27. Everly Brothers - A Date with the Everly Brothers (1961)

1. Made To Love
2. That's Just Too Much
3. Stick With Me Baby
4. Baby What You Want Me To Do
5. Sigh, Cry, Almost Die
6. Always It's You
7. Love Hurts
8. Lucille
9. So How Come
10. Donna, Donna
11. Change Of Heart
12. Cathy's Clown

This is the first recognizably '60s album on the list! It's about bloody time that happened. Although I bemoaned the state of rock music during this era during my Elvis review, this is undoubtedly the best rock album I've reviewed on the list so far. Its fusion of rock with a more streamlined pop sound and production succeeds where Presley failed, for a multitude of reasons. For one, the songwriting doesn't suck. These songs sound more vital and exciting than the languid bore that was 'Elvis is Back'. They pop out at you in all their early '60s charm in a manner reminiscent of early Beatles. In fact, the influence these guys had on the early Beatles sound is rather striking, considering that not much seems to be said about it. Their first hits were practically built on the Everly sound, and the brothers were promptly rewarded by being swept out of popularity in a fearsome musical coup d'état and scarcely managing a top 100 hit between them for the rest of the decade. I'm sure they felt the way many Africans and Indians did when they woke up one morning only to find that they were now ruled by Britons.

The songwriting is all teenage melodrama stuff. Music to give your best girl your high school ring in a malt shop by, so to speak. A bit hard to relate to in this modern day world of songs called "OMG", and the fact that song lyrics are that much more likely to mention texting as a means of courtship. Not to mention Bangs' new summer jam "Meet Me On Facebook", which I am linking here. Jam of the year, without a doubt.

Tangent on the state of pop music aside, the songs sound good as well. The Everlys' trademark harmonies are all over this, and their presence manages to make every song sound better in the pop context. This album has more instrumental touches too. The guitars have finally entered this decade, either sounding like watered-down surf rock or like the Beatles (yet again!). There's even a glockenspiel on one track! It's all so tremendously exciting.

All in all, this album rather surprised me. Although the tracks do sound rather similar, they managed to escape blending into each other like every rock album so far. They're catchy and well-written enough to positively shine by comparison. They even manage to do justice to a Little Richard song ('Lucille'), something which I thought few white people could manage. This may be a bit high of a rating considering what's the come, but in a desert of blandness it makes sense to give praise to the oasis.

Not the band Oasis though. 9/10