MUSIC OR DIE #23: The Everly Brothers, "A Date with the Everly Brothers" (1960)

"Call collect - chicks dig that"

Part 23 of my 1000+ part series.

(For info on that, clickety-click-click)

In which I explore more of the early roots of rock. Rad.

TL;DR

More after The Cut >>>



1.) Made to Love - And we're off! Getting serious Beach Boys vibes (not to get too ahead of myself here), with the melodies and guitar-style. "Girls, girls, girls were maaaade to love"

2.) That's Just Too Much - Very country-western vibes with the guitar (more Louvin Brothers than Marty Robbins) with the twangy guitars. It's a story of someone who's 'lost that loving feeling' - realized that that person didn't love them much this whole time.

3.) Stick With Me Baby - You can really hear how this inspired early Beatles' music. Originally written by country music legend Mel Tillis, the Everly Brothers' version has amazing harmonies. Beautiful song.

4.) Baby What You Want Me to Do - This is another cover, this time of a song originally by blues artist Jimmy Reed. Fun tidbit: An old Billboard magazine called his version "deliver[ed] freely in classic, gutbucket fashion." I don't know what 'gutbucket fashion' means, but I'm calling everything that from now on.

The original:

I love both versions, but I have to say that I prefer the original. Jimmy Reed's age and voice are to his benefit here, in my opinion, and add more depth to the song.

5.) Sigh, Cry, Almost Die - This song was written by the brothers themselves, but I have to admit that I wasn't the biggest fan of this song. You can tell that they were quite young when they wrote this song.

6.) Always It's You - It's a lovely ballad, this time not of regret or heartbreak, but of rejoicing: When I'm sad, who do I turn to?

Not necessarily the wrong option...

THUS ENDS SIDE ONE

7.) Love Hurts - This song has been others, notably Roy Orbison, but was first recorded by the Everly Brothers.

I prefer the Everly Brothers' version myself. Their youth benefits them for this song, not to mention their harmonies are lovely.

8.) Lucille - Aaaand speaking of Roy Orbison, the opening to this song sounds so much like "Pretty Woman," it's remarkable. This song was actually first recorded by Little Richard, and covered by others like the Everly Brothers and the Beatles. Gotta give it to my man Richard - he's always at an eleven. Sorry, Everlys.

9.) So How Come (No One Loves Me) - Aaaand speaking of the Beatles, they covered this song, which had first been recorded by the Everly Brothers.

The lyrics are heart-meltingly sincere: "They say that everyone loves someone / So how come no one loves me?" I give the edge to the version by the Everly Brothers; they add a certain sincerity and earnestness that's less present for me in the Beatles' version.

10.) Donna, Donna - Love the opening riff, but the song itself I think is outshone by songs like "Made to Love." Super catchy all the same, and has A+ lines like, "He really stole my thunder / When he gave you the bloomin' eye / He really cut me dead."

11.) A Change of Heart - I could totally see this as an Elvis song. Very melancholic and resigned - essentially, 'you used to like me but now you don't, I guess.'

Cue the sad violins.

12.) Cathy's Clown - The album closer, this was another actually written by them, and it became a massive number 1 hit, with its almost circus-like jaunty rhythm and adorably cute (in the way that that awkward high schooler is cute) sentiment: I'm being played by Cathy, and everyone's jeering at me and calling me Cathy's clown. I have to admit, I had no idea how impactful this song actually was. Apparently the Beatles loved it so much that they nearly called themselves The Foreverly Brothers, and they went on to adapt some of the vocal arrangements for their own song "Please Please Me."

FINAL THOUGHTS:

This album didn't have the hits I really knew previously from the Everly Brothers, like "Crying in the Rain" or "All I Have to Do Is Dream" or even "Bye Bye Love" - this album actually came out after most of those - and I have to admit, none of the songs here really spoke to me as much as those did. That being said, there are some truly beautiful harmonies and melodies on this album, and it's readily apparent how influential this album was on major acts to follow...most notably the Beatles. But we're still a few years too early for that.

Fiiiiiine

Personal standout tracks:
"Made to Love," "Stick With Me Baby," "Always It's You," "Cathy's Clown" (less for the song itself and more for its significance)