Roots

Everly Brothers | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (August 2, 2005)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Collector's Choice
• ASIN: B0009K9P6Q
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #167,779 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. The Everly Family (1952)

2. Mama Tried

3. Less Of Me

4. T For Texas

5. I Wonder If I Care As Much

6. Ventura Boulevard

7. Shady Grove

8. Illinois

9. Living Too Close To The Ground

10. You Done Me Wrong

11. Turn Around

12. Sing Me Back Home

13. Montage: The Everly Family/Shady Grove/Kentucky

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars +1/2 -- Everly's studio swan-song for Warner Brothers, September 6, 2005

By 

hyperbolium (Earth, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Roots (Audio CD)

Though the Everlys had responded to the British Invasion with some terrific music, their albums never seemed to return them to their pre-Beatles acclaim. Fine efforts like "Beat and Soul" found the brothers applying their golden harmonies to contemporary songs, but with limited commercial success. In a last-ditch effort to reconnect the Everlys with contemporary pop audiences, producer (and future label head) Lenny Waronker looked to ride the country-rock wave by bringing Phil & Don back to their beginnings. The result is the most solid original album in the Everlys catalog.

This final studio effort for Warner Brothers bridges the divide between the Everlys' country roots, their rock 'n' roll fame and the then-burgeoning roots scene. The track list pulls together country and hillbilly classics from Merle Haggard, Jimmie Rodgers and Ray Price, and melds them with songs from then-contemporary writers Ron Elliott (whose own Beau Brummels were finishing up their own Warner swan-song, "Bradley's Barn") and Randy Newman. Waronker and Elliot (who wrote many of the arrangements) craft sounds that range from traditional acoustic set-ups to more contemporary electric country-rock. The clever inter-splicing of audio from the Everly family's early radio program gives the entire disc a terrifically homey feel. 4-1/2 stars, if allowed fractional ratings. [©2005 hyperbolium dot com]

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Important Album From 1968, April 23, 2005

By 

Michael A. Beyer (Chicago, IL United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Roots (Audio CD)

The Everly Brothers' "Roots" is a lost American classic. Not only did The Everly Brothers influence groups like the Beatles and the Byrds, but this album, recorded in Los Angeles in 1968, was one of the very first country-rock albums, and influenced scores of country-rock artists such as the Flying Burrito Brothers, the Eagles, CSNY, Poco, and to an extent the Gratfeul Dead.

"Roots" showcases the Everlys in all their vocal glory, and should be purchased along with the Byrds' "Sweetheart of the Rodeo", Jerry Lee Lewis' "Another Place, Another Time", Elvis' 1968 comeback special, any Merle Haggard album, and the double-issue CD of Rick Nelson's "Bright Lights/Country Fever" (which was actually recorded in 1966 and 1967).

The Everlys clearly were soaking in the example of groups like Bob Dylan, the Byrds and Love, and those musical footprints are all over this album. First of all, it's a concept album, couched in the style of an old-time country radio show featuring Dad and Mom Everly, 15-year-old Don and 13-year-old Phil. Interspersed between short snippets of those mono recordings of the teenaged Everlys are 11 stereo recordings of the golden Everly vocals, surrounded by a gorgeous psychedelic soundscape, very much like the Byrds (who, incidentally, I'm coming to respect more and more by the day). Their cover of Jimmie Rodgers' "T For Texas", and the segue into an updating of their old hit "I Wonder If I Care As Much", is of fantastic production value.

Another favorite here is "Living Too Close To The Ground", which was written by Don and features him alone on voacls. Clearly, the guy was a big Love fan. Although it's a bit dated, the song is so heartfelt and so unlike anything the Everly Brothers had ever done before.

However, the Everlys did not succumb to musical trends on this album. Don and Phil's incredible two-part harmonies are never better, and they're doing songs by Jimmie Rodgers, Merle Haggard and Glen Campbell. The Everly Brothers melded country music and rock and roll into a remarkable brew on "Roots", spiced with psychedelic production touches here and there. It's phenomenal.

The album itself died on the charts, but this definitely qualifies as An Album To Come Back To. Hopefully, this album will continue to get the recognition it so deserves.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A fine, fine album, May 11, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Roots (Audio CD)

Had this been released in probably any year after 1968, it would have been marketed aggressively and mentioned in the same breath as SGT. PEPPER, GRACELAND, BLUE or other albums that have a full, special wholeness to them. With all due respect to their Fifties and early Sixties "hits," this is the finest music the Everly Brothers ever made. From "Mama Tried" through "Ventura Boulevard" through "Illinois" through all of the snippets from the Everly Family radio show, this album not only gives you a sense of the "roots" of Phil and Don but features committed, passionate music-making at it's finest. Any collection that has any folk or country or plain old GOOD MUSIC should have this CD as well.