Search - Everly Brothers :: The Complete Cadence Recordings 1957-1960

Essential collection of seminal rock 'n' roll harmonies

hyperbolium | Earth, USA | 05/02/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Unlike some of the artists who helped birth rock 'n' roll, the Everly Brothers are fairly well represented on CD. In addition to numerous single-disc greatest hits collections, Rhino's 4-CD box set, "Heartaches and Harmonies," provides a stellar overview of their entire career, spanning pre-Cadence, Cadence, Warner Brothers and post-WB recordings. Warner Archive's 2-CD "Walk Right Back" provides a good overview of their decade on Warner Brothers, and Bear Family's "Classic Everly Brothers" covers the pre-Cadence and Cadence years with the German label's typical thoroughness, including alternate takes and radio broadcasts.Varese's latest collection fits in a small niche between the Rhino and Bear Family boxes, and serves as an essential complement to the Warner Archives set. Though not as complete as the Bear Family issue, the missing rarities are primarily the province of completists, and the domestic price-tag makes this an affordable part of a library of Everly's essentials. As a more complete rendering of the Everly's seminal years, this serves as either an augmentation of the Rhino box (which has half as many Cadence-era tracks) or a complement to the Warner set. The only thing missing from this release is the sort of track-by-track discussion one would expect from a box set. The essay from Andrew Sandoval, featuring interviews with both Everlys, give a sense of the Cadence years, but fails to provide detailed background on all the tracks. And given that many were not hits, the background would be interesting.That piffling complaint aside, what's here is truly magnificent. Varese's compiled all of the officially issued Cadence sides (both singles and LPs), along with several demo and alternate takes (some collected originally on the Bear Family box, some previously unreleased). From their first hit ("Bye Bye Love") through their final sides for Cadence (Phil's "When Will I Be Loved" and Boudleaux Bryant's "Like Strangers"), the Everly's never fail to deliver the goods. Their incredible string of hits, album tracks and excursions into traditional folk tunes (the entire "Songs Our Daddy Taught Us" LP is included), simultaneously redefined the family harmony act, and invented a significant part of rock 'n' roll.It's almost hard to imagine so many great songs being recorded by a single act in just a three-year span. The sessions themselves often produced multiple hits in a single day (e.g., "All I Have to is Dream" and "Claudette," "Bird Dog" and "Devoted to You," "Take a Message to Mary" and "Poor Jenny," "When Will I Be Loved" and "Like Strangers"), resulting in tremendous chart dominance. Beyond the hits (which sound especially good in the company of the entire Cadence output), these discs are filled with gems from B-sides, albums and the occasional single that didn't top the charts.The Everly's own pens produced several hits (including "('Til) I Kissed You" and "When Will I Be Loved"), but they also wrote heart-wrenching close-harmony ballads such as "I Wonder if I Care as Much" and "Maybe Tomorrow," and the love-lost classic "Since You Broke My Heart." Additional demos from Phil Everly feature his familiar guitar and voice, but clearly miss the brotherly harmony.In addition to the hits penned by Felice & Boudleaux Bryant ("Bye Bye Love," "Wake Up Little Susie," "All I Have to do is Dream," "Bird Dog," "Devoted to You," "Problems," "Take a Message to Mary," "Poor Jenny" presented here in both US and UK single versions, and "Like Strangers"), the pair also provided numerous other tunes (such as "Brand New Heartache" and "Oh True Love"), all of which are included.Covers of Little Richard's "Keep A-Knockin'" and Ray Charles "Leave My Woman Alone," show just how easily the Everlys could make a song their own. The piano and guitar breaks of "Keep A-Knockin'," though not as manic as Richard's own, display the sort of easy abandon that marked the best early rock 'n' roll. The Charles cover shows how easily the Everlys could stretch their country roots in a bluesy direction.From their first hit in '57 through their last in '60, the Everly's gave Cadence their very best. Though they'd continue to record great hits for several more years (and essential LPs for the rest of the decade) on Warner Brothers, their seminal work on Cadence glows with a youthful energy and sense of discovery that have rarely been matched. For all but the die-hard Everly's completist, this is the set to get."

The early years when all they had to do was dream

Peter Durward Harris | Leicester England | 09/27/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The Everly brothers were raised on country music but they quickly adapted to rock'n'roll, the exciting new music of the late fifties. In truth, they never strayed all that far from their roots although it seemed a long way at the time. Despite a massive injection of R+B into their music, the music here has a lot more in common with traditional country than with contemporary pop or country music.The classic songs that the bothers recorded during this period of their career included Bye bye love, Wake up little Susie, All I have to do is dream, Claudette, Bird dog, Devoted to you, Problems, Take a message to Mary, Poor Jenny (included twice because the USA and UK single versions differed), Till I kissed you, Let it be me, When will I be loved and Like strangers. Some were only B-sides originally but all have become classics.The brothers also recorded fine covers of R+B classics including Rip it up, Keep a knocking, Be bop a lula and Leave my woman alone.As if to emphasize their determination not to lose their musical roots, they recorded an album of Appalachian folk-country music, Songs our daddy taught us, at the height of their pop success. The tracks from that album occupy the first thirteen tracks of the second CD.So this collection contains all the music they recorded for Cadence that most people will ever want, although the diehard fans can find alternate takes and demos elsewhere. For those who want more than just the hits, this is the ideal collection of the Everly brothers' fifties music. Other collections are available covering their later music."

Only Three Reviews? This Is A Classic!

Michael A. Beyer | Chicago, IL United States | 10/03/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"First of all, if you love great music and some of the best vocal harmonizing ever recorded, buy this 2-CD set. It's all here. The hits that have stood the test of time for 45 years. Tremendous covers of songs by Little Richard, Ray Charles and Roy Orbison. High, lonesome covers of ancient folk songs covering topics mostly dealing with death. I know I sound like a commercial, but this collection was such a fantastic surprise to me that I really want to shout it to the world.



The Everly Brothers are often overlooked or dismissed in any discussion of seminal influences on rock and roll. Too wimpy, many say. Had a few hits, then crashed and burned. But Phil Everly's "Can't Recall" is pretty much a blueprint for the song stylings of Paul Simon. Furthermore, Gram Parsons & Chris Hillman's gorgeous harmonizing within The Flying Burrito Brothers owes a big debt to the Everlys.



Essential."