Johnny Cash

PJ_SoulPJ_Soul Posts: 49,957
edited December 2013 in Other Music
So I hate country music (with kind of a passion), but Johnny Cash has pulled out some really amazing stuff over the years, so I thought an appreciation thread for him would be nice. :)

Some of my faves are:
God's Gonna Cut You Down
Folsom Prison Blues (of course)
Hurt (NIN)
I Won't Back Down (Tom Petty)
Ain't No Grave
Unchained...

Really, it's mostly his cool choice of covers that I like matched with his voice, along with a few excellent originals. Because god knows he's come up with a whole lot of plain old country western crap that I just can't stand.

I just learned that he covered Rusty Cage!! Um, the original kicks ass, clearly. :lol: But it's cool that he tried!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EtbuUlSGXzc
With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be careful. Strive to be happy. ~ Desiderata
Post edited by Unknown User on

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  • Attaway77Attaway77 Posts: 3,151
    1998 Dallas (7/5) 2006 San Fran (7/15,7/16) 2009 San Fran (8/28) 2010 Bristow (5/13) NY (5/21) 2011 Alpine Valley (9/3,9/4)
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    E.V. - 2008 Berkeley (4/8) 2012 Austin (11/9,11/12)
    Temple of the Dog - 2016 Upper Darby



  • AndySlashAndySlash Posts: 3,246
    unchained is one of my all time favorite albums. i'm not particularly religious, but 'spiritual' on that album will make you believe.
  • PJ_SoulPJ_Soul Posts: 49,957
    With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be careful. Strive to be happy. ~ Desiderata
  • goldrushgoldrush Posts: 7,542
    I don't like country either but his voice was fantastic.

    I really like his cover of Rusty Cage, especially when the guitars get dirty for the second half. His versions of 'Personal Jesus' (with John Frusciante) and 'Wichita Lineman' are 2 of my all-time favourite covers.
    “Do not postpone happiness”
    (Jeff Tweedy, Sydney 2007)

    “Put yer good money on the sunrise”
    (Tim Rogers)
  • PJFAN13PJFAN13 Posts: 1,422
    So beautiful to see a thread to the Man in Black...
    One of my faves, ever.
    Even though its a tad pricy, I highly recommend the American Series collection "boxset". Basically every out-take and alternative version of the 6 albums he did with Rick Rubin...some of the covers there will blow your mind, and the accompanying booklet tells great story after great story about the creation, inspiration behind etc...

    My oldest son was born 13 years (almost 14 years ago) at 9 am. He was born to Sportscenter :lol: In the hospital the cable was extremely limited - basically ESPN and VH1 came in - only. After 15 straight hours of ESPN, the wife was sleeping and I grabbed the little guy, put him on my chest and threw on VH1. It was "Storytellers - Willie Nelson & Johnny Cash". While the Willie stuff was ok, the Johnny stuff blew my mind. 2 days later I bought the CD, found myself skipping all the Willie and going straight to the Johnny stuff. "Unchained" became the lullabye I'd sing my son to sleep too...Xmas came, I got a few greatest hits and a box set from relatives...the collection grew. Then I became immersed in the Rubin stuff.

    Classic stuff. Chilling in some instances. Johnny was the real deal. RIP. His "murder" disc (from 3 disc set God, Love, Murder) is awesome and the intro on the booklet by Quentin Tarantino is simply beautiful.

    Thank you for starting this thread.
    11.30.93~10.2.96~9.13.98~9.1.00~8.25.00~7.3.03~7.5.03
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    8.5.08(EV)~10.9.09~5.21.10~6.20.11(EV)~7.5.11(EV)~7.9.11(EV)
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  • igotid88igotid88 Posts: 27,992
    New music

    http://www.amazon.com/Out-Among-Stars-Johnny-Cash/dp/B00H5D52VC/ref=ntt_mus_dp_dpt_2

    Throughout his five decades in music, Johnny Cash was unwavering in his dedication to his sound and style. Starting with Sun Records in 1955 through his days at Columbia and beyond, Cash always knew exactly what he wanted to do and exactly how it should sound. Everything he did, all the music he created was definitively Johnny Cash.

    By 1980, the business of country music had changed to incorporate sounds that were incongruous with Cash's. His signature blend of folk and that "boom-chicka-boom" beat was out of vogue amongst the slick string-laden "countrypolitan" sounds that had become popular. This shift left all-time greats like Cash in the odd place of being revered, but not selling albums.

    In one effort to enhance his commercial appeal, Columbia Records paired Cash with producer Billy Sherrill who was having major success with this new country sound. While Sherrill selected many of the songs, it was Cash's trademark sound that dominated.

    The sessions were nothing short of magic. Cash employed an expanded band, featuring a young Marty Stuart on guitar and fiddle as well as long-time duet partners June Carter Cash and Waylon Jennings. Much of what was recorded was locked away in the vault lost and not to be heard again. Until now.

    Discovered in 2012, Out Among The Stars is truly a lost, previously unreleased Johnny Cash album. These aren't alternate takes or different versions of songs that you've heard. These are brand new songs to the Cash canon.

    Completed in 2013 by Johnny's only son John Carter Cash, Out Among The Stars is a pivotal Johnny Cash album lost in time, and now ready to become a classic.
    I miss igotid88
  • Jeff MurrayJeff Murray Posts: 1,259
    I'm not a country music fan either, but Johnny Cash wasn't your typical country artist, not much twang in his songs. He was one of the original Outlaw Country performers that didn't give a shit what the powers that be in Nashville said. I've always appreciated Cash, but I don't play his tunes a lot.

