The Righteous Brothers – Re-Birth (SVLP 9249) (1969)

Inside The Next Issue of Thrifty Vinyl                                    DNA TESTS REVEAL RIGHTEOUS BROTHERS NOT RELATED

In which the original blue-eyed soulsters, to judge by the sleeve, make a late bid for 60s RELEVANCE; all long hair, mustaches, paisley dashikis and tank tops. Then there’s that front cover. At least the newborn’s genitals are safely hidden, but it’s a pretty graphic image for 1969, even if it was trying to make a corporate point about the departure of Bill Medley (and replacement by Jimmy Walker, late of the Knickerbockers).

What we end up with on this lone RB record sans Medley is less the Wall-of-Sound that he, as the post-Spector producer, was able to duplicate, than a first-rate Sam & Dave-style blues/soul album with flourishes of contemporary rock. Ace.

One of the benefits of self-employment is the ability to go walkabout in the middle of the day, if the desire takes. Feeling thus, Mrs. Asbo and I sauntered the High Street of Hythe this Meridian whence, for one pound at Demelza House, came the item under consideration.