Search - Everly Brothers :: Definitive Pop

+ 1/2 stars...Not As Definitive As It Should Have Been

Steve Vrana | Aurora, NE | 09/20/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"The Everly Brothers are one of the most influential acts of the rock 'n' roll era, but this recent two-disc set from Rhino is not without its flaws.



BRAVOS: This expands Rhino's 1999 compilation ALL-TIME ORIGINAL HITS from 16 tracks to 30. It includes all of their Top Ten hits, including the million-sellers "Bye Bye Love," "Wake Up Little Susie," "All I Have To Do Is Dream," "Bird Dog" and "Cathy's Clown." [All went to No. 1 except "Bye Bye Love," which peaked at No. 2.]



The Everly's had a huge fan base in England, where they continued to have several hits in the early to mid-sixties that are included here. Released as B-sides in the U.S., "Muskrat" reached No. 20 (1961) and "How Can I Meet Her" reached No. 12 (1962) in the UK. Also, "The Price of Love" failed to chart in the U.S., but made No. 2 in the UK in 1965. [The Everly's last U.S. Top Ten hit was three years earlier!]



BOOS: The Everly's had 27 Top 40 hits in the U.S.; seven of them have been left off this collection. And it's not for lack of room--the 30 songs on this collection could have been squeezed onto a single disc! Missing are tracks like "Claudette," "Take a Message to Mary" and "Poor Jenny."



While Rhino does include their Cadence and later Warner Bros. hits, there is nothing included after 1967's non-charting single "Love of the Common People." The Everly's released five more singles with Warner Bros. over the next three years, including "I'm on My Way Home Again" b/w "Cuckoo Bird" recorded with Clarence White and Gene Parsons of The Byrds; but all failed to chart. They also released a handful of singles on RCA in the early Seventies, including "Ridin' High" b/w "Stories We Could Tell" recorded at John Sebastian's home studio. [Sebastian wrote "Stories We Could Tell" and later recorded his own version with Phil Everly on background vocals.] Moreover, Rhino fails to include anything from their post-reunion era on Mercury. Especially missed is the Paul McCartney-penned single "On the Wings of a Nightingale," which hit UK No. 4 but only hit No. 50 stateside.



Bottom line? This is a great anthology, but if you want the "definitive" collection, you'll have to splurge and get Rhino's 1994 four-disc box set HEARTACHES & HARMONIES. [Running time - Disc 1, 35:08; Disc 2, 36:02] HIGHLY RECOMMENDED"

Great Sound, But Skimpy on the Music

Bill | Maple Glen, PA USA | 01/03/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Rhino did a great job remastering these songs. But "