    One thing I did was check out the museum his friend opened in Nashville. That was pretty cool, all kinds of memorabilia and personal artifacts. At the end they had the video of Hurt playing on a loop, very chilling after going through all the exhibits, especially the one's involving Johnny and June. Their story might not have been the fairy tale at the beginning, but I would take that kind of love any day.
    If there were no Angels would there be no sin?
  • red mosred mos Posts: 4,953
    Some of my fave Johnny cash tunes and covers are:

    Ring of fire
    Give my love to Rose
    Ghost riders in the sky
    Sunday morning coming down
    Hurt (NIN)
    Girl from the north country ( Bob Dylan). The version he does with Dylan, on Dylan's " Nashville Skyline" album is amazing!!!!
    man in black
    Highway man
    PJ: 10/14/00 06/09/03 10/4/09 11/15/13 11/16/13 10/08/14
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  • AndySlashAndySlash Posts: 3,246
    american i-iv are getting reissued on vinyl here pretty soon.
  • JH6056JH6056 Posts: 2,427
    When I went to Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland for the first time, they had his tour bus that he toured in for decades if I remember correctly. His long time tour manager (or someone who was with him for many of those years) had gone through the bus and labled things of interest or given history. It was super super cool to peek into and look around.

    While it is not one of my favorite covers musically, because of the spirit of it and because both of these gems were gone too soon after it was recorded, you really should all check out Joe Strummer and Johnny Cash doing Bob Marley's "Redemption Song". Johnny Cash was one of Joe Strummer's heroes, it meant the world to Joe to do this with Johnny.

    Also, if you're a Strummer/Clash fan as well as a Johnny Cash fan, check out Joe Strummer's "Long Shadow". Joe wrote it for Cash hoping Johnny would record it, but Johnny never did. In the end, it was much more appropriate as Joe's own epitaph, since he died before the record that it was on came out.
  • Attaway77Attaway77 Posts: 3,151
    1998 Dallas (7/5) 2006 San Fran (7/15,7/16) 2009 San Fran (8/28) 2010 Bristow (5/13) NY (5/21) 2011 Alpine Valley (9/3,9/4)
    2012 Missoula (9/30) 2013 Chicago (7/19) Pittsburgh (10/11) Buffalo (10/12) Baltimore (10/27) Dallas (11/15)
    2014 Austin (10/12) Memphis (10/14) St. Paul (10/19) Milwaukee (10/20) Denver (10/22)
    2016 Ft. Lauderdale (4/8) Miami (4/9) Hampton (4/18) Philly (4/28,4/29) NY (5/1,5/2) 2018 Seattle (8/10) Missoula (8/13) 2022 Nashville (9/16)

    E.V. - 2008 Berkeley (4/8) 2012 Austin (11/9,11/12)
    Temple of the Dog - 2016 Upper Darby



  • Cash & willie storytellers is one of my favorite albums.  Got me into both of them actually
    I'm like an opening band for your mom.
  • brianluxbrianlux Posts: 42,051
    edited June 2017
    Johnny, Willie, Waylon, Kris, Merle, Dolly, Loretta, Patsy-- love 'em all (and if you don't know who I'm talking about, it's time to do some music homework!).  And I'll throw in Ernest Tubb because despite his less than technically superb voice how can you not like this dude:



    But seriously, I really am an Ernest Tubb fan.  His "Live, 1965" is excellent.  And, man, what a band! 
    “The fear of death follows from the fear of life. A man [or woman] who lives fully is prepared to die at any time.”
    Variously credited to Mark Twain or Edward Abbey.













  • MedozKMedozK Posts: 9,209
    I'm all about some Traditional Country.
  • brianluxbrianlux Posts: 42,051
    MedozK said:
    I'm all about some Traditional Country.
    Who are some of your favorites MK?
    “The fear of death follows from the fear of life. A man [or woman] who lives fully is prepared to die at any time.”
    Variously credited to Mark Twain or Edward Abbey.













  • MedozKMedozK Posts: 9,209
    edited June 2017
    @brianlux Well, I have grown up in TN. So Country music was a piece of my childhood.
    George Jones, Merle Haggard, Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings... wow, really to many to list.

    I am actually playing this as I type.

    Post edited by MedozK on
  • MedozKMedozK Posts: 9,209
    edited June 2017
    Since this is a Johnny Thread... I will put this one on next.

  • MedozKMedozK Posts: 9,209
    edited June 2017
    Well, this got to pull out some of my old Cash Columbia 45s
    Next on the playlist:

    image
  • brianluxbrianlux Posts: 42,051
    ^^^  Well done, MK!

    I grew up in California listening to bands like The Beach Boys, Jan and Dean, Ronnie and the Daytonas, The Chocolate Watch Band, Moby Grape, Santana, Buffalo Springfield, etc., etc.  Never did hear much country music other than things like "Okie from Muskogee" which only served to turn my young naive and uneducated nose up at the music.  Thankfully I had a good friend in the 80's who not only challenged my biases, but turned me on to a whole lot of great classic traditional based country music.  I made up for a lot of lost time in the years to follow.

    All of that culminated in taking the opportunity to see Johnny Cash and June Cater Cash and family live in 1991 (and later Willie Nelson in 2005).   I feel very fortunate for those opportunities. 
    “The fear of death follows from the fear of life. A man [or woman] who lives fully is prepared to die at any time.”
    Variously credited to Mark Twain or Edward Abbey.













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