the absence of a Righteous Brothers box or a reissue of their original albums, this is as comprehensive and wide-ranging a look at their work as listeners have had in the CD era, and at a retail price of ten dollars (very reasonable for a European import), it's hard to pass up. There are no notes, but the sound is good and the selection of music is beyond reproach.
© Bruce Eder /TiVo