Look at Us

by Bruce EderFor their first album-length excursion in the wake of "I Got You Babe," Sonny & Cher don't tread too far outside the influence of Phil Spector, including covers of "Unchained Melody," "Then He Kissed Me," and "Why Don't They Let Us Fall in Love," of which the latter shows off the most appealing elements of each singers' voice. "It's Gonna Rain," which Ahmet Ertegun favored over "I Got You Babe," is a sub-Rascals attempt at white electric soul, while "500 Miles" is Spectorized folk-rock that Sonny carries for one verse and a chorus longer than he should have. The three bonus cuts are as valuable as anything off the original album -- "It's the Little Things" and "Don't Talk to Strangers" (not the Beau Brummels tune) are both throwbacks to a slightly older Spector sound, without as much concession to the folk-rock influences of 1965 as the album material. "Hello" is a B-side on which they simply talk, George Burns & Gracie Allen-style, in a distant precursor to the between-song patter that helped get them a television series and a second career.