Both Sides of an Evening
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| Both Sides of an Evening | ||
|---|---|---|
| Studio album by The Everly Brothers | ||
| Released | 1961 | |
| Genre | Rock and roll | |
| Producer | Andrew Sandoval | |
Both Sides Of An Evening was an album first released in 1961 by The Everly Brothers.
It was released at a peak in their career, having just toured with Buddy Holly's backing group The Crickets in Britain during April of the previous year. So said Phil, concerning touring England: "We're thrilled to know our music is so popular here". The older of the brothers enjoyed touring Scotland as much as he had enjoyed touring London, donning a kilt, sporran, and other Scottish regalia for their appearance north of the border.
During this time, the brothers were required to grow in spirit, being constantly asked what they were planning once they were no longer popular, and, once they had realized their hit "Let It Be Me", an English translation of French ballad "Je t'appartiens", and the first song they had recorded outside of Nashville, Don was required to come to the rescue of their fortunes, claiming to the New Musical Express: "We aim to broaden our scope to cover all forms of music."
This was the attitude which caused much controversy between them and Wesley Rose, after he had disagreed with their decision to cover Bing Crosby's 1934 song "Temptation", originally recorded for the film Going Hollywood. At this moment, Rose split from the brothers, while they were attempting to make a foray into motion pictures, supported by Warner Bros..
With Don facing a divorce, and the lawsuits from Rose starting to sap their energy, Don found himself heading into drugs, and they began to record this, their third album for Warner Bros. Records. The result of recording several cover versions, led the brothers to record one of their strangest albums in recent times, as they were left without the support of their favoured writing team, Felice and Boudleaux Bryant, but the brothers claimed that recording songs such as "Don't Blame Me" and "Mention My Name In Sheboygan", meant practically nothing at the time.
Yet their emotion shown in some of the songs, such as "Don't Blame Me", "My Gal Sal", (featuring a guitar solo performed by Hank Garland) and "Now Is The Hour", an old Māori song tinged with anguish.
Such was the time that Phil claims Archie Bleyer insisted that they were ill-prepared when they had ran out of songs after five days of solid recording.
Don, backed up by business friend Snuff Garrett, was feeling increasingly isolated from the music world. The fact that so little of their material was being played on the radio, meant that it was impossible to play these songs in concert, and by 1962 the brothers entered the Marines. On the day they returned, February 13, 1962, Don wed Venetia Stevenson.
Such an uncomfortable atmosphere led to fourteen songs being laid down for the album, in two halves (the first seven, for side A, were marked "For dancing", and the second seven, for side B, marked "For dreaming"). The album was recorded in only three days worth of sessions, and thanks to production by Bill Porter, is predominantly successful. Prior to the album's release, half-minute excerpts of the songs were released on a Souvenir sampler, purchasable for a single dollar.
[edit] Track listing
- "My Mammy" (Walter Donaldson, Joe Young)
- "Muskrat" (Merle Travis, Tex Ann, Harold Hensley)
- "My Gal Sal" (Paul Dressor)
- "Grandfather's Clock" (Henry Clay Work)
- "Bully Of The Town" (Adapted I. Everly)
- "Chloe" (Neil Moret, Gus Kahn)
- "Mention My Name In Sheboygan" (Hillard, Sanford, Samuel Mysels)
- "Hi-Lili, Hi-Lo" (Tim Kapper, Deutsch)
- "The Wayward Wind" (Herb Newman, Stanley Lebowsky)
- "Don't Blame Me" (Jimmy McHugh, Dorothy Fields)
- "Now Is The Hour" (Traditional)
- "Little Old Lady" (Hoagy Carmichael, Stanley Adams)
- "When I Grow Too Old To Dream" (Sigmund Romberg, Oscar Hammerstein II)
- "Love Is Where You Find It" (Nacio Herb Brown, Earl Brent)
