Graduates of the old school of deep Southern soul, the team of Otis Clay and Johnny Rawls would seem like a double-barrel R&B threat.

Maybe the next time around, but this one’s mostly ordinary.

Clay and Rawls do their best, but the stumbling block here is that most of originals are weak, the covers are mostly ill-chosen, and the band, while competent, simply doesn’t groove.

Soul Brothers starts promising with a finger poppin’ revamp of the Delany and Bonnie’s hit “Only You Know and I Know” (I forgot how good this song is) and “Momma Didn’t Raise No Fool,” a new song with a ’60s soul feel.

But after that, the rest of the CD is like drinking a non-alcohol beer—no kick.

Of the originals, “Voodoo Queen,” features typical cliché-filled lyrics about New Orleans and “Poor Little Rich Girl,” O.V. Wright and James Carr would have walked out of the studio rather than record a song about a poor little rich girl.

Of the covers, “Turn Back the Hands of Time,” might be a good song to vamp on stage, but you can’t beat the original. If you’re gonna get in Tyrone Davis’ kitchen, try something different like “Home Wreckers” or “A Woman Needs to be Loved.”

It’s good to hear Rawls and Clay are still in the saddle, but unfortunately this release has no closing speed.

For a refresher course on Clay, check out his Impac or Hi sides.

Better yet, call Gospel Ron at WBOK next Sunday morning and ask him to play “When the Gates Swing Open.”