“Amber Tresses (Alternate Take)”
Key: G
Recorded Sunday, December 10, 2011.
These days, it’s all about the “alternate take.” With the successful marketing of boxed sets and deep-cut compilations, some bright minds at Sony and Apple realized there’s money to be made in the thousands of extra cuts recorded during sessions but never released.
I’m really into Elvis. Take a look at iTunes and check out how many of his “alternate takes” are for sale. ”Don’t Be Cruel” must have a dozen different versions, from the original with the Jordanaires (bop! bop!), to rehearsal takes, to the “Million Dollar Session” jams with Carl Perkins and Jerry Lee Lewis, to the 1970s Las Vegas “medley” versions. (Not to get on a “Don’t Be Cruel” kick, but what a great song. And my favorite version is not by Elvis, but by Dillard and Clark.)
The Carter Family didn’t do a lot of alternate takes. Unlike Elvis, who would basically hold RCA’s session guys hostage while he went on amphetamine-fueled, all-night marathons at Studio B, the Carters weren’t given endless studio time. They were told to get it right the first (or second) take, and that was it. Studio time was precious.
And so it is here at the Carter Family Project. We are limited by the length of Ben’s nap time, my energy level (low, because of back pain), and our friend’s time and patience.
However, Nancy and Jen’s duet on “Amber Tresses” sounded so great we did several takes, and so here we can give you a real, bonafide “alternate take.”
Just like a Christmas present boxed set, minus the cumbersome box, the fragile CD’s, and the heavy, full-color booklets!
Guest Credits:
Nancy Hunt and Jen Larson: Duet vocals.
Andrew T. Hunt: Guitar
