Top Artists – The Everly Brothers

The Everly Brothers – The Golden Hits of The Everly Brothers on the Gold Label

More Sixties Pop

  • A killer sounding Gold Label WB Stereo LP with a Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) side one mated to a solid Double Plus (A++) side two
  • Our early pressing here showed us a wonderfully Tubey Magical midrange for the Everlys that we’re pretty sure most audiophiles have never heard
  • So much good material here – “Cathy’s Clown,” “Crying In The Rain,” “So Sad,” “That’s Old Fashioned,” “Lucille,” etc.
  • “There are few sounds in American popular music more thrilling and sublimely satisfying than the harmonies of Don and Phil Everly…”

It took us a long time to find enough records to do this shootout. How many extremely popular 60+ year old records survived into the present era in such clean condition? We can’t be sure when the next shootout will be, but we can be pretty sure it won’t be any time soon.

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The Everly Brothers / The Very Best of The Everly Brothers

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More Sixties Pop Recordings

  • The Very Best of the Everly Brothers returns the site for only the second time in years on this vintage Stereo Gold Label pressing that boasts two solid Double Plus (A++) sides
  • Tubey Magic is the key to the sound of the best pressings, and we guarantee our early Gold Label pressings have the kind of Tubey Magic that no modern pressing of the last 40 years has been able to offer audiophiles
  • This 1961 compilation album allowed the brothers to re-record some of their Cadence hits, and to do it in stereo
  • Our recent shootout taught us something we had no idea would be true, but it’s one that doesn’t surprise us in the least – the earliest pressings can be very good, but they’re somewhat veiled, which means they are definitely not the best sounding
  • “There are few sounds in American popular music more thrilling and sublimely satisfying than the harmonies of Don and Phil Everly, the Everly Brothers, and this album features them singing a dozen great songs that have come to be associated with them.” – All Music

This compilation contains some real Warners recordings (from after 1960, when they signed with the label) mixed with some re-recordings of their best classic Cadence material, to make an album with as many hits and great songs as a single album can hold.

It took us about ten years to find the records for this shootout. Not sure when the next one will be, but we’re pretty sure it won’t be any time soon.

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The Everly Brothers – Both Sides Of An Evening

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More Recordings by Bill Porter

  • You’ll find outstanding sound on this WB Gold Label Stereo original with Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) sound on the second side and solid Double Plus (A++) sound on the first
  • Another amazingly Tubey Magical recording from the legendary Bill Porter (which may explain why Chet Atkins plays on it) 
  • About as quiet as these early copies come – Mint Minus Minus – records pressed in the early ’60s rarely play even this quiet
  • “In some ways, Both Sides of an Evening was the duo’s most ambitious and mature record to date…”

This ’60s stereo pressing has the kind of Tubey Magical Midrange that modern pressings cannot BEGIN to reproduce. Folks, that sound is gone and it sure isn’t showing any sign of coming back. (more…)

The Everly Brothers – The Hit Sound Of The Everly Brothers

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  • The engineering team of Eddie Brackett and Lee Herschberg provide the exceptional recording fidelity – they would go on to win the Best Engineering Grammy for Strangers in the Night the same year
  • “Snow’s I’m Movin’ On rocks, and Little Richard’s Good Golly Miss Molly clearly provided the blueprint for CCR’s cover several years later. While they may not make you forget the Animal’s version of the House of the Rising Sun, they do a fine version themselves. They were still struggling to find where they belonged on this LP, but they take us on enough highs through the trip to make it a worthwhile 37 minutes.

For those who may not know the man’s work, Eddie Brackett is the engineer behind the best sounding Dean Martin record ever made, Dream With Dean. His credits run for days.

This Gold Label Stereo original pressing (skip the mono by the way) has the kind of Tubey Magical Midrange that modern pressings cannot BEGIN to reproduce. Folks, that sound is gone and it sure isn’t showing any sign of coming back. (more…)

The Everly Brothers / Every Ten Years Like Clockwork

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More Sixties Pop Recordings

This listing was written in 2014. In 2024 we were able to do the shootout again. I don’t think we did one during the interlude.

This compilation contains some real Warners recordings (from after 1960, when they signed with the label) mixed with some re-recordings of their best classic Cadence material, to make an album with as many hits and great songs as a single album can hold.  

In stereo, on the original WB Gold Label, with really quiet vinyl — this is the one!

It took us about five years to find the records for this shootout. Not sure when the next one will be, but we’re pretty sure it won’t be any time soon.

Side Two

A++, lots of tubes in the 1964 mastering chain mean this one is likely to be rich and sweet, and sure enough it is. This is clearly the right sound for this music, although there is occasional evident smear and honk in the midrange. Great energy though.

Side One

A+ to A++. The sound varies quite a bit from track to track. Some songs are too thin and clean, others fare better with this EQ. Overall this side should sound good on tubier systems. Good energy and a solid bottom end are pluses here. (more…)

The Everly Brothers – The Everly Brothers Best – Reviewed in 2015

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This is only the second Everly Brothers Hot Stamper to make it to the site, and I’m sure the reasons for that are not hard to fathom. I must look at fifty EB records for every one I buy, and even with a good scrubbing most of those are not going to pass muster. 

Side One

Present and breathy vocals are the key to this side’s high rating. Note how dynamic the boys’ voices are on the second track; maybe a little bright but it sounds like that’s the right sound for the music. The third track has much the same sound.

Side Two

Tonally fine in its way, which is to say rich on the first track, thinner on the second, and correct for the third; in other words, overall it’s right. (more…)

The Everly Brothers – The Golden Hits of The Everly Brothers on the Green Label

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  • A superb early WB Green Label Stereo LP, with outstanding Double Plus (A++) sound or BETTER on both sides – exceptionally quiet vinyl too 
  • Our early pressing here showed us a wonderfully Tubey Magical midrange for the Everlys that most audiophiles have never heard
  • So much good material here – Cathy’s Clown, Crying In The Rain, So Sad, That’s Old Fashioned, Lucille, etc.
  • “There are few sounds in American popular music more thrilling and sublimely satisfying than the harmonies of Don and Phil Everly…”

In stereo, on the early WB Green Label, with really quiet vinyl — this copy will be tough to beat!

It took us a long time to find enough records to do this shootout. How many extremely popular 50 year old records survived into the present era in such clean condition? We can’t be sure when the next shootout will be, but we can be pretty sure it won’t be any time soon.

UPDATE 2025

It’s 2025 and we’ve just done another shootout for this title and none of the Green Label pressings earned even minimal Hot Stamper grades of 1.5+ on both sides.

Stick with the Gold Label originals. We were wrong about the Green Labels.

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