Another chapter of The Great American Songbook written back in the 1950s — the publisher's catalogs that fed The Everly Brothers and their brethren and led, at the greatest moment, to a synchronicity of being that was the People's Standards. Bonny and Dawn re-present the songs that the Brothers sang, sung again in a new century for the next of kind.

CD Review: Dawn McCarthy And Bonnie "Prince" Billy: What The Brothers Sang
By: Martin Townsend
Published: Sun, February 17, 2013

PROLIFIC purveyor of dark, off-kilter folk and blues, Will Oldham, aka Bonnie "Prince" Billy lends his extraordinary talents to a quietly radical re-working of the Everly Brothers' songbook, with spectacular results.

In McCarthy he has found a duettist whose unique vocal colourings match his, and the result is tunes that contain more than an echo of the originals but give pieces like Empty Boxes and My Little Yellow Bird an eerie resonance.

One or two of the slow, sombre tracks could have come from Bonnie's own pen but for the most part these are his sweetest, most commercial performances since his Greatest Palace Music album.

(Domino)
Verdict: 5/5

3 (out of 5 stars)

On their tribute to The Everly Brothers, Bonnie “Prince” Billy and Faun Fables' Dawn McCarthy avoid the obvious hits in favour of more unfamiliar items from the brothers' repertoire – most strikingly, a chugging rockabilly version of the Spencer Davis Group's hit “Somebody Help Me”, which Billy sings with a fervour unmatched anywhere in his vast catalogue.

It's the biggest surprise of a warm, affectionate set that ranges from country weepies like “Empty Boxes” and “What Am I Living For” to the gently psychedelic soft-rock of “Just What I Was Looking For”, which recalls The Association. The most evident echoes of the Everlys' harmonies are in “Devoted to You”.

Download: Just What I Was Looking For; Devoted to You; Somebody Help Me

What the Brothers Sang pays tribute to The Everly Brothers, who ushered close harmonies into rock and roll, recorded a prodigious string of hits in the late 1950s and early 1960s and inspired the Beatles, the Beach Boys and Simon and Garfunkel. The duo, brothers from Kentucky reared on Sacred Harp singing, largely invented what we now know as country rock. Neil Young, when introducing them at their Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction in 1986, said that every band he'd ever been in had tried to duplicate the Everly Brothers harmonies and failed. Though their hits dried up in the late 1960s - and their personal lives became snarled in addiction, bad business decisions and one of rock ‘n roll's most long-lasting sibling feuds, their impact as artists has only increased. In the album, Bonnie Prince Billy and Dawn McCarthy cover some well-known songs ("So Sad", "Devoted to You") but mainly stick to less celebrated ones from the brothers' late 1960s singles and albums.

Both Will Oldham and McCarthy listened to Everly Brothers music as children. McCarthy, whose main gig is Faun Fables, now plays these same songs for her own children. The two mostly avoid the massive, late 1950s, early 1960s hits ("Bye Bye Love," "Wake Up Little Susie") in favor of radiant, country rock mirages. My favorites on this disc are both named after places. "Omaha," written by Don Everly in 1968, weaves McCarthy and Oldham's voices together so closely that you almost can't untangle them, starting in moodiness, gathering resolution, and then setting off into sweeping, soaring climaxes. The chorus, "I-i-in Omaha, oh my Omaha" nearly lifts you off your feet. "Kentucky" comes from the Everlys' early career, commercially ill-advised experiment in traditional music, the 1958 album Songs Our Father Taught Us. It is stark, somber and lovely, the wheeze of accordion grounding the duo's breathy, barely voiced harmonies.

"Kentucky" is one of a number of covers. There are also songs by John Denver ("Poems, Prayers and Promises"), Kris Kristofferson ("Breakdown") and other notables. Many of the Everlys' biggest hits were, after all written by other people. They were able to make them their own through a distinctive combination of singing style and steel string guitar. And so, too, do Oldham and McCarthy in their own way. They cover the songs with respect but without worshipful exactness. There's a warmth and life in these songs that goes beyond tribute or reenactment. The two singers are supported by a large cast of admirers - Bonnie Prince Billy collaborators Emmett Kelley and Matt Sweeney, McCarthy's husband Nils Frykdahl, Nashville pros Dave Roe (Johnny Cash's old bass player), Kenny Malone (who drummed on the "Theme from Shaft") and Billy Contreras and half a dozen others. And yet no song feels overweighted with arrangement. The rock songs ("Milk Train", "Somebody Help") are feisty and unfettered. The quiet ones, even melancholy "So Sad," are dappled with space and light. This is a wonderful gesture, extended from one generation of free-thinking traditionalists to another, earlier one. And more than that, it's gorgeous piece of music, all by itself, on its own terms.

Bonnie 'Prince' Billy & Dawn McCarthy 'What the Brothers Sang' (Drag City)

3 1/2 stars = Very good

The brothers in question here are the Everlys, who have been an enormous influence -- in one way or another -- on just about any folk/pop singers who put their voices together.

The duo burst onto the pop and country charts starting in 1957 with "Bye Bye Love" and "Wake up Little Susie" and scored more than two dozen Top 40 hits over the next half-decade.

Indie icon Bonnie "Prince" Billy and sometime vocal partner Dawn McCarthy, who favor using Everly songs as encores, steer clear of the greatest hits in favor of deeper tracks and b-sides. As the Everly Brothers were primarily a covers act, most of the songs are covers of covers from the likes of Kris Kristofferson, the Beau Brummels' Ron Elliot, and Felice and Boudleaux Bryant.

Like the brothers, Bonnie and Dawn are no slouches in the vocal department, or in the arranging. The harmonies are gorgeous throughout, and the songs sound traditional but hardly dated. The Everlys push Bonnie (aka Will Oldham) to show more range than he normally does on a given record: a lilting country ballad in "Breakdown," '60s psych-folk on "Empty Boxes," jaunty folk-rock on "Milk Train" and "Devoted to You" and "So Sad" as simple '50s ballads.

It's a beautiful tribute and a must-hear whether or not you're familiar with either of these heavenly duos.
-- Scott Mervis, Post-Gazette

Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/ae/ ... z2M2QnyV4s

Excellent album, yeah even though it's all covers it is very top notch quality.

I like this review from Blurt:

http://blurt-online.com/reviews/view/4370/