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Bill Medley's voice is one of the most recognizable in pop history, if only for the fact that "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'," the Righteous Brothers' 1964-1965 number one, has, according to BMI, been played on the radio more than any other song in history. Medley was the deep-voiced half of that team, and although he's maintained his recording and performing career throughout the decades, both with his late partner Bobby Hatfield and on his own, it's pretty much a given that he will forever be associated with that song. Damn Near Righteous is Medley's first solo album in ten years, and the first since Hatfield's 2003 death, and while it won't alter his role in rock history -- he's already a member of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame -- it's a commendable effort that nicely showcases Medley's R&B-influenced vocal style. That voice is not, admittedly, what it used to be: it's much coarser now than it was during the heyday. But Medley puts it to good use on a collection of both new songs and well-chosen covers. Not surprisingly, perhaps, his interpretations of R&B and rock classics are most effective. Medley does wonders with the Ray Charles standard "Lonely Avenue," and gets a groove going on Earl King's "Trick Bag." He takes Bob Dylan's "Just Like a Woman," strips it down so that he's accompanied solely by a bluesy piano, and gives the song a reading that utterly transforms it. The undeniable highlight of the album, however, is Medley's gravelly, dirge-like reworking of the Beach Boys' "In My Room." Imagine a slightly less parched Tom Waits on the lead vocal, except for one classy touch: sweet harmony voices provided by none other than the song's composer, Brian Wilson, and Phil Everly of the Everly Brothers. The original material is less noteworthy, although the album-closing "California Goodbye," a tribute to Hatfield written by producers Steve Dorff and Shayne Fair, is appropriately mournful and sung with true heart and soul. There are moments on Damn Near Righteous that flirt with the schmaltzy, but Medley is the kind of singer who can overcome just about any obstacle -- he even put some verve into "I've Had the Time of My Life," his treacly smash hit duet with Jennifer Warnes from the Dirty Dancing soundtrack -- and there's nothing here that remotely aims toward that segment of the mainstream. It's tempting to think that Damn Near Righteous would have made a hell of a Righteous Brothers album -- the title sorts of begs that consideration, doesn't it? -- but even more likely that it never would have been made at all had that act still been soldiering on.
© Jeff Tamarkin /TiVo
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Jimmy Nichols, Keyboards, AssociatedPerformer - BILL LABOUNTY, ComposerLyricist - Dean Parks, Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Bill Medley, MainArtist - Rick Carnes, ComposerLyricist - John Robinson, Drums, AssociatedPerformer - Robbie Wyckoff, Background Vocalist, AssociatedPerformer - Richard Page, Background Vocalist, AssociatedPerformer - Joe Chemay, Bass Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - George Doering, Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Theresa James, Background Vocalist, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2014 In Tune Productions LLC
Jimmy Nichols, Keyboards, AssociatedPerformer - Dean Parks, Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Bill Medley, MainArtist - Earl King, ComposerLyricist - Joel Peskin, Saxophone, AssociatedPerformer - Vinnie Colaiuta, Drums, AssociatedPerformer - Dan Higgins, Saxophone, AssociatedPerformer - Rick Baptist, Trumpet, AssociatedPerformer - Joe Chemay, Bass Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Wayne Bergeron, Trumpet, AssociatedPerformer - George Doering, Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Brandon Fields, Saxophone, AssociatedPerformer - The Waters, Background Vocalist, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2014 In Tune Productions LLC
Jimmy Nichols, Keyboards, AssociatedPerformer - BILL LABOUNTY, ComposerLyricist - Dean Parks, Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Bill Medley, MainArtist - John Robinson, Drums, AssociatedPerformer - Joe Chemay, Bass Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - George Doering, Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Steve Lorber, ComposerLyricist
℗ 2014 In Tune Productions LLC
Jimmy Nichols, Keyboards, AssociatedPerformer - Dean Parks, Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Bill Medley, MainArtist - Doc Pomus, ComposerLyricist - Vinnie Colaiuta, Drums, AssociatedPerformer - Joe Chemay, Bass Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - George Doering, Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - The Waters, Background Vocalist, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2014 In Tune Productions LLC
Jimmy Nichols, Keyboards, AssociatedPerformer - Dean Parks, Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Bill Medley, MainArtist - Gary Usher, ComposerLyricist - Brian Wilson, FeaturedArtist, ComposerLyricist - Phil Everly, FeaturedArtist - Vinnie Colaiuta, Drums, AssociatedPerformer - Joe Chemay, Bass Guitar, Vocals, AssociatedPerformer - George Doering, Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Jeff Foskett, Vocals, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2014 In Tune Productions LLC
