After a five year hiatus Ron Elliott (guitar, vocals) and Sal Valentino (lead vocals) reformed The Beau Brummels in early 1974, joined by founding members Ron Meagher (guitar, vocals), Declan Mulligan (bass, vocals) and John Peterson (drums).

The band’s eponymous sixth album was issued in April 1975. Despite receiving positive reviews the LP reached only #180 on the Billboard charts and was the groups’ final offering. More than fifty years after its original appearance Real Gone Music has reissued ‘The Beau Brummels’ adding a whopping thirteen bonus tracks, all previously unreleased, in double album and expanded CD versions.

The original album consists of ten tracks, all written or co-written by Elliott, with Valentino’s vocals and Elliott’s guitar work the main attraction, but the entire group displaying their instrumental and vocal prowess throughout. The LP opens with a re-recording of “You Tell Me Why” a top 40 hit for the band in 1965. The updated version is a melodic mid-tempo rocker with chiming guitar, a relaxed lead line, gorgeous vocals and strings adding texture to the track. “First In Line” is a banjo and acoustic guitar led country rocker, “Wolf” blends fiddle and jangling guitar with vocal harmonies. “Down To The Bottom” is an uptempo rocker featuring lead guitar by guest performer Ronnie Montrose. Relaxed guitar and vocals are joined by mouth harp on the country rocker “Tennessee Walker.” The mid-tempo “Singing Cowboy” blends electric and acoustic guitars with evocative imagery. Guest Mark Jordan’s piano adds atmosphere to Valentino’s vocals on “Goldrush.” Jordan’s relaxed piano is complemented by strings on the moody “The Lonely Side.” The upbeat country rocker “Gate Of Hearts” features jangling guitar, vocal harmonies and pedal steel accents. Relaxed guitar, haunting vocals and accordion join lyrical imagery on album closer “Today By Day.” The reissue’s bonus tracks display the group’s versatility in delivering performances on material ranging from light, breezy acoustic folk to heavy, electric guitar driven rock. Elliott receives writing credit on all but one, Meagher penned, track. Among the highlights are the snappy “Restless Soul” with its roaring lead guitar line and solo, the gentle, atmospheric “Sunday Lady High,” the brooding “Lonely People” with its tempo changes moving from acoustic guitar and fiddle led to lead and solo electric guitar mid-tune, the relaxed mid-tempo “Somewhere” melding delicate Valentino vocals with an extended lead guitar interlude, and the dreamy, collection closing, acoustic version of “Today By Day.”

‘The Beau Brummels’ contains a lavishly illustrated thirty two page booklet with black and white photos of the band, press clippings, interviews with band members Ron Elliott, Sal Valentino and Ron Meagher, musician and reissue credits, and an extensive essay by compiler Alec Palao. ‘The Beau Brummels’ sounds better than ever thanks to the tape transfer and mastering job by Palao. This release will be of interest to fans of The Beau Brummels, 1960s and 1970s rock and rock music in general and comes highly recommended.

Kevin Rathert

The Beau Brummels – ‘The Beau Brummels’ (1975): 2026 Real Gone Music Reissue