Entering a long line of artists who've drawn inspiration from
the Everly Brothers
,
Billie Joe Armstrong
and
Norah Jones
serve up a unique tribute with
Foreverly
. Unlike many others -- including
Will Oldham
Dawn McCarthy
, who released a trippy
Everlys
covers album earlier in 2013 -- the duo doesn't dig deep into the brothers' catalog but rather concentrates on a single LP, the 1958
Cadence
classic
Songs Our Daddy Taught Us
. Just a year into their career,
the Everlys
took the unusual step of abandoning rock & roll for traditional folk and country tunes they learned from their guitarist father
Ike
.
was one of rock's first roots albums --
returned to the concept and use "
Roots
" as a title a decade later -- and it's a bit of an anomaly in their catalog, a spare, sweet showcase for their close harmonies where the brothers are backed by nothing more than their own guitars.
, an album that contains all 12 of the songs from
but not precisely in the same sequence, may recall
Jones
' country cabaret act
the Little Willies
yet it's something of a departure for
Green Day
lead singer
Armstrong
, who has often shown a love for rock & roll's past (most notably on the '60s garage rock raver
Foxboro Hot Tubs
) but has never quite spent much time in the '50s, not even with the
Stray Cat
strut of "Hitchin' a Ride." Even though the songs here date from much earlier,
is grounded in that decade, with
not only patterning their two-part harmonies after
but fleshing out the arrangements by incorporating other sounds from the '50s: "Long Time Gone" and "Silver Haired Daddy of Mine" swing to subdued
Johnny Cash
rhythms, "Oh So Many Years" gets a slight
Sun
rockabilly makeover, "Kentucky" recalls the swaying slow dance specialties of
Patsy Cline
. Such variations from the text emphasize that
aren't re-creating
; they're singing its songs, paying respect without being overly faithful. Their approach is not dissimilar to that of
Don
Phil
in 1958; the brothers didn't scrupulously re-create the sound of the past, they sang the songs in a way that was true to them, which is precisely what
Billie Joe
Norah
do here. They're a good match.
' suppleness sands down
's ragged voice, he gives her grit while she lends him grace, and these qualities are evident throughout this lovely little gem of an album. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine