American Recordings (album)
Stripped-down album that revived Johnny Cash's career.
American Recordings, the 81st album from Johnny Cash, came out on April 26, 1994, on the label American Recordings—which had just changed its name from Def American. The project sparked a late-career revival for Cash, a widely acknowledged American music icon whose album sales had slumped through the late 1970s and 1980s.
Producer Rick Rubin, whose Def American label was better known for rap and heavy metal, approached Cash after seeing him perform at Bob Dylan’s 30th anniversary concert in late 1992. Rubin believed Cash was still a vital artist who had been unfairly dismissed by the industry. Cash, dealing with health issues and recovering from a drug relapse, was initially hesitant. But the two bonded when Rubin promised the singer high creative control, telling him, “I would like you to do whatever feels right for you.” Cash decided to record his first solo album without any accompanying musicians. Rubin later recalled that sitting and talking, playing music, and hearing Cash’s stories built their friendship; he described Cash as shy and quiet but a wise man.
Under Rubin’s supervision, Cash recorded most of the album in his Tennessee cabin or at Rubin’s Los Angeles home, accompanied only by his guitar. This stripped-down approach returned to Cash’s earliest style. His first producer, Sam Phillips, had decided in the 1950s that Cash’s voice worked best with a minimal three- or four-piece group—Cash on vocals and guitar, another guitarist, upright bass, and sometimes drums. Later producers added more ornate backing; Cash had disagreed with Jack Clement in the 1960s over adding a “twangy” feel and frills like string sections and barbershop-style backup singers. In his autobiography, Cash wrote about frustrations with Columbia Records in the 1970s and 1980s, partly due to creative disagreements such as recording his vocals separately from the band.
Two tracks, “Tennessee Stud” and “The Man Who Couldn’t Cry,” were recorded live at the Viper Room, a Sunset Strip nightclub then owned by Johnny Depp. “The Beast in Me” was written and originally recorded by Cash’s former stepson-in-law Nick Lowe. Rubin commissioned new songs from several musicians; two made the album. Tom Waits contributed “Down There By The Train,” a spiritual redemption song. Glenn Danzig wrote “Thirteen” specifically for Cash in under twenty minutes.
Quick Facts
- Artist
- Johnny Cash
- Released
- April 26, 1994
- Recorded
- May 17–20, 1993; December 3–7, 1993
- Studio
- Rick Rubin's living room (Los Angeles)
- Johnny Cash's cabin (Hendersonville, Tennessee)
- The Viper Room (Los Angeles)
- Genre
- Country
- Length
- 42:45
- Label
- American
- Producer
- Rick Rubin
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
Cash was approached by producer Rick Rubin and offered a contract with Rubin's Def American Recordings label, better known for rap and heavy metal than for country music. Rubin had seen Cash perform at Bob Dylan's 30th anniversary concert in late 1992 and felt Cash was still a vital artist who had been unfairly written off by the music industry. Suffering from health problems and recovering from a relapse of his drug addiction, Cash was initially skeptical, but the two men bonded when Rubin promised Cash a high level of creative control. Rubin told the singer: 'I would like you to do whatever feels right for you,' and Cash decided to record the first solo album of his career without any accompanying musicians.
Under Rubin's supervision, Cash recorded most of the album in his own Tennessee cabin or Rubin's home in Los Angeles, accompanied only by his guitar. This was a return to Cash's earliest recording style. Two songs on the album had been recorded by Cash previously: 'Delia's Gone' (from 1962's The Sound of Johnny Cash) and 'Oh, Bury Me Not' (from 1965's Johnny Cash Sings the Ballads of the True West). 'Tennessee Stud' and 'The Man Who Couldn't Cry' were recorded live at the Viper Room, a Sunset Strip nightclub owned at the time by Johnny Depp. 'The Beast in Me' was written and originally recorded by Cash's former stepson-in-law Nick Lowe. Rubin commissioned new songs from several musicians; 'Down There By The Train' was a spiritual by Tom Waits, and 'Thirteen' was written by Glenn Danzig in less than twenty minutes specifically for Cash.
Reader's Guide
American Recordings received nearly universal acclaim from critics and won Cash a Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Folk Album at the 1995 Grammy Awards. The album was voted the seventh best album of the year in the Pazz & Jop poll of American critics. In 2006, Country Music Television ranked it number 27 on its list of the top 40 greatest country albums, and in 2009 Rolling Stone placed it at number 366 on the magazine's list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. The album's critical and commercial success demonstrated that Cash remained a compelling artist despite years of industry neglect, and it launched a series of acclaimed American Recordings albums that defined the final phase of his career. The stripped-down production, featuring only Cash's voice and guitar, highlighted the power of his storytelling and vocal delivery, and the album's blend of folk, gospel, and dark narrative songs became a template for his later work with Rubin.
Track listing
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Delia's Gone | Johnny Cash, Karl Silbersdorf, Dick Toops | 2:18 |
| 2 | Let the Train Blow the Whistle | Cash | 2:15 |
| 3 | The Beast in Me | Nick Lowe | 2:45 |
| 4 | Drive On | Cash | 2:23 |
| 5 | Why Me Lord | Kris Kristofferson | 2:20 |
| 6 | Thirteen | Glenn Danzig | 2:29 |
| 7 | Oh, Bury Me Not (Introduction: "A Cowboy's Prayer") | Traditional | 3:52 |
| 8 | Bird on the Wire | Leonard Cohen | 4:01 |
| 9 | Tennessee Stud | Jimmy Driftwood | 2:54 |
| 10 | Down There by the Train | Tom Waits | 5:34 |
| 11 | Redemption | Cash | 3:03 |
| 12 | Like a Soldier | Cash | 2:50 |
| 13 | The Man Who Couldn't Cry | Loudon Wainwright III | 5:03 |
Track listing from the source article.
Did You Know?
- The album cover was photographed while Cash was visiting Australia, at Werribee near Melbourne.
- Two songs on the album, 'Delia's Gone' and 'Oh, Bury Me Not', had been previously recorded by Cash in the 1960s.
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