Hello music fans, and welcome back for episode #5.
Album # 5: Johnny Cash - American III: Solitary Man (2000)
In the early 2000s I bought this album, on cassette, from a clearance bin, on a whim. I thought the cover looked cool. At the time I knew who Johnny Cash was but had never listened to him, at least not knowingly. Here's what happened...
If the Pogues were the gateway into one type of music then this Johnny Cash album was another. After the initial jaw dropping moment of how he covered Tom Pettys', I Won't Back Down, this long player seeped into my bones and it's still there around twenty-five years later.
This is a dark album which I imagine reflects that Cash was quite unwell at the time of recording. Johnny, with producer Rick Rubin, took some of his originals along with a wide range of covers and turned them into a statement. Later on I would learn that Cash, always clad in black, sang songs for the downtrodden, the poor, the "lonely old", and the outcasts. If you've ever felt left out then listen to this album and, for at least 42 minutes, you won't be alone.
American III introduced me to Will Oldham's music, made me go back and listen to some old Nick Cave, and beckoned me down a path towards country music. Without this album I doubt I would have got to Kris Kristofferson, The Chicks, Steve Earle, or Gillian Welch.
Years later, in the band, we'd do a version of I Won't Back Down. I'd introduced it to them because I loved the Cash version. I don't think anyone ever listened to it though and, apart from the intro, it was much more Tom Petty. Still, it will always be a Johnny Cash song for me.
Over the years I have enjoyed reading and hearing stories about this album being recorded. From Tom Petty dropping in to sing backing vocals on his song and doing another into the bargain, to the buffalo that didn't like the air conditioner on the cabin the studio was in...they'd butt into it so it had to be turned off to record!
Not long after getting this cassette I saw a collection of Cash's songs on CD. That collection was called Murder, and all the songs were about that. Later I'd discover that there were also great related anthologies called Love and God. Murder is an exception, in that it's a compilation worth listening to. It's sad, angry, and full of people looking for redemption.
Nowadays I have a lot of Johnny's albums. It can be a bit overwhelming trying to sort through the multitude of compilations but there are great CD versions of his early long players out there for only a few bucks. Still, if you've never listened before, or only know Ring of Fire, then grab a copy of American III: Solitary Man, and settle down for quite the experience.
Johnny Cash - Would You Lay With Me (In A Field Of Stone) - https://youtu.be/F5LMaF6ThOs
Thanks for reading this,
The Woozle
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