While Collectors' Choice (in the US), Warner Special Music (in the UK) and Bear Family (in Germany) are busy reissuing the Everlys' Warner Brothers catalog, Varese's struck a second volume of pre- and post-Warner songwriter demos, providing a companion to their earlier "Too Good to Be True." Like the previous volume, this collection combines late-50s Cadence-era material with several items from the early-to-mid-70s. Pulled from the vaults of the brothers' publisher (Acuff-Rose), these are mostly solo demos by one or the other brother and their acoustic guitar. The Everlys can be heard together on tracks 1-3.

Several of these tracks provide variations on demos heard on the earlier volume, but there are also Everly compositions here that have never been heard before. The stripped-down setting puts the focus on the voices and their words, and show that the duo had strong original material that either never made it to commercial release, or simply failed at market. Highlights include Phil's contemplative war-themed folk song "Captain, Captain," Don's country-tinged acoustic takes of "Hello Amy" and "Oh, What a Feeling," a stirring, primitive solo recording of Don singing his own "Since You Broke My Heart," and a sprightly early composition from Phil titled "I'm Gonna Make Real Sure."

With so most of the brothers' original recordings back in print, this isn't the place to start. But for fanatics who simply can't get enough of Phil and Don, this is a welcome look behind the hits to see the duo's talents as singers and songwriters. [©2005 hyperbolium dot com]

A few great duets with sparse or no accompaniment, a few interesting solo numbers, but a bunch of weak solo material as well. The singing is flawless, as always, sound quality is excellent, but not their best collection. My taste prefers their early harmonies.