Customer Reviews

The Best of the Righteous Brothers: 20th Century Masters: Millennium Collection

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
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It's hard to believe that this group, while long gone, doesn't have the long term appeal and stay power of other oldies groups. This is a stirring collection of songs. The "Unchained Melody" and "Rock & Roll Heaven" are unforgettable. This is a CD that is well worth having in any collection. I have enjoyed it over and over again.Listening to the awful singers of today allows me to have more appreciation of groups that actually could sing. Where are all the songwriters??

There are only four cuts on this disk that I love- Just Once in my life (my absolute favorite), Unchained Melody, Ebb Tide,& You're my soul and Inspiration. I paid $10.00 for this CD at a local store compared to Amazon's $7.00 price. But, those four cuts are worth every penny. Bill Medley's baritone voice on "Just Once in my Life" is absolutely divine, and Bobby Hatfield's "Ebb Tide" is beautiful. I have played those four cuts over and over again. I don't regret paying $10 for four songs.

Just some great tracks. Rock and Roll Heaven is one of my alltime favorites.
I love the compilation, and how can you go wrong with the Righteous Brothers?

Only one complaint- whoever did the remixing on the cuts seems overly impressed by cymbals.

Someone evidently thought it a good idea to punch up the sound of a $500 set of cymbals over the voices of the finest tenor/barritone combo in rock history. It ruins Soul and Inspiration.

June 18, 2008

Sometime around 1962, at a juncture in American Rock and Roll and before the invading Brits, Bill Medley and Bobby Hatfield were touring small blues clubs in the South as a rhythm and blues vocal duo when suddenly one of the locals shouted out during the course of the performance, "that's righteous, man". That patron inadvertently named what would become, I believe, the foremost blue eyed soul performers in rock and roll history. The sub genre designation "blue eyed soul" includes such diverse acts as Elvis in some respects, Johnny Rivers, Dusty
Springfield and Hall and Oates who combine an urban sound as well. As a young man, I remember a weekly rock and roll television show in the sixties called Shindig where the Righteous Brothers were featured recording artists. The show had groups like Paul Revere and the Raiders, Bobby Sherman and Jackie DeShannon, a very memorable and stylish female artist of her day. At that point, Bill and Bobby were singing their early recordings like Little Latin Lupe Lu and Koko Joe and starting to catch fire. Remember, those times concert variety television shows featured professional and exceptional talent with the exception of Ted Mack who was essentially an A & R man and not a "judge". Meanwhile back at the historic Brill Building in New York City, Carol King and Jerry Goffin, Neil Diamond, Neil Sedaka and a young and phenomenally talented and innovative producer by the name of Phil Spector were becoming a forceful and structural influence upon the music industry and destined to create unmitigated quality in songwriting and production which was to follow their lead. Eventually Phil Spector engineered his Wall of Sound production technique and quickly found out that the Righteous Brothers were naturals to be enveloped in this sound which amped up the instruments and equipment to a point where the listener felt like he was inside the radio. Add Bill Medley's warm and soulful baritone to Bobby Hatfield's legendary tenor rock and roll voice, couple it with that driving blue eyed soul beat and decibel and you have the most played song in rock and roll history. That would be "You've Lost That Love And Feeling" (all the songs mentioned in my review are on this treasured CD). That song is up there with Satisfaction, In the Still of The Night and even Stairway to Heaven. I even like Rock and Roll Heaven although this is kind of a novelty song sometimes panned by critics. To date I regret to mention that Bobby Hatfield is no longer with us, but it is my understanding that Bill Medley who I personally saw perform in Las Vegas when I was out there in 1971, is apparently on tour now and someone who is an outstanding solo artist. At any rate satellite, I notice is playing tons of Righteous Brothers music and exposing a new generation to their talents in a flight to quality that every music fan may be experiencing.

Jay Adler, Music Critic

If you were or 'are' a fan of the Righteous Brothers' music, this CD is for you. It's got their best and most popular music and is sure to put you where you want to be when listening. I highly recommend this CD!

