The Outtakes

THE OUT-TAKES
Have you ever wondered what it's like at a recording session?
Have you ever wished you could have been a fly-on-thewall when the Everly Brothers, Johnny Cash, or others were recording in the 1950s and '60s? Now Bear Family takes you there. Many record companies kept the tapes rolling as the artist tried one version (or 'take') after another. Then, after the session, the producer would choose the best 'take,' and the remainder would be stored away never again to see light-of-day...until Bear Family came along. Now we at Bear Family have painstakingly gone through all the 'outtake' boxes and chosen those that are substantially different from the issued take, and included the false starts, studio chatter and jive as well. So now some of the greatest artists of the last fifty years are holding a session in your living room, and you're invited! 50 years after their first recording session, it seems that it's Everly time all over again.

With the looming dates of their first concert tour in years and more Everly Brothers music in print than at any time since the early 1960s, the duo's heavenly harmonies have once again settled on the public consciousness. As remarkable a feat as this may seem, much of their legacy still rests upon the recordings they made for Archie Bleyer's Cadence label between 1957 and 1960. The reasons are obvious: for three years, Don and Phil were part of an unbeatable team. Bleyer provided the production and marketing acumen to launch their careers. Boudleaux and Felice Bryant composed the songs that perfectly suited their voices and Nashville pickers like Chet Atkins served up snappy musical arrangements in short order. Now, Everly fans are invited to take a peak behind the scenes (Fly at the wall) at the process that yielded those legendary recordings.

Compiled entirely of Cadence outtakes, this set features 34 working versions and musical sketches from this magical era, giving a new and totally fresh prospective on these, the Everlys' most popular songs. From the first takes of such hits as Bye Bye Love, Wake Up Little Susie and Bird Dog to alternate run-throughs of such classics as Claudette and All I Have To Do Is Dream, this collection is packed with monumental musical discoveries.