It's uncanny. I would be suspicious that they were somehow lip-synching to something recorded if there weren't this whole NYT article about them — "Live in the Subway: Maybe the Best Beatles Cover Band Ever." I'm sure the NYT checked out the authenticity of the effect that seems too good to be true:
"Amiri and Rahiem, who grew up in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn, are identical twins... They were raised around music. Their grandfather was a jazz musician. Their grandmother played Beatles records. When they were in high school, she bought them the Beatles version of the video game Rock Band, where they would play along with a controller modeled after a guitar.... The brothers, who live together in Far Rockaway, Queens... lug their guitars and an amp onto the subways once or twice a week. They may play their own music, which they describe as psychedelic rock, in other venues, but on this stage, they stick almost solely to the Beatles. 'Their music is so universal,' Rahiem said. '“I know goth kids who love the Beatles. I know hip-hop kids who love the Beatles.'"
Watch nobody stop:
Here's a little documentary about them.
March 19, 2018
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The Everly Brothers managed close harmony because they shared DNA as brothers. John and Paul were influenced by them, and early on called themselves the English Everly Brothers. Now these guys share their DNA even more closely, with similar results.
@tcrosse I thought about the Everly Brothers in connection with their harmony effect, but wondered why it would make them especially successful at sounding like John and Paul. Your explanation makes sense! John & Paul were trying to do Phil & Don.
Sister Suzie, brother John
Martin Luther, Phil and Don
Brother Michael, auntie Gin
Open the door and let 'em in, yeah
Now if Blac Rabbit can just get a bunch of teenage girls to show up and scream and shout, they might have something.
I don't think they are the best Beatles cover band ever, but they may be the best 2-man Beatles cover band ever--2 people doing the work of 4, they are VERY good
Plus those video games score you on how closely you match the original vocal, so if they played the game a lot, and they had the range, they could likely nail the vocals in a way that just listening to the record and copying couldn't match.
They sound a heluva lot better than the untalented goofs I get on BART between Oakland and SF.
I like 'em!
It was a great video.
John & Paul were trying to do Phil & Don.
In a PBS documentary on the Everly Brothers, Art Garfunkel admits that he and Paul Simon were trying to do Phil & Don, too, but without the DNA.
I can't name anyone who does Beatles covers better than those.
Now all they need is a caterwauling Japanese woman. Imagine.
they are way better than anything on that crap show American Idol.
There must be a copyright violation in there somewhere. But, would Big Music dare to go after them?
Paul and John were not as closely matched in tone as these twins. These guys have tighter, more satisfying, harmonies than the Beatles and I'd be happy to listen to them cover any Beatles tune.
I'll hit their tip tub next time I'm in town. Their original stuff (google "Blac Rabbit") is not bad either.
The third video you've posted is a little too loud for a public space. Surprised they didn't get kicked out or arrested. I do wish them success, though. They're good.
Damn' good! And in the first clip, the first person to put a tip in their jar was wearing a yamulke -- some Jewish guy who had just left off screwing up the weather in DC for the Rothchilds I guess.
Love the Hofner violin-style bass -- if only he had learned to play it left-handed.
I think Keith mentions the harmony of the Everly Brothers being an influence for the Stones. I've recently re-connected with "Exile of Main Street", and realized that Keith sings harmony on most, if not the entire album.
arrrrggghhh......."Exile ON Main Street"
I liked their seemless transition into "Helter Skelter".
Great acoustics in subway stations.
Tiffany Eckhardt (Australian folk singer) did her first album Girl Guitar in a laundromat for the acoustics.
In the mid 1980s in Manhattan there were four Latinos fellas who sang Fabs tunes with three acoustic guitars and a makeshift drum kit of a high-hat and a cardboard box. I used to happen upon them all the time. They called themselves Street The Beat. They did make a couple of indie singles and videos of their own stuff.
They are awesome!!! Love it.
Unbelievable. Two guys in the worst acoustical environment imaginable with equipment they can carry on the train? Ye Gods and little fishes!
Well, I’m awfully glad I watched the short documentary — which showed three lovely girls admiring them — or I would have left depressed. Who are these cold and fishy people in New York City who just walk on by, or throw a few dollars into the bucket like there’s a rattle snake inside? No engagement with the world whatsoever! Why is no one smiling broadly, throwing in a $20.00 and applauding?
Nice. Love the Beatles.
We saw a very good Beatles cover band out of Georgia in Wilmington last year, Abby Road Live. Their show reminded me how much FUN the Beatles were.
If anyone wants a long, detailed read about the Beatles; Mark Lewisohn's Tune In: The Beatles: All These Years is highly recommended. It covers their lives up to January 1, 1963. Volume 1 of 3, volume 2 is due out in 2020.
Available at the Althouse Amazon.... you know the rest!
If you're interested in tight, brotherly harmony take a listen to The Louvin Brothers. Tons of songs on YouTube. They were the primary influence on the Everlys.
Black! B-L-A-C-K.
I wouldn't read too much into the 'nobody stopping'. People get in 'subway mode'... Gene Weingarten of the WaPo once got Joshua Bell to play Gibson ex Huberman (his Stradivarius) at a Metro stop and virtually no-one stopped ("Pearls Before Breakfast" IIRC)
I was going to say... We don't stop for Clapton either. More room for you wonderful tourists.
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