Johnny Cash was in the unenviable position of being a living legend who was beloved by fans of classic country music without being able to interest anyone in his most recent work when he was signed to Rick Rubin's American Recordings label in 1994. Rubin, best known for his work with edgy rockers and hip-hop acts, opted to produce Cash's first album for American, and as he tried to brainstorm an approach that would introduce Cash to a new audience, he struck upon a brilliant idea -- doing nothing. For American Recordings, Rubin simply set up some recording equipment in Cash's Tennessee cabin and recorded him singing a set of songs accompanied only by his acoustic guitar. The result is an album that captured the glorious details of Johnny Cash's voice and allowed him to demonstrate just how emotionally powerful an instrument he possessed. While Rubin clearly brought some material to Cash for these sessions -- it's hard to imagine he would have recorded tunes by Glenn Danzig or Tom Waits without a bit of prodding -- Cash manages to put his stamp on every tune on this set, and he also brought some excellent new songs to the table, including the Vietnam veteran's memoir "Drive On," the powerful testimony of faith "Redemption," and a sly but moving recollection of his wild younger days, "Like a Soldier." American Recordings became a critical sensation and a commercial success, though it was overrated in some quarters simply because it reminded audiences that one of America's greatest musical talents was still capable of making compelling music, something he had never stopped doing even if no one bothered to listen. Still, American Recordings did something very important -- it gave Cash a chance to show how much he could do with a set of great songs and no creative interference, and it afforded him the respect he'd been denied for so long, and the result is a powerful and intimate album that brought the Man in Black back to the spotlight, where he belonged.
I love the Library. Today I got a pretty random sampling of shit:Johnny Cash : American Recordings (Vol.1)Velvet Underground and NicoNick Drake - Pink Moon Ali Farka Toure - The Sourceand 20 to Life: Prison Blues. Songs From the Angola PenitentiaryIt's the second time I've owned Velvet Underground and Nick Drake. All of the other stuff should be interesting to say the least.
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Back in November 2005, i did a post on a regular blog entitled "*They Are Killing My Brothers Again*":http://electronictiger.net/roare/2005/11/they-are-killing-my-brothers-again.htmlToday i saw this story on line. It made me cranky.They called it the "Thousand-yard Stare""Veterans' Affairs doctor tells staff to refrain from PTSD diagnoses":http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-ptsd
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Turn the key and drive on. America awaits discovery. Get behind the wheel, for it is not about the destination, it is about the journey.
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...i believe.I don't believe in God or the Devil.I don't believe in Heaven or Hell.I believe that when you die, that's it.But for as long as it takes *Johnny Cash* to sing *Tom Waits*' Down There by the Train, i believe.And a tear runs down my cheek.Click here to go to my website.
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...when i did a post called "*The Thousand-Yard Stare*":http://mog.com/fairportfan/blog_post/162382, which stirred up some controversy.However, i think that (setting aside the controversy i touched on in that post) even the MOGger i was arguing with will agree that Viet Nam vets (real combat men, not REMFs like me) got a pretty shabby deal Back In The Day.There's a reason that "Don't mean nothi...
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while i was lookin through some johnny cash videos, i stumbled across this lil beauty. sooo many great cameos. also i just burned a new mix with moby's version of it. also gooood.
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I love the Library. Today I got a pretty random sampling of shit:Johnny Cash : American Recordings (Vol.1)Velvet Underground and NicoNick Drake - Pink Moon Ali Farka Toure - The Sourceand 20 to Life: Prison Blues. Songs From the Angola PenitentiaryIt's the second time I've owned Velvet Underground and Nick Drake. All of the other stuff should be interesting to say the least.
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...and when my blood sugar is low, I get hungry, tired, pissy, moody, snappy, and I don't want to listen to anything remotely happy or uplifting.Hence, today's slice of Americana.Enjoy.
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This is my own personal favourite. If not before, now would be the time it really sticks out for me. Performed by one of my favourite singers (Cash) written by one of my favourite songwriters (Waits). This song is a god-damned gem. Literally on the God-Damned part.
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 "American Recordings")
