Review: Harmonious Everly Brothers Dreamy At Music Circus
Boston Herald
COHASSET, Mass. — Placing 24 hits in the top 40 in a mere five years was a rare feat. But what the Everly Brothers have accomplished lately is even more miraculous. They've stopped time.
The show Don and Phil Everly put on Saturday was as vital and harmonically dazzling as were their comeback gigs in the mid-1980s. Now in their early 60s, the Everlys still sound like lovelorn youth with angelic voices, and if you didn't squint, they still looked pretty young, too.
Who could have guessed back in 1957, when "Bye Bye Love" and "Wake Up Little Susie" (RealAudio excerpt) were new, that the Everlys could still sing in the same pitches and with the same sweet urgency 43 years later? Phil even jumps away from the microphone like a high-strung kid.
Dressed in black western suits with just a hint of rhinestone, the brothers have all their hair, all their chops, and perhaps the greatest pure rock 'n' roll band in the land.
The band's importance can't be overemphasized. A group of stellar veterans, their vim and drive are as evident as their expertise. Pedal-steel country legend Buddy Emmons supplies the heart, pianist Pete Wingfield (of Paul McCartney's new band) is the excited soul and guitarist Albert Lee (currently with Bill Wyman) is the muscle, his chunky tone and gleeful hooks powering this remarkably tight outfit along.
While "Claudette" (RealAudio excerpt) was a rockabilly rave-up, and a rip-snorting "Susie'' inspired spontaneous "ooh la-la" sing-alongs, it was "Lucille" that really raised the tent. The boys began by joining the band in a whipped-up, guitar-driven intro, then dove into the Little Richard lyric with abandon. After a standing ovation, the brothers segued into their most heart-rending number, "Let It Be Me" (RealAudio excerpt), still a seriously tender declaration.
Lead singer Don hasn't matured, he's stayed just the same — quite a feat for a 63-year-old. In an age where innocence is either dead or suspect, his voice still evokes naive teenage sentiment.
In a highly humorous, genial set, the Kingston Trio were a charming opener. Bob Shane is the only original member, but the sound nearly duplicates the old approach. And with a rate hike in the news, Charlie's endless MTA ride is newly apropos.
— Daniel Gewertz