Although the late-'50s LP
Side by Side was the title of the second album by
the Wilburn Brothers, and although all 12 of its songs are presented in order on the first dozen cuts of this CD, this 2011 U.K. release isn't a mere reissue of that record. It also contains the entirety of their debut album from about a year earlier,
The Wilburn Brothers!, as well as four tracks from 1958-1959 singles. So it adds up to a good, valuable, 28-cut collection of late-'50s work by the duo. The style doesn't vary much throughout the program, but that's not a drawback. For this is fine brother harmony singing from the time when country music was evolving from its hillbilly and bluegrass roots to something a little more polished, produced, and poppy, in the better sense of those attributes. While there's barely a hint of rockabilly or rock & roll, the tunes can drive with an upbeat honky tonk swing, and even some of the midtempo numbers get motored by a solid backbeat and drums. Mixing material ranging from traditional numbers to originals and songs by the likes of
Gene Autry,
Hank Williams,
Bob Wills, and
Tommy Duncan, the arrangements and close harmonies boast an unflagging sparkle. Not as youthful or certainly as pop/rock-oriented as the early
Everly Brothers, fans of that group might nonetheless find more to relate to with the
Wilburns that with other brother duos who were older than
the Everlys, as the music has a more modern cast than much harmony-oriented '50s country from the era.