Johnny Cash wrote the following in his autobiography 'Cash': "I don't listen to music much at the farm, unless I'm going into songwriting mode and looking for inspiration. Then I'll put on something by the writers I've admired and used for years — Rodney Crowell, John Prine, Guy Clark, and the late Steve Goodman are my Big Four [...]". With the death of John Prine this week, Crowell is the only living of these five men. In commemoration, I will be posting an album from each.
A great later effort from Cash to match the peak era of most of the men in our theme. The title is, of course, after the Guy Clark song, which Cash delivers an excellent rendition of here. The 'man in black' proves he never lost it, with his voice sounding every bit as good as it did in 1958. The production is for the most part very traditional, with Cash's vocal given the tight, shotgun reverb that made his early vocals so distinctive, joined by timeless finger-picking. Some songs, the opener 'I Will Dance with You' for example, do make use of contemporary production and songwriting to great effect, while some more traditional numbers are amusingly infused with 1970s effects (hear the wah-wah guitar on 'You're So Close to Me'). We are not, of course, deprived of fantastic religious numbers showing the always awe-inspiring depth of Cash's faith. 'Far Side Banks of Jordan' is a rousing-yet-humble duet with his wife, and her stunning vocal is also clearly audible on the joyful, gospel-infused 'Give it Away' (as well as on other songs). Cast-iron songcraft and an ear to the ground reveal that the supposed desert between the late sixties and the 'American' recordings is (for the most part, anyway) a myth.
A1. I Will Dance With You
A2. The Last Gunfighter Ballad
A3. Far Side Banks Of Jordan
A4. Ridin' On The Cotton Belt
A5. Give It Away
B1. You're So Close To Me
B2. City Jail
B3. Cindy, I Love You
B4. Ballad Of Barbara
B5. That Silver Haired Daddy Of Mine
flac/16-bit
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