Johnny Cash American

Johnny Cash there are few musicians to embody a style on their own. Personalities beyond the boundaries of the genre in which history usually ranks them. The Elvis, The Miles, and of course the Johnny Cash ! Although he remains one of the gods of country music, he was also inseparable from the history of rockabilly, rock'n'roll, folk and even gospel. Cash was a voice (baritone out of the norm) but also a pen that signed masterpieces like I Walk the Line, Folsom Prison Blues, Ring of Fire, Get Rhythm or Man In Black, The Man In Black as he will be nicknamed throughout his life. A life begun on February 26, 1932 in Kingsland, Arkansas and sparse with themes as Imperial as redemption.

To put it quite plainly, Unearthed is essential for anyone who loved the last 10 years of Johnny Cash's recording career - his years with producer Rick Rubin on American Recordings, which many (including myself) consider the best years of Cash's long and storied career. This set features not merely the best of the rest of those recordings, but the rest of the best. While some of them are not fully realized, there are many genuine revelations contained within. It boggles the mind how some of them did not make the original albums; some could have worked interchangeably, some are unquestionably better, while some, perhaps, simply did not fit the mood of the album. In any case, this boxed set, thoughtfully, has not been sequenced randomly: each of the first three discs is thematic and corresponds to a specific American album(s); the fourth, My Mother's Hymn Book, is a never-before-released gospel album; and the final disc is a Best Of for Cash on American records. As such, each disc stands very well on its own.

In my opinion the last track “Hurt” on this 5th disc may well be his best recording ever. Cash trying to prove himself that he’s still alive and aware of things, while looking back on his life. Very impressive and touching at the same time !!!

Introducing the new album from Johnny Cash titled 'Songwriter'. Johnny Cash recorded an album’s worth of unreleased, self-penned songs in 1993 ahead of him signing with American Records and his releases with Rick Rubin that re-established himself as one of world’s best songwriters to a new generation of fans. Songwriter’s 11 songs have been updated by his son John Carter and longtime producer David Ferguson.