The Righteous Brothers: Retrospective 1963-1974

1 rating: 3.0

2005 CD release

This excellent 20-track collection covers the most inspired years of the Righteous Brothers' career, 1963 to 1974, the majority of which were spent in collaboration with notorious studio mastermind Phil Spector. His thundering wall-of-sound techniques … see full wiki

Tags: Music, Albums, Oldies, Blue Eyed Soul

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Collectors will be happy to see some of the lesser known hits included.

Dec 3, 2008

by drifter51
posted in Music Matters

Rating:

With all of the hoopla surrounding Abkco's recent and long overdue releases from the Cameo-Parkway catalog I had not heard a blessed thing about the new Righteous Brothers "Retrospective: 1963-1974". What a pleasant surprise! Included on this super disc are a number of lesser known Righteous Brothers singles that you simply never hear and just cannot find anywhere. The duo's 1965 release "Justine" is a prime example. This tune, originally recorded by Don & Dewey, was featured in the 1965 beach movie "A Swingin' Summer". It is a real departure from their standard fare and Bill and Bobby pull it off without a hitch. Great job! "Retrospective" also includes several hard-to-find Righteous Brothers singles from their stint at Verve records including one of my personal favorites "Go Ahead and Cry". What makes this haunting Bill Medley tune from the summer of '66 so unique is that it was recorded with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. Just in case you're wondering you will also find all 6 of the Righteous Brothers Top Ten hits including the only #1 hit "(You're My) Soul and Inspiration", "Rock And Roll Heaven" from 1974, and the best loved Righteous Brothers tune of all-time "Unchained Melody" which was a huge hit in 1965 and resurfaced once again in 1990 when the tune was featured in the popular motion picture "Ghost". And while you're at it make it a point to check out a couple of other terrific remakes included in this collection. Like "Unchained Melody" the song "He" was a major hit for the great vocalist Al Hibbler back in 1955. I think you will agree that the boys do themselves proud on this one. It is one of my very favorite Righteous Brothers recordings. Likewise, "The White Cliffs of Dover" was a major hit for a number of artists during the height of World War II. And although Bill and Bobby did a great job with it the single failed to crack Billboard's Top 100. That was really a shame but I was very pleased to see that Abkco chose to include it here.

"Retrospective 1963-1974" comes with an informative 12 page booklet that you are sure to enjoy. I noted with some surprise that a couple of reviewers thought that the sound quality on this disc was poor. I did not find that to be the case at all. Not being an audiophile I guess I am just not all that fussy. But the other reviewers opinions should probably be taken into consideration particularly if you own high-end audio equipment. But for me "The Righteous Brothers "Retrospective: 1963-1974" fills a void and is a welcome addition to my CD collection. Recommended!

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QUEENBFLIX April 07, 2009

Any album that's got "Little Latin Lupe Lu" on it is the one I'm looking for. I've never been able to find a Righteous Bors album that had everything I wanted on it--something was always missing. This is missing one, but its as close as I've seen so far.

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