Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
I've been waiting years for this CD. It was worth the wait!, 5 Oct 2001
Highly recommended. After more than 40 years, these two albums are finally available on CD, including extra bonus tracks. There are some great songs here; a few of their biggest hits, and many songs that I have never heard before. This is the first in a series of Everly albums from the 1960's that Warner has finally decided to release on CD. If you have ever enjoyed any of the Everly Brothers songs, get this CD and hear some of the best music that they ever recorded.
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21 of 25 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Kentucky duo at the peak of their career, 26 Sep 2002
The Everly brothers had several hits on the Cadence label, notably Bye bye love and All I have to do is dream, before signing to Warners in 1960. They started very successfully and this album presents their first two albums for Warners, plus other tracks recorded then, but not necessarily released then. Every track here was recorded between March and November of 1960, in the days when it didn't take long to record each song to the required quality standard.The first album (It's Everly time) begins with So sad to watch good love go bad, one of their classic hits. Most of the other songs were written by the Bryants. One of these, Sleepless nights, is pure magic. I believe it to be, along with Love Hurts (see later), the best song they recorded that wasn't released as a single by them. It has since been covered by (among others) Emmylou Harris on her Pieces of the sky album, and by the Judds on their River of time album. The second album (A date with the Everly Brothers - studio album, despite the title) includes Lucille, a cover of the Little Richard classic which they also had a hit with, and ends with Cathy's clown. Despite being the biggest hit they ever had, there are very few covers compared to some of their other hits. The most notable, by far, is Reba McEntire's country version, in which the words are adapted to take Cathy's view of the situation. The other important song here, Love Hurts, has been recorded by many artists in many different musical styles, and has been a pop hit for other artists, including Nazareth. The bonus tracks include singles not released on either of the LP's - Ebony eyes, Walk right back and two versions of Temptation - and other tracks which remained in the vaults at the time, though all were eventually released except one of the versions of Temptation, available here for the first time. Actually, the rare version sounds like an inferior version of the famous version. The tracks not specifically mentioned all fit the general Everly sound of the time, and it is these tracks that are the real reason to buy this. While none of them are outstanding, they are all very enjoyable. Sleepless nights and the famous tracks can all be found on Walk Right Back: The Everly Brothers On Warner Brothers, 1960-1969, although if you're only interested in the early part of their sixties music, you might prefer this twofer anyway.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
No-brainer purchase, 16 Jun 2008
I believe that the best of the Everlies work for Warner Brothers exceeds even the high standards they achieved at Cadence, because Don and Phil Everly were true artists who pushed themselves, and tried to make every record better than the one before. Like John and Paul, they were open to new ideas and keen to face new challenges. This CD not only contains in full the first two albums they made for Warner, both made in 1960, but also seven bonus tracks: three non-album singles (including teen death-craze song Ebony Eyes, Sonny Curtis' Walk Right Back and an inspired and chilling revival of Temptation) and four out-takes including the first recorded version of Temptation, which has never been released before. All 31 tracks have been remastered in true stereo.
It's Everly Time opens with the single So Sad (To Watch Good Love Go Bad), such a perfect song, written by Don Everly, and so movingly performed that there's almost no need to hear the other eleven songs on the album; everything you need from the Everlies is right there, but there is obviously much more. At a time when most tracks on an album were regarded as filler, the Everlies clearly worked hard to make every song count. Sometimes, their choice of material could be corny (Memories Are Made Of This), even pedestrian, but with Boudleaux and Felice Bryant on board to provide half-a-dozen new songs, there is plenty of gold. The original version of Sleepless Nights is here, and it is shocking to learn that this was never a single. Some Sweet Day, later revived by Sandy Denny for Fairport Convention, was also exclusive to this album. There is a hefty booklet included, with reams of information, though a couple of points go unanswered. They do a song by Earl Sinks and Bob Montgomery of Crickets fame, That's What You Do To Me, for example. It has quite a Buddy Holly feel to it, but I could not find that it had been recorded before, with or without Buddy. Where did they find it?
Similarly, on A Date With The Everly Brothers they include Mel Tillis' Stick With Me Baby (revived in 2007 by Robert Plant and Alison Krauss). The notes mention them liking the song and contacting Mel Tillis when they had studio problems getting it right, but again there seems not to be no earlier recording. How did they come by the song? Was it a demo, or had Mel Tillis recorded it himself before? No matter. This time, it is Phil Everly who writes the opening song, Made To Love, and there are three compositions from Don and Phil, a highlight being the recent hit single Cathy's Clown. Boudleaux and Felice Bryant again provide a handful of new songs including the upbeat Donna Donna, the poignant A Change Of Heart and the peerless Love Hurts. Many went on to record this song but not even Gram and Emmylou could match the subtle profundity of the Everly Brothers original, which harks back in style to their Cadence material.
At this point in their career the Everlies were better at those searing torch ballads than when they rocked out, in my opinion, and their classy but polite rendition of Lucille lacks the raucous abandon of the original. However, in the UK where it was promoted as an A-side alongside So Sad it outsold Little Richard's hit, so what do I know?
Two beautifully mastered albums by a duo on top of their game, with some essential bonus tracks, well packaged, at a bargain price. This is a no-brainer for any lover of Everlies music.
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~ Everly Brothers
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~ Everly Brothers
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See all 31 tracks on this disc
