It's been said that the career of the late, legendary Johnny Cash was bookended by two distinct periods — the beginning and the end.
The beginning, meaning his early recordings first for Sun Records and then for Columbia. This is where Cash first established his legend with such albums at Live At Folsom Prison and the string of great songs like "I Walk The Line," "Hey Porter," "Ring Of Fire," and "A Boy Named Sue."
Then there was the end, and the great series of American Recordings he made with producer Rick Rubin. These were the career closing records made from the mid-'90s right up until his death a few years ago. On these albums, Rubin most often stripped Cash down to the barest essentials of just a guitar and that unmistakable voice of his, for a series of starkly recorded albums that drew more confessional as he approached his final appointment with his God.
On some of these songs, such as his cover version of Nine Inch Nails "Hurt," the way that Cash confronts his mortality is so profound it literally brings tears to your eyes. It is a remarkable series of records.
In between these two very distinct periods however, was what many fans simply refer to as "that other stuff," as Cash seemed to become creatively adrift. During those "other years" in the middle of his career, Cash made everything from gospel records to ill-conceived record label driven efforts to "modernize his sound" (something Rubin did much more effectively by simply stripping it bare).
This newly unearthed and mixed concert — where Cash is captured live in 1990 during a concert in Asbury Park, N.J.. — was recorded toward the end of that period, just a few years before his partnership with Rubin would revitalize his career and insure his legacy ended on a high note.
The one-hour concert kicks off with a spirited version of "Ring Of Fire" that finds Cash sounding strong in both voice and spirit. The band clicks along behind him like a well-oiled machine, and the sound mix here is absolutely pristine.
Article comments
1 - JC Mosquito
Cool - any album with pretty much anyone's version of "The Wreck of the Old 97" has gotta be a good one.
2 - Glen Boyd
It's a good un' Skeet. I'd place this pretty high as a recommendation for somebody looking for a good Johnny Cash live recording. Not as high as Folsom Prison mind you, but nonetheless...
-Glen
3 - JC Mosquito
I recently acquired a Sun Records pressing of All Aboard the Blue Train, one of Cash's earlier albums (about 1962, I think). Recorded in glorious mono on vinyl with a few scratches for good luck - priceless.
4 - Glen Boyd
Is that an original Sun pressing Skeet? Probably worth a few Bruce bucks if it is. In good condition? And did you pay a collectors ransom for it or go the garage sale route?
Enquiring minds want to know...
-Glen
5 - Les Remmington-Allum
The song "Wonderful Time Up There" on this set, is not the only known recording.
Johnny recorded this song on his studio double gospel album of 1979.... "A Believer Sings The Truth", which was originally released on the Cachet label.... but subsequently released by CBS/Columbia.
More interestingly, the song included on this set which may be the only recording known is the self penned "What is Man".
Unless, of course, someone can tell me different!
6 - JC Mosquito
Aww... I looked it up - it's an original, but an original Capitol Record Club edition. Still worth about 20 bucks to some people. And it was a freebie - didn't pay a dime for it.
7 - Jason
The best part of this album, at least for me considering I'm from Asbury Park, is that Johnny and June lived right across the street in a penthouse they bought back in the mid eighties called the Berkeley Carteret Hotel. He even referenced it at one point.
"Good night, Asbury Park," he says at the end of the concert. "I'll see you at church tomorrow."
Asbury Park was never Cash's primary home. An Arkansas native, he bought a house in Hendersonville, Tenn., in the late '60s, and was based there for the rest of his life. He also owned an estate in Jamaica.
The Berkeley-Carteret's owner, Henry Vaccaro, was a longtime Cash fan who had met him backstage at the Garden State Arts Center (now the PNC Bank Arts Center) in 1977. The two men became friends, and Vaccaro convinced him to invest. But since Cash had other homes, and toured frequently, the time he could spend in Asbury Park was limited.
Still, something about this Jersey Shore town clearly captivated the Man in Black.
In her 1987 autobiography, "From the Heart," June Carter Cash wrote about their Asbury years: "There is no way to explain how Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash got involved in restoring Asbury Park, New Jersey. When I try to explain it, nothing makes sense. It has something to do with giving back some glory to a place that deserves it, but you really have to be there to understand."