20th Century Masters: Millennium Collection The Best Of The Righteous Brothers offers up fourteen of their songs that are very well performed with precision, care and genuine emotion. The Righteous Brothers, Bill Medley and Bobby Hatfield, never hesitated to dig deep into a ballad to be able to convey every subtle nuance of each word they ever sang; and their adoring fans loved them for it. The quality of the sound on this CD is excellent and I like the artwork even if it is standard for this CD series.

The album opens with The Righteous Brothers performing "Little Latin Lupe Lu." This of course has a somewhat Latin sounding rhythm mixed with a rock and roll flavor that makes it rather strong--this is great music for dancing! "Little Latin Lupe Lu" gets the royal treatment from The Righteous Brothers; and that's grand. The single version of "Koko Joe" is equally electric and I think you'll like this tune. Those drums are great! "You Lost That Lovin' Feelin'" is one of the best hits ever; all the stars were in all the right places when The Righteous Brothers recorded this classic torch song! "You Lost That Lovin' Feelin'" really shines as they sing this well; and the percussion works wonders for the musical arrangement. Great!

"See That Girl" shimmers brightly; this a wonderful ballad with a very passionate delivery; I love it. "Unchained Melody" was another huge hit; this is performed faultlessly and it's easily a major highlight of this album. "Unchained Melody" is also easy on the air; those strings sound great and it all holds its own very well. In addition, "Ebb Tide" is actually one of my very favorite songs on this album; I could never tire of this song.

Listen also for a splendid rendition of "The White Cliffs Of Dover;" this late World War Two era ballad sounds so fresh and new when The Righteous Brothers deliver it with panache. I think many a World War Two era recording artist would be just a bit jealous of their wonderful treatment of this tune. "(You're My) Soul And Inspiration" really works well on more than one level; the music enhances the natural beauty of this ballad and I love "(You're My) Soul And Inspiration."

"He" is a terrific number that is pleasant to hear; and "Go Ahead And Cry" really lets them open up and bat this straight out of the ballpark! This is great music and The Righteous Brothers never let go of a superfluous note, either. "On This Side Of Goodbye" features great harmonizing with backup vocalists; and the CD ends strong with The Righteous Brothers performing "Rock And Roll Heaven." "Rock And Roll Heaven" is a true classic and it's worth the price of admission alone!

The Righteous Brothers accomplished a lot in their heyday; and they will never be forgotten. Yes, Bobby Hatfield is no longer with us; but he lives on through music like this. This is a great introductory CD for new fans; the more diehard fan will probably have these songs already. Therefore, the diehard fan would do well to look for more comprehensive CDs or even box sets by these fine artists.

These guys were a little out of their element in party mode,(to me), but once they got down to some gorgeous ballads the classics that resulted are nothing short of awesome. I need not repeat the titles, as they are all staples of oldies radio and deservedly so. However,it is a mystery to me that Bobby Hatfield did not branch out and do some solo work.(Or did he??) What a voice! He absolutely SLAYS on Unchained Melody,one of the most beautiful pop records ever made. The man seemed to turn his soul inside out on that one. I am, and will always be a fan of this singer. I just wish there was more to enjoy of his vocal work. If that isn't soul, I don't know what is. Bill is great too,although I sometimes found his vocals so butch they seemed dripping with testosterone. He is no doubt a huge hit with the females.Together, these two guys were magic. Who knows how far Bobby could've gone on his own later on? (Bill knows the answer to this mystery,I imagine.)Should you ever wonder exactly how elegant a pop single can be, listen carefully to Ebb Tide. It is spine tingling. I wish Mr. Medley continued success;thanks for the pleasure. It's timeless music.

Some of the best love songs ever written. They have been remastered and are even better than the original recordings

If you love the RIGHTEOUS BROTHERS you will be pleased with this CD album!! And at a great price!!

My lady and I love to turn down the lites and dance to Unchained Melody.Love is still alive at 60.