Everly Brothers Heartaches & Harmonies CD

The close, two-part harmonies of brothers Don and Phil Everly -- coupled with a deep country background and a sharp, melodic pop sense -- yielded several huge hits for the duo in the late '50s and early '60s. Following some early country-styled recordings for Columbia Records, the Everly Brothers moved on to Cadence Records, where they added some pop sheen to their Appalachian-derived harmony vocals and, thanks to a Boudleaux and Felice Bryant song that cruised along on a shave-and-a-haircut rhythm, had a massive hit in 1957 with "Bye Bye Love," the first of several hits the brothers would score for Cadence in the next three years before departing for Warner Bros. in 1960. Although they also had some big songs with Warner, including "Cathy's Clown" and "Walk Right Back," the Cadence period arguably finds the Everly Brothers at their peak. This brief set has versions of "Bye Bye Love," "Wake Up Little Susie," and "Bird Dog," among others, but it's simply too short and scattershot to be more than a truck stop purchase. ~ Steve Leggett