Computer Age

The Everly Brothers
Roots
(Warner Brothers 1968)

This disc is from a time when Don and Phil Everly had been thrown from the haven of success and wore a few years with major personal and professional problems.
Had started in music when they had only 6 and 8 years in the mid-40s, singing country with her parents, Margaret and Ike Everly, for various radio stations. They lived the change to the stations suffered when it was much cheaper to hire a person to click discs to pay several musicians playing live. In 1955, after graduating from college, moved, and as a duo, to Nashville, where the support of Chet Atkins was critical to get recording contract. Columbia Records signed them for the first six months. After some singles that did not have the slightest impact decided not to renew. It would be the hallmark Cadence Records in 1957, who would take the cat to save water by offering a membership of marriage Felice and Boudleaux Bryant, specialized in songs for teenagers. The song was "Bye Bye Love," which had been rejected by up to 29 times by other performers (including Elvis Presley). The Everly Brothers decided to add that arrangements were ready for another subject and write it, with Chet Atkins on guitar electric. It was quickly placed in the top positions in the lists of pop, from country and R & B. The soft voice of Phil and the deepest of Don, near the hechiceras vocal harmonies, the blend of country rock and so personal, and his image of "appropriate for all audiences," gave them a charm that did succumb, Above all, the vast majority of adolescents at the time. Had opened the door to the harmonies of voices in rock & roll and helped to change the vision and acceptance of this style, let us not forget that in that era of rock & roll was regarded as cursed, rebellion and madness with bad taste without the slightest hint of quality, only fit to degenerate. Then came "Wake Up, Little Susie," "All I Have To Do Is Dream," "Bird Dog" or "Cathy's Clown", the latter written by them. The sales and successes did not stop growing, and the millions more the figures were handled in that period. In 1960 he left, with the inevitable dispute over copyright, Cadence Records, to sign for a million dollars and 10-year contract with Warner Brothers (another unprecedented move, knowing that most of those years the success of most Artists are measured by weeks or months). In 1962 he began his career in the crisis, agreeing on one side with joining the Navy, and another with an accident during a tour of the UK: Don suffered a collapse, as reported by some media a nervous breakdown, according to others by poisoning food in poor condition, but the reality was that it was an overdose by his addiction to narcotics. The fact is that Phil was forced to continue the tour alone, and from there ... and would never be the same. Alternate periods of separation with other reconciliation, with moments of greater or lesser success. Nor should we forget the emergence of the Beatles and other groups in the "British Invasion" that swept the majority of old glories in the charts.
This disc is one of those early periods of crisis in which felt they were doing good jobs but were not popularly recognized. Trying to be part of the scene without success. Tried, without much hope, return to the country that had suckling from their parents. It felt important to be in the place where the country-rock was experiencing a major transformation in Los Angeles. There they spent hours playing with Linda Ronstadt, with members of the Byrds or the Flying Burrito Brothers. In July 1968 Andy Wickham, the Warner Bros. I suggested to make a conceptual album, in which the subjects were chosen country mixed with selected clips of the shows that the family had Everly conducted in the 50s, is back, as the title suggests, to its roots. Warner took the project as a personal challenge, brought hope and effort to achieve a work of maturity and transcendence, sparing no means. In this sense the disc achieves everything that had been proposed to combine with master's evolution and tradition, some exquisite arrangements, and some wonderful songs. Was very well received criticism, but not sales. The selection was made by choosing items from country to classical and popular compositions along with new writers who were emerging. Among the topics of pure country chose two of Merle Haggard ( "Mama Tried" and "Sing Me Back Home"), one of Jimmie Rodgers ( "T For Texas", which applies a wahwah effect of electric guitar rather than attractive) and the traditional "Shady Grove". "Less of Me" is a song by Glen Campbell played in the style of the Byrds in his time with Gram Parsons. Among the new values, with the help of Ron Elliott (of the Beau Brummels) in the arrangements, guitar and composition of two items ( "Ventura Boulevard" and "Turn Around", both enriched with discreet accompaniments of strings that enhance their charm) "Illinois" was a song by a little-known Randy Newman, who that year edit his first album, "Living Too Close To The Ground" was the contribution of its English bassist Terry Slater. In the wake of his records of 60, the compositions themselves were scarce, this time there is only one, "I Wonder If I Care As Much", not being totally unprecedented, since in 1957 had been part of the single "Bye Bye Love "While he made changes of time and arrangements that gave him new life.
This would be the last studio album for Warner, with whom he only managed to reach the top level of popularity reached during his stay in Cadence Records (although that does not mean that, as in this case, no more than conduct Disks interesting).
Durable separations, solo careers, stellar collaborations, prizes and reunions have occurred in subsequent years (as is the famous anecdote has caused the greatest period of separation in 1973, when Phil broke his guitar into full action and left the stage, finishing Don in the latter part of a solo concert, and commenting: "The Everly Brothers died ten years ago"). entered into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1986.
A highlight their enormous influence on later artists to their beginnings, like Simon & Garfunkel, The Beatles, The Beach Boys, The Mamas & The Papas or The Hollies, of course reaching its influence on our country, with the clearest Dynamic Duo regards.
Rick Rubin still think we could do miracles with them.