Billie Joe and Norah cover classics
Billie Joe and Norah
Foreverly
Reprise
Foreverly is a country folk album created by the unlikely pairing of Billie Joe Armstrong, best known as the singer of pop punk band Green Day, and pop jazz singer-songwriter Norah Jones.
The album is actually a remake of a 1958 record called Songs Out Daddy Taught Us, recorded by roots rock ‘n’ roll duo The Everly Brothers, hence the play-on-words title of Foreverly.
Billie Joe and Norah surprisingly make no attempts to modernise these classic old songs, instead choosing to recreate the sound of a classic 1950s country rock recording. Even the sepia-toned album cover art looks like something from the ‘50s.
While Norah Jones is clearly the better singer of the two, the voices of both stars blend well together, with classic country harmonies heard throughout.
Highlights include the sprightly opener “Roving Gambler,” the spooky murder ballad “Down in the Willow Garden” and the atmospheric “Kentucky.” There are really no missteps on this album, as it never deviates from tasteful and classy interpretations of classic songs.
While in some ways it might seem a bit pointless to recreate an already classic album, Billie Joe and Norah may well be able to introduce younger fans to a set of great old songs, or even to a whole genre of music, that they might not be familiar with. Foreverly is a fine album that can definitely appeal to listeners of all ages. — BE
Vocabulary
- hence (adv): for this reason
sepia (n): a reddish-brown colour, often used in the past for printing photographs
sprightly (adj): full of life and energy
spooky (adj): strange and frightening
atmospheric (adj): creating an exciting or emotional mood
misstep (n): a mistake or wrong action
deviate (v): to be different from something
classy (adj): high quality
