This item is not eligible for Amazon Prime, but millions of other items are. Join
Amazon Prime today. Already a member?
Sign in.
Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
In 1994 Cash stunned the music world with this commanding collection of 13 solo acoustic performances that roll from gospel to cowboy to sarcastic folk. Minimalism had long been Cash's meal ticket, but this time around, producer Rick Rubin stripped it all away, recording the bulk of the record in Cash's cabin or his own living room (two cuts were captured live at the Viper Room in front of an emphatic audience). Cash offers five typically direct and vivid originals, but he also seizes control of songs by Kris Kristofferson, Nick Lowe, Leonard Cohen, Tom Waits and Loudon Wainwright. 40 years after "Hey Porter", Cash delivers a pure, naked, and incredibly moving record that, dare we say, rivals the impact of his greatest achievements. --Marc Greilsamer
Description
Johnny Cash is back and better than ever. The legendary ManIn Black is now recording for a modern rock label, and is being produced by hard-core rap/rock guru Rick Rubin--and theresults are startling. Spare and stripped to the bone, AMERICAN RECORDINGS is Johnny Cash at his artistic zenith.
Anoriginal acoustic ballad, the opening "Delia's Gone" is a watershed accomplishment. Wryly capturing the art of the death ballad, it presents a thoroughly textured dramatic piece, both horrifying and humorous. The same can be said for Cash's droll reading of Loudon Wainwright's "The Man Who Could Not Cry". An extremely religious man, Johnny includes several songs dealing with themes of redemption, righteousness and spiritual salvation.
Sandwiched between those two songs isa character-rich, eclectic collection of material by writers like Leonard Cohen, British rocker/ex-son-in-law Nick Lowe, Tom Waits, death-metal god Glenn Danzig, and Cash himself.With his resounding baritone--which is in the best form of his long career--and restricted guitar technique, Cash is the centrepiece, creating a sound that is uniquely American--proud, solitary, nearly broken, yet defiant.
Johnny Cash, alone with a single guitar, is commanding in his dry, unencumbered intensity. AMERICAN RECORDINGS reaffirms his unique musical prowess, and presents his glorious shadowy skills to a new generation.