I've always had a thing for solo records made by guys who belong to a collective whose sum is greater than the parts, commercially speaking.
And this very bright and crisp November morning, Mr Postman once again had to face me in my dressing gown, to hand over yet another LP that has winged its way to my letter box. The eagerly ripped opened contents of the cardboard package revealed "Don Everly" the self titled solo album by the eldest sibling of the rock n' roll giants, the Everly Brothers. And what a great record it is. (And I'm not bragging, but I did snap up a white label promo copy of this classic from ebay for considerably less than a Chinese take-away..)
Even the briefest glance at the players on the album excites and intrigues; Ry Cooder on bottleneck guitar, Chris Etheridge on Bass, Jim Keltner on drums, Sneeky Pete Kleinow on Steel Guitar. Goes some way to show the esteem Don was held in back in the day.
I am firmly of the opinion that Don Everly has simply one of the best voices in pop, and like all the greatest vocalists of the 20th/21st Century, his vocal instrument is a rich mix of numerous genres; country, soul, gospel, blues etc. And yet his voice is unmistakably his own.
To the album.
You can hear Don relishing in the freedom this project has brought him from the Everly brand. It is a loose, vibey, after- hours, hip, soulful, stunning piece of work. Almost everything about it is effortlessly cool.
Let's look at the songs Don wrote first:
Eyes Of Asia Beautifully produced; clean and sparkling. With Sneeky Pete's steel guitar to the forefront, and group harmonies adding power to the choruses. This is a great little song, with a whimsical ambiguity to the lyrics. An impressive first taster of Don's songwriting craft here.
Don't Drink The Water Is a groovy, country- soul type number, Don in great voice, singing class material, great lyrics. Effective gospel style piano rumbling away. And the unmistakable bottle neck tones of Ry Cooder riffing all over this track. A really funky bass line too.
Safari The backing track reminds me a little of "There Goes Rhymin' Simon" era Paul Simon. Sophisticated, intelligent, yet always restrained. Brilliant backing harmonies, carefully arranged, a bit of a gem.
Omaha One of the most important cuts on the album. This is exactly the kind of song that I hoped one of The Everly Brothers would be writing, whilst fulfilling the never ending, grueling touring duties that being a member of one of the world's biggest acts entails.
"It's hard to remember Pittsburgh properly
It's hard to recall what I did in D.C
No vivid remembrance of things in L.A
The times and the places
Have all slipped away"
Great Production values on the later sections of this song, giving it almost a Phil Spector grandiosity.
February 15th-What a song. Could have come from the pen of a countrified White Album era John Lennon, it has that free form, stoned melodic haze. A triumph, and what a mind blower this must have been for any average Everly follower who bought the album expecting "Wake Up Little Suzie" etc. A real highlight for me.
My Baby Almost David Crosby early CSN feel here, imagine Don as part of Crosby's album "If I Could Only Remember My Name" and it might sound something like this. Great organ work and beautifully recorded acoustic guitars. A really challenging, trans genre composition, bold work.
I'm Thinking It Over Awesome, drum intro to this cut. Inventive chord changes, and Rolling Stones- ish (Exile On Main St era) vocals on the chorus. An unexpected rhythm change in the middle takes the listener by surprise too.
My Friend Another cracker. This would have worked a treat in a film like "Easy Rider," it has that droning, late 60s Byrds groove.
And so, on to the record's handful of covers:
Tumbling Tumbleweeds Those Crosby Stills and Nash harmonies are really evident here again. A prime example of just how innovative even the most hackneyed country standard could be under the direction of the eldest Everly. Every aspect of this performance is class, and Don sings the hell out of this chestnut.
When I Stop Dreaming This could be boring as hell on someone else's album, but the vocal and band performance launch it into the stratosphere. Don plays teases and corrupts the melody with a jazz singer's sensibility. A master-class in interpretation.
Sweet Dreams leads off with a charming musical nod and a wink back to simpler and maybe happier times, with its straight ahead Fats Domino style boogie piano. The track has always been one of my very favourite songs to come from the prolific pen of Don Gibson and in fact Don had already tackled it once before with his younger brother, on the dazzling though unimaginatively titled "Everly Brothers Sing Great Country Hits" album. Here, it is a great album closer, a triumphant band performance, and a soul charged yet respectful vocal from Don.
Had this been a debut record from a long haired singer songwriter residing somewhere in or around Laurel Canyon, and released precisely when Don unleashed this; this music would have caused more of a stir than it did, and might even find itself a regular in "important record" polls today.
Personally, I'm just glad Don valued artistic expression over guaranteed income enough to make this wonderful record. The Everly Brothers would and could never be the same again after the release of this album. I'll leave the final word to the only Everly brother absent on this record
"I don't really know what prompted Donald to do it."
Details:
Artist: Don Everly
Album: Don Everly
Label: Ode/ A&M SP 77005
Year: 1971
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