LF: Everly Brothers Recommendation(s?)

[JSngry]

Ready to move past the hits, is their one set that really gets all of the good stuff under one roof? If not, what's the best way to have the most under as few roofs as possible?

[paul secor]

Jim, you probably would want to start with Classic Everly Brothers https://www.amazon.com/Classic-Everly-Brothers/dp/B0000282VV/ref=sr_1_3?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1524951238&sr=1-3&keywords=everly+brothers+bear+family
- a 3CD box of their Cadence material, including many unreleased takes and their four initial country oriented recordings with Columbia (not necessities, but interesting). The box includes a booklet with much information and photographs.

Bear Family has also released Studio Outtakes https://www.amazon.com/Studio-Outtakes-Everly-Brothers/dp/B000C3GWE8/ref=sr_1_7?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1524951238&sr=1-7&keywords=everly+brothers+bear+family -  a one CD release with additional Cadence outtakes, including some studio chatter. I find that one fascinating, but it may be overkill for others.

Bear Family has also issued two large boxes of their Warner Brothers and (later) RCA recordings. I haven't gone far enough into that material to want to pick up those two boxes, so I can't comment on them
 

 

[J.A.W.]

This is a really good compilation if the 2 big and excellent Bear Family CD-sets are too much of a good thing - it does have the hits, though:

Heartaches and Harmonies 4CD-set (Rhino)

The BF box Paul Secor mentioned, Classic Everly Brothers, is an excellent overview of their Cadence material.

These are the 2 BF boxes I was referring to:

The Price of Fame: 1960-1965

Chained to a Memory: 1966-1972

Edited April 28, 2018 by J.A.W.

[felser]

I much prefer their Warner Bros. material, have always considered "Cathy's Clown" to be one of the great landmark singles of the pre-Beatles era.  Bear Family stuff costs a fortune.  I agree that it is a really good 4CD set on Rhino ("Heartaches and Harmonies") which covers their entire career, including the sublime "On The Wings of a Nightingale" from 1984, written by some P. McCartney guy for them.  Best bang for the buck is probably to pick up the 20 cut Cadence Classics CD on Rhino, then the 50 cut "Walk Right Back" Warner Bros. anthology.  You can do all that right now on ebay for under $20, and you'll have everything you need from the golden era.  If you want great notes (100+ page book), and a fuller career retrospective into the 80's, go for the 4CD box, under $40 on Discogs.

 

Edited April 29, 2018 by felser

[paul secor]

8 hours ago, felser said:

I much prefer their Warner Bros. material, have always considered "Cathy's Clown" to be one of the great landmark singles of the pre-Beatles era.  Bear Family stuff costs a fortune. 

 

 

 

I have to disagree about their Warner Bros. material. There are some good recordings to be found there, but after the first couple of years, it seemed to be a searching struggle to find a pop hit. Part of this was due to the fact that they parted ways with Wesley Rose as their manager and he refused to let them record any Acuff-Rose published songs, including their own songs, since they were under contract to Acuff-Rose.
For me, their Cadence recordings are the best, and I realize that it's just a personal choice. Differences of opinions (especially about music) can be good things, and I respect your opinion on this, even if I disagree.

[Stereojack]

As a lifelong Everlys fan, I have to weigh in. I bought all three Bear Family boxes as they came out, even though I had all the original LP's. The boxes include many singles and outtakes. Agreed, the Warner Brothers years are inconsistent, but there are plenty of gems throughout these two sets (the 2nd also includes the early 70's RCA sides). I agree with Felser's recommendations if you want to get your feet wet.

I saw the Everlys in the 1980's and again in the 90's, and they were still outstanding.

[danasgoodstuff]

https://www.amazon.com/Songs-Our-Daddy-Taught-Learned/dp/B00GKOU8C0/ref=sr_1_2?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1525146422&sr=1-2&keywords=everly+brothers+songs+our+daddy+taught+us

You'll want some version of Songs Our Daddy Taught Us (or A Teenager's Guide to Killing Your Girlfriend as one of the Bros. dubbed it), this one has earlier versions of the tunes on disc 2.