Roots

A splendid pulling together of the threads of Don & Phil's work to this point, with intriguing hints of what might have been to come. Framed by excellent renderings of two Merle Haggard prison songs ("Mama Tried" and "Sing Me Back Home"), a nod to their Cadence Work ("I Wonder If I Care As Much"), contemporary pop/rock(Randy Newman's "Illinois", Ron Elliot's "Turn Around"), their country/folk "roots" ("Shady Grove,"Jimmy Rogers'"T For Texas" and the tapes of their radio work) this is a thoroughly delightful set. Lenny Waronker, their Warner Brothers producer was also doing excellent work at the time with VanDyke Parks("Song Cycle"), the Beau Brummels ("Bradley's Barn") and Randy Newman. Comparable to the Beach Boys' "Pet Sounds" as the best album-length realization of what had been up til then a singles band.Roughly contemporary with a masterpiece of another order: "From Elvis In Memphis."

Excellent album and a fantastic seller! The version on here of I Wonder If I Care As Much has become my favorite Everly Brothers track .

Such a cool album, I totally dig it :)

Is there such a thing as an Everly Brothers recording that isn't worth having in a decent collection of their work? I don't think so - this is a great album. The version of "I Wonder If I Care As Much" on this album is worth the entire set of recordings.

Terrific. None better at harmonizing these great songs than the Everly Brothers. RIP Phil Everly. Your high harmony is pitch perfect every time.

A perfect CD for Everly Fans or for anyone that enjoys country rock. The only thing that prevented a 5 star rating from me is that there was too much of the old Everly Family radio show interspersed in the CD detracting from the music itself.

I originally bought this record when I was 8 years old at a grocery store for 99 cents. A commercial failure but artistically it is the best Everly Brothers album.

After playing this disc several times, it is indisputable, that although ROOTS was not a commercial success, it was definitely trend setting, blending country and rock. Anyone who enjoys current country should spend some time listening to The Everlys on ROOTS!