#27 A Date With The Everly Brothers by The Everly Brothers

With the exception of Wake Up Little Susie I have very little knowledge of The Everly Brothers, with the exception of the shocking fact that they were brothers. So when I was confronted with the title of A Date With The Everly Brothers there was an overriding temptation to start off the review as some form of crazed fan-girl who was extremely excited at the prospect of being on a date with these guys. What stopped me from doing this? Well I reasoned that maybe I should give the album a listen first before I made such a rash writing decision.

One thing I found very interesting about A Date With The Everly Brothers was that in the light of Elvis’s comeback this twosome felt the need to up their game in order to combat this renewed threat. If you have actually read my previous review of Elvis Is Back! you will probably understand why the idea of this album being a commercial threat actually had me in stitches. Still though, fair play to them in their need to maintain their crown as the dominant voices on the chart and hey a little bit of fair competition brings out the best in an artist.

What struck me as strange was how their version of one-upmanship could just sound so flat and uninteresting. There are songs on this such as Sigh, Cry, Almost Die that are so full of angst that it’s painful to listen to, granted I went through that period and kept that diary filled with ‘woe is me’ sentimentalities, but if you are really so angst-ridden don’t sound so bloody perky. Then we have Love Hurts whose sadness just leaves me thinking they should just go to a local diner and drown their sorrows in a vanilla malt. That is what teenagers did in the late fifties/early sixties right? Sad thing is that Love Hurts is actually one of the better songs on this album.

This is, however, not meant to undermine the vocals on this album. While I may not be one for male close harmony singing (or close harmony singing in general with the exception of The Mamas & The Papas) I can appreciate the purity of their harmonies. For me if these guys were given different songs I can see no reason why I could not be a fan. I mean, I actually really like Wake Up Little Susie as it is slightly more poppy, upbeat and downright catchy.

In summary, considering this was the music teenagers of this era would have been subjected to I consider myself fortunate. Personally the idea of sitting alone at the computer all angsty accompanied by Alizeé and the Sugababes is a far happier one than what previously existed in the form of teenage entertainment. Again none of this is meant to undermine the influence that this duo had on music, which their vocal stylings echoed in the works of later artists such as the Beatles, but for an album that doesn’t last more than half an hour I found myself deathly bored for the vast majority.

4.0/10

Fab Four:
Made To Love
Love Hurts
Donna Donna
Cathy’s Clown