Music Review: Johnny Cash - The Great Lost Performance

Written by Fantasma el Rey 

In this latest release by Johnny Cash, he shows what a true musical treasure he is. With The Great Lost Performance, recorded in July of 1990, we have a chance to hear Johnny years before he was “rediscovered” by the world at large through his American Recordings and just before he and his kind became total outcasts of modern country music. He stands tall and strong with his unique voice and raw storytelling abilities, easily capable of transporting you into the world of his youth and the dark realms of his mind.

Johnny opens this live set from Asbury Park, New Jersey, with a burning rendition of “Ring Of Fire.” Without a horn section the guitars fill in nicely as the key sound of the chorus, and from the moment he hits the mic you know who is in charge. His voice is still solid and strong containing only a hint of his age as opposed to the end of his career. Not a bad thing at all, just the final phase of the man’s gift.

Next, Johnny eases into the gospel songs usually reserved for the later part of his shows, “Life’s Railway To Heaven” and “A Wonderful Time Up There.” The latter is an awesome gospel boogie where you can hear the influence for some of Johnny’s secular tunes, most notably “Luther Played The Boogie.” The song also has a wonderful introduction about the blessed day that his voice dropped and gave the world the gift that we know and love. The gospel set also highlights the sweet harmonies of the Carter Sisters Anita, Helen, and June.

Johnny then slides smoothly into two of his classics, “Folsom Prison Blues” and Kris Kristofferson’s “Sunday Morning Coming Down.” Both are tales of a darker side brought to life and made believable by Johnny’s own experiences. When he sings of beer for breakfast on a Sunday morning, you know he’s done it and you know at one point in his darkest days he could have come close to killing a man.

Two new songs, the Psalm-inspired “What Is Man” and the road tune “Forty Shades of Green,” find their way into this recording. The former is a duet with the sweet-voiced Lucy Clark, who sounds somewhat like June Carter Cash, and reflects upon man’s existence and role on Earth. The latter was written in Ireland with map in hand as Johnny picked out rhyming town names, strung them together, and a song was born about an Irish lad that misses a certain lass.

The next five tracks compose “Come Along And Ride This Train,” a set that springs from the days of the Johnny Cash television show and basically tells stories from his life. From tales of his youth (“Five Feet High And Rising,” “Pickin’ Time,” and “A Beautiful Life.”) to the day he walked into Sun Studios to record his first single. (“Hey Porter.”) All the while the signature Cash train rhythm rumbles steadily on behind him.

Article Author: El Bicho

El Bicho writes for a number of movie web sites, including Cinema Sentries, which he runs for the geniuses of Forwerd Media. He also occasionally cleans up around here. Follow at twitter.com/ElBicho_CS

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