CoronaVinyl Day 30 (Any Album): Soul & Inspiration by The Righteous Brothers

For an explanation of CoronaVinyl, click here.

Well, 30 days went by in the blink of an eye there, didn't it?  Today is supposed to be the last day of the record-a-day list that I turned so masterfully into CoronaVinyl.  But let's not kid ourselves.  The days of stay-at-home orders, working from home, e-schooling, and quarantining are far from over, so I'm going to keep this daily aural party going as long as we need to.  Thus, I updated the original CoronaVinyl post to include a shit ton of new categories.

But before we get to the new, let's finish with the original list.  Today's category is "any album."  That's about as broad as it gets, but I decided to go with The Righteous Brothers' 1966 album Soul & Inspiration because, fair readers, you're my soul and inspiration, were either of those things to actually exist.

But seriously, folks, I love me some Righteous Brothers.  Tenor Bobby Hatfield and bass-baritone Bill Medley were the perfect complements to each other.  The term "blue-eyed soul" was coined because of them, and as the legend goes, Hatfield and Medley started calling themselves The Righteous Brothers because some African-American Marines at the El Toro Marine base (where they would sometimes perform) would shout, "That was righteous, brothers!" and the end of a show and would greet them with "Hey righteous brothers, how you doin'?"

The Righteous Brothers teamed with legendary (and now notorious) producer Phil Spector for three albums in the mid-'60s, and Spector produced the duo's most enduring hit, "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'," which went on to become the most-played song on American radio and television of the 20th century.

Soul & Inspiration was The Righteous Brothers' first album after parting ways with Spector, and Medley produced the album, much in the same "Wall of Sound" vein that Spector had made famous.  It's a nice mix of originals and covers, including Sam Cooke's "A Change Is Gonna Come" and "Bring It On Home To Me," Wilson Pickett's "In The Midnight Hour," and Jerry Butler's "He Will Break Your Heart."  The album reached #7 on the Billboard album charts.  The title track went to #1 on the Billboard Hot 100, and "He" went to #19.  The Spotify album doesn't have the right order of songs, and some of the song names aren't totally accurate, but it does have all the songs on the album, so that's all that matters.

Favorite song from Side 1:  "Soul and Inspiration"
This is my favorite Righteous Brothers song.  Penned by Brill Building songwriting stalwarts Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil -- who also wrote "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'," as well as tons of other hits for other artists -- the song is just pure soul and emotion, sung from the point of view of a man pleading to his ex to come back.  When the bridge hits, Hatfield's heartfelt spoken-word part at the 1:38 mark lulls you into a false sense of tranquility, but it sets up the best part of the song 20 seconds later, when Medley bursts into his powerful "Baaaybaaay, I can't make it without yoouuu!" and then just pours his heart out through his booming voice.  Whenever this song comes on the radio in the car, I passionately lip sync it to my wife, much to her chagrin and much to the delight of my children.

Favorite song from Side 2:  "Turn On Your Love Light"
Originally recorded by blues and R&B legend Bobby Bland and later made a live staple by The Grateful Dead, "Turn On Your Love Light" is a great song, and The Righteous Brothers give it a proper send-up, with plenty of horns and Medley's deep voice expertly intertwined with Hatfield's wail.