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90Artist:     The Everly BrothersAlbum:     The Songs Of The Everly BrothersLabel:     SundazedRelease Date:     01/15/2016

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The Everly BrothersThe Songs Of The Everly BrothersAlbum Reviews | April 22nd, 2016

Sundazed Records attractivelydesigned double LP, The Songs ofThe Everly Brothers, is a feast ofrecordings that show Don and PhilEverly as highly skilled songwritersand masterful singers. Thiscollection focuses on 36 home andstudio demos made mostly forCadence Records in the late 1950’sand early 1960’s, though side fourincludes some nice solo materialfrom Don in the early 70’s.

With extensive liner notes byAndrew Sandoval, the Grammynominated producer and engineerwho has chronicled the history ofthe Everly Brothers for more than20 years, we get a strong sense ofthe stories behind each of the demos and their relevance to the arc of their careerhits. Sandoval provides interesting information about how the development of earlyhome recording equipment made creating demos like these possible for the Everlysand other musicians of the time. Often, there is a stark intimacy to these recordings as

if the listener is right in the room with Don and Phil.

Each side contains nine tracks, the �rst focusing on recordings from the 1950’s. The�rst track, “Life Ain’t Worth Living” is stunning for its tight vocal arrangement andsweet, romantic style, for which the Everlys were well known. Only brothers could singharmony this close and this perfect. The results are sublime. “Give Me A Future”foreshadows “Bye Bye Love” with its chunky acoustic guitar ri�, or “chicken rhythm.” “Iwas really in�uenced by Bo Diddley at that time, guitar wise. I was trying to sound likethat…” recalls Don.

“Maybe Tomorrow” is a standout track and wound up as the �ip side to “Wake UpLittle Susie.” At the time, only Buddy Holly compared in terms of craft. “I Didn’t MeanTo Go This Far” shows their growing maturity as songwriters. “We were writing thoseheartfelt songs,” says Don. “It had a lot to do with being really romantics at heart.”

On side two, “All I ask Of Life” is sweet and yearning. “Dancing On My Feet” is a rockerthat brings to mind some of the more lively cuts o� of Bruce Springsteen’s Nebraska,the boss having acknowledged the Everlys as major in�uences. The minor keyed “SinceYou Broke My Heart” has a dark feel with a rumba rhythm and captivating falsettovocals. Phil’s solo cut “When Will I Be Loved” was apparently �nished over a root beerat an A&W Root Beer stand and shows his evolution as a songwriter. “Phil came intohis own as a songwriter shortly after the duo signed with Cadence, and his outputsoon outstripped Don’s in quantity,” notes Sandoval.

On side three, Phil’s solo demo “Who’s To Be The One” is a prime example of theintimacy of these home recordings. The “ghostly vocal echoes” transport the listenerright back to 1958. “Her Love Was Meant For Me” is another excellent solo piece fromPhil notable for the way he taps a beat on the body of his guitar. The chord changes of“Since You Broke My Heart” anticipates garage rock classics such as “Gloria.” Alsoappearing is another version of “Maybe Tomorrow” and it’s impossible to choosewhich is better.

The Everly’s in�uence stretched far and wide. One can easily imagine a young PeteTownshend picking up on the strumming styles of “You’re The One”, another minorkey rocker. Keith Richards of The Rolling Stones has acknowledged learning open Dand E  tunings from Don for wider chord voicings, which were instrumental inpropelling the songs of both groups. Their incredible harmony work would in�uencethe Beatles, the Beach Boys, the Byrds, Simon and Garfunkel, Tom Petty andmany more.

Side Four mostly shows solo material from the early 1970’s just before Phil and Donseparated as a working duo. By this time, their voices had changed and dropped inpitch. Gone are the teenage tones, now replaced by slightly deeper, more adultsounding voices, but the sense of plaintive longing remains. The Everly Brothers wouldnot perform together again until 1984, o�cially retired in 2005, and Phil passed awayin 2014.

The Songs of The Everly Brothers is not meant to be a starting point for getting to knowtheir hits, but rather a �ne collection of recordings that demonstrate their magisterialskills as songwriters.  The Everly Brothers’ lyrics speak to timeless, universal themes oflove and loss, and their awe inspiring vocal harmonies make this a collection wellworth owning for anyone interested in the canon of American folk, pop and rock.

– Michael Cobb

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