‘Foreverly’ Is Forever On My Shelf – By Jacob Harman : Pop Culture Leftovers

December 15, 2013 5:52 pm | Leave your thoughts

While I am a huge fan of comics and movies, my true passion is music. I am a

musician through and through, but my guitars will always be my number one ladies in my

life. When I heard about this new album being released, and the story behind it, I knew I

had to check it out. Having purchased it today and listened to it twice, I’m indeed very

satisfied with my purchase.

‘Foreverly’ is the new album, released by Reprise Records on November 25th, by

two artists who I never would have put together – Billie Joe Armstrong, the front man of

Green Day, and Norah Jones, the jazz/pop sensation with the voice of an angel.

The album is very unique, both in content and how it came to fruition. Armstrong

and Jones went into the studio and, over nine days, recorded the album. The neat thing about

it is that it was kept secret. There were no press releases until mere days before the album

was released. No leaked photos, no secret messages on Twitter, not a peep from anyone

involved. I truly believe that made this record all that much sweeter. Had I heard about it

months in advance, it would have went on my list to buy, then slipped out of my mind. By

keeping their lips shut, it was fresh in my head, and I was anxious to pick this album up.

The album is very different from anything we’ve heard from either of the main

musicians. It’s actually a cover album from The Everly Brothers, originally recorded in

1958, released as ‘Songs Our Daddy Taught Us’. This was the second album from The

Everly Brothers, who ended up having a very healthy career, with hits like ‘All I Have To

Do Is Dream’, ‘Bye Bye Love’, and ‘Wake Up Little Susie’.

However, their second album was far, far ahead of it’s time, and was set apart

from other albums of the time. This was a very rootsy album and had a very old school

country feel. It has since be re-released numerous times, and is often listed on many ‘must

have album’ lists by notable music magazines.

That unique feel of the original album still comes through in ‘Foreverly’, and that’s

why I give this album a Tupperware. The pairing of Billie Joe’s voice with Norah Jones’

is something truly magical. It has a wonderful retro country/folk feel with acoustic guitars,

harmonicas, pump organs, and even a bit of banjo. As fantastic as the album is, it definitely

isn’t something mainstream, and I can see it being a gem that will be looked over by many.

If you like folk or old school country than this album is well worth every cent. I picked up the hard copy, since I always try to buy a hard copy of

any media, and the packaging isn’t the best. It’s pretty standard for a soft sleeve CD, but

there is very little artwork to see, and no booklet with neat stories about the recording

process.

If you would like to hear stories about the recording sessions, NPR has a wonderful

interview that you can download for free, and is worth a listen if that’s something you’re

into.