Jimmy Nichols, Keyboards, AssociatedPerformer - BILL LABOUNTY, Background Vocalist, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Dean Parks, Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Steve Dorff, Background Vocalist, AssociatedPerformer - Bill Medley, MainArtist - Robbie Wyckoff, Background Vocalist, AssociatedPerformer - Vinnie Colaiuta, Drums, AssociatedPerformer - Joe Chemay, Bass Guitar, Vocals, AssociatedPerformer - George Doering, Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Theresa James, Background Vocalist, AssociatedPerformer - Daylon Vernon Wear, ComposerLyricist
℗ 2014 In Tune Productions LLC
Jimmy Nichols, Keyboards, AssociatedPerformer - Bill Medley, MainArtist - Bob Dylan, ComposerLyricist
℗ 2014 In Tune Productions LLC
Jimmy Nichols, Keyboards, AssociatedPerformer - Dean Parks, Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - T. Wilson, ComposerLyricist - Bill Medley, MainArtist - Joel Peskin, Saxophone, AssociatedPerformer - Vinnie Colaiuta, Drums, AssociatedPerformer - Dan Higgins, Saxophone, AssociatedPerformer - Rick Baptist, Trumpet, AssociatedPerformer - Joe Chemay, Bass Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Wayne Bergeron, Trumpet, AssociatedPerformer - George Doering, Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Brandon Fields, Saxophone, AssociatedPerformer - The Waters, Background Vocalist, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2014 In Tune Productions LLC
Jimmy Nichols, Piano, AssociatedPerformer - Steve Dorff, ComposerLyricist - Bill Medley, MainArtist
℗ 2014 In Tune Productions LLC
Jimmy Nichols, Keyboards, AssociatedPerformer - M. Jordan, ComposerLyricist - Bill Medley, MainArtist
℗ 2014 In Tune Productions LLC
Jimmy Nichols, Piano, AssociatedPerformer - BILL LABOUNTY, ComposerLyricist - Greg Crowe, ComposerLyricist - Dean Parks, Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Bill Medley, MainArtist - Robbie Wyckoff, Background Vocalist, AssociatedPerformer - Joe Chemay, Bass Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Theresa James, Background Vocalist, AssociatedPerformer - McKenna Medley, FeaturedArtist - Scotty Kormos, Percussion, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2014 In Tune Productions LLC
Steve Dorff, ComposerLyricist - Bill Medley, MainArtist - Randy Kerber, Keyboards, AssociatedPerformer - Robert Fair Shayne, ComposerLyricist
℗ 2014 In Tune Productions LLC
Bill Medley, MainArtist, ComposerLyricist
℗ 2014 In Tune Productions LLC
M. Jordan, ComposerLyricist - Bill Medley, MainArtist - McKenna Medley, FeaturedArtist
℗ 2014 In Tune Productions LLC
Jimmy Nichols, Piano, AssociatedPerformer - Steve Dorff, Bass Guitar, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Bill Medley, MainArtist - Chip Davis, Background Vocalist, AssociatedPerformer - MILTON BROWN, ComposerLyricist - Tommy Jordan, Guitar, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2014 In Tune Productions LLC
Album review
Bill Medley's voice is one of the most recognizable in pop history, if only for the fact that "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'," the Righteous Brothers' 1964-1965 number one, has, according to BMI, been played on the radio more than any other song in history. Medley was the deep-voiced half of that team, and although he's maintained his recording and performing career throughout the decades, both with his late partner Bobby Hatfield and on his own, it's pretty much a given that he will forever be associated with that song. Damn Near Righteous is Medley's first solo album in ten years, and the first since Hatfield's 2003 death, and while it won't alter his role in rock history -- he's already a member of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame -- it's a commendable effort that nicely showcases Medley's R&B-influenced vocal style. That voice is not, admittedly, what it used to be: it's much coarser now than it was during the heyday. But Medley puts it to good use on a collection of both new songs and well-chosen covers. Not surprisingly, perhaps, his interpretations of R&B and rock classics are most effective. Medley does wonders with the Ray Charles standard "Lonely Avenue," and gets a groove going on Earl King's "Trick Bag." He takes Bob Dylan's "Just Like a Woman," strips it down so that he's accompanied solely by a bluesy piano, and gives the song a reading that utterly transforms it. The undeniable highlight of the album, however, is Medley's gravelly, dirge-like reworking of the Beach Boys' "In My Room." Imagine a slightly less parched Tom Waits on the lead vocal, except for one classy touch: sweet harmony voices provided by none other than the song's composer, Brian Wilson, and Phil Everly of the Everly Brothers. The original material is less noteworthy, although the album-closing "California Goodbye," a tribute to Hatfield written by producers Steve Dorff and Shayne Fair, is appropriately mournful and sung with true heart and soul. There are moments on Damn Near Righteous that flirt with the schmaltzy, but Medley is the kind of singer who can overcome just about any obstacle -- he even put some verve into "I've Had the Time of My Life," his treacly smash hit duet with Jennifer Warnes from the Dirty Dancing soundtrack -- and there's nothing here that remotely aims toward that segment of the mainstream. It's tempting to think that Damn Near Righteous would have made a hell of a Righteous Brothers album -- the title sorts of begs that consideration, doesn't it? -- but even more likely that it never would have been made at all had that act still been soldiering on.
© Jeff Tamarkin /TiVo
About the album
- 1 disc(s) - 15 track(s)
- Total length: 00:55:17
- 1 Digital booklet
- Main artists: Bill Medley
- Composer: Various Composers
- Label: Varese Sarabande
- Genre: Pop/Rock Pop
© 2014 In Tune Productions LLC ℗ 2014 In Tune Productions LLC
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