Double J / by Dan Condon
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| A lost album that Johnny Cash recorded in 1993 has been unearthed and will be released next month. Photo: Alan Messer |
Early in 1993, Johnny Cash was at something of a career lull.
The late country legend, who died in 2003, aged 71, was in between recording contracts when he decamped to LSI Studios, a Nashville recording studio owned by his stepdaughter, Rosey Adams, and son-in-law, Mike Daniel, to record some songs he'd been writing.
Mere months later, Cash would meet producer Rick Rubin, who helped the country legend completely revitalise his career with the American series of albums. The sessions he recorded earlier that year were shelved and have never seen the light of day – until now.
This June, fans will get the chance to experience these songs for the first time with the release of Songwriter, an 11-track album of originals recorded in that early 1993 session.
But there is a twist.
When Cash's son John Carter Cash discovered the tapes, he discovered that, while the sound quality of Cash's performance was brilliant, the same couldn't be said for his accompanying band.
So, he stripped the recording back to just his dad's voice and guitar and assembled a new group of musicians to provide accompaniment to ensure the album sounded relevant to Johnny Cash fans in 2024.
Those musicians include guitarist Marty Stuart and the late bassist Dave Roe, who were both big parts of Johnny Cash's band in the 80s and 90s.
The Black Keys' guitarist Dan Auerbach and country legend Vince Gill both make guest appearances on Songwriter, alongside the late Waylon Jennings who recorded guest vocals on the original recording.
You can hear the musicians' reverence for Cash's early work in the album's first single Well Alright, which was released on Tuesday.
It truly sounds like vintage Cash, as he delivers his deep, wry croon against the backdrop of that skeletal shuffle typical of so many of his classic songs.
"We just went rudimentary," John Carter said in a statement released on Tuesday.
"We went straight to the roots, as far as the sound, and tried not to overly enhance it. We built as if dad was in the room. That's what we tried to do."
John Carter was assisted by engineer David "Fergie" Ferguson who is best known for his extensive work with Johnny Cash in the 90s and 00s.
"Between the both of us, Fergie and I have spent thousands of hours with dad in the recording studio, so we just tried to act like he was there: WWJCD, right?" he said.
The ultimate objective of the project is to give people another dose of the Johnny Cash that has been such a key part of pop culture and of his many fans' lives for the best part of 70 years.
"It's not about selling Johnny Cash, he would be doing that himself," John Carter said.
"I'm grateful that this record is here, even if it was only for me, because it reminds me of who my father was, and I do believe there are people out there that knew him on somewhat of a level that I did, that will be just as touched."
Songwriter is out Friday June 28.
First published at ABC News, April 23, 2024
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