EVERLY BROS: Daddy's Songs (4 bonus)

Original released on LP Cadence CLP 3016

(US, December 1958)

The Everlys had reached their commercial peak when they made this album of sparsely arranged traditional songs, a concept that was quite a surprise from a top rock & roll act, and considerably ahead of its time. It's actually not as enduring as their early rockers and pop ballads, but the singing is superb on their interpretations of standards like "Barbara Allen" and "Kentucky." Beautiful, sparse and with some of the best and most heartfelt singing of their careers - if you like Gillian Welch then you'll love this. To modern ears some of the lyrics seem corny but if you want to know the songs that influenced that melancholy and perfect harmony singing this is is a great place to find out. "Put my little shoes away" and "I'm here to get my baby out of jail" are personal favourites. "Down in the willow garden" is a nice example of an old timey murder ballad. (in AllMusic)

THE EVERLY BROTHERS IN AN INSTANT PARTY!

Original released on LP Warner Bros W 1430

(US, 1962)

After enjoying considerable success with their own, unique brand of rock and roll, the Everly Brothers opted for a change of style on "Instant Party!", their fourth album for Warner Brothers. Taking twelve songs from a bygone era, Phil and Don gave their own interpretations of such standards as "Oh My Papa", "Long Lost John" and "Trouble In Mind". It was a radical change of direction for an album (their singles were still in the same rock and roll vein) and struggled for acceptance in their homeland, although once again British audiences lapped it up, turning the album into another major success, hitting #20 in July 1962. (in Amazon)

"Instant Party!" isn't very highly regarded as an Everly Brothers album, for the good reason that it showed the Everlys stepping outside of their rock & roll personas. Apart from the crisply played and sung opening track, "Step It Up and Go" - which had been suggested by Ike Everly - and a few minor bright spots such as "True Love" and "Ground Hawg" (another Ike Everly-spawned track), the material was pretty dire, confined almost entirely to the pop standards of another era, including such chestnuts as "Bye Bye Blackbird," "Autumn Leaves," and "Oh! My Papa." It was sung well enough, and much of the playing was impeccable, but also, apart from three exceptions, incredibly boring, something the Everlys had never been before. "Instant Party!" marked a low point in their artistic fortunes yet, ironically, even as they were delivering it to Warner Bros, the Everlys were recording singles such as "Crying in the Rain," which represented their sound and their work far better. (Bruce Eder in AllMusic)