Search - Everly Brothers :: Price of Fame 1960-1965

Worth the Wait

John B Goode | Nova Scotia, Canada | 08/03/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"It took a long time, but it was worth the wait



For many years the Everlys' Warner Years were poorly represented on cd, but within the last year Bear Family issued this PRICE OF FAME Box and the newer CHAINED TO A MEMORY Box, and the deficiency has been rectified Big Time!.



In fact these two boxes complement the still available Cadence Years Box - CLASSIC EVERLY BROTHERS - that Bear issued in the early 1990s. Now the Everly Brothers music from 1957-72 can be found, almost complete, on these three Box Sets.



Regarding the PRICE OF FAME Box, I am very happy to report that the volume on the is equivalent to that on the much earlier box. Sometimes recent cd issues have been re-mastered `louder', but Bear Family has wisely avoided that problem here.



The minor `downsides' for me is the large number of alternate tracks of lesser known songs on this box. There were no alternates of Cathie's Clown? And the flow of the music when disparate albums are presented in chronological sequence on a single cd is may be bizarre. A good part of the weight of the box goes to the sumptuous LP sized hardcover book. If anything, it has too many pictures, but if you like that kind of thing, this will blow you away.



BTW, if these box sets are too much of a good thing for you, you can also now find many of the Everly albums from the Warner era on individual cd, thanks to the Collector's Choice label. Or get the ones that came on 2fers from Europe.



For me personally, I still hope there may still be more digital age reissues to come - in particular, it would be great to see the Delilah Films' EVERLY BROTHERS - ROCK and ROLL ODYSSEY, about their career up to the 1983 Reunion Concert get a DVD release. In the meantime I will order the CHAINED TO A MEMORY box as soon as my budget allows.

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This is the definitive collection for the ultimate fan.

E.I.E.I. Owen | Philadelphia, Pa United States | 07/27/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Finally, after the release of the Everly Brothers early Columbia and Cadence material along comes the definitive collection. I have been waiting for this collection for a long time. I didn't bother with the box set Rhino put out and had to make do with the "Walk Right Back" collection for years and finally its here. Everything and I mean everything the Everly Brothers recorded to tape up until mid 1965 is here including promo spots, foreign language versions and more. There is a handsome hardback book that details what the Everly Brothers were doing day to day. But the important thing is the music. Most people tend to ignore the early WB stuff as light easy-listing music and that's a shame. Yes, there are some clunkers and miss-steps but show me an artist who hasn't laid a few eggs. The recordings still sound great and you get goose bumps from the reverb.



The price is EXPENSIVE but you do get your money's worth because Bear Family does release a quality product and you will not be disappointed. Stay tuned for the last installment of The Everly saga "Chained To A Memory"

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