{"id":39672,"date":"2006-03-09T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2006-03-09T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/reviews\/unearthed\/"},"modified":"2006-03-09T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2006-03-09T00:00:00","slug":"unearthed","status":"publish","type":"review","link":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/reviews\/unearthed\/","title":{"rendered":"Unearthed"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

Allow me to put this as delicately as possible;
\nUnearthed<\/i> is hands down one of the best musical experiences
\nI have ever had. Despite the fact that this a collection of songs
\nby a country artists, despite the fact that all but 15 tracks are
\nouttakes\/demos, despite the fact that this is a massive five-disc
\nbox set, Unearthed<\/i> blew my mind in every which way
\npossible.<\/p>\n

Unearthed essentially is a collection of songs that
\ndid not make the final cut for Johnny Cash’s American Recordings
\nseries of albums. With the exception of the fifth disc, none of
\nthese songs had seen the light of day until now. If there is one
\nfacet of this disc I cannot speak enough of, it is of the superb
\nquality of these tracks. Each one of the discs holds up as well as
\nany album I have heard, going above and beyond what one would
\nexpect from songs that did not make their respective albums.<\/p>\n

The first three CD’s of the collection are the meat
\nof the collection. The first disc contains outtakes from the first
\nAmerican Recordings sessions, so it’s just Cash and his guitar. The
\nnext two feature Cash backed by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers,
\nadding some oomph to the bare bones sound that marks a good deal of
\nUnearthed<\/i>. For the most part, what little Cash I have been
\nlistening to has been that stripped, acoustic sound, so hearing the
\nMan in Black rocking along with the Heartbreakers was a shock.
\nLuckily, the quality of the music doesn’t drop off. The
\nHeartbreakers complement Cash quite well. Of particular note:”Heart
\nOf Gold,” “Down The Line,” and “Brown Eyed Handsome Man” featuring
\nCarl Perkins. Now, these songs are all well and good, but the
\nstandout track of the first three discs to me is a performance of
\n“Bird On A Wire,” with Johnny backed up by an orchestra. As that
\norchestra swells up behind those steady, ragged Cash vocals, boy is
\nit something.<\/p>\n

Perhaps the most touching music on the entire box set
\ncomes from the fourth disc: “Songs From My Mother’s Hymnbook.” Cash
\nhimself proclaimed this album to be the one he most desperately
\nwanted to record, and that love and dedication shows. Knowing what
\nCash went through personally, and then hearing him revel in his
\nstrong faith, brought a perpetual smile to my face as I listened.
\nFew artists could have encapsulated what these songs talk about,
\nand Cash is definitely one.<\/p>\n

The aforementioned fifth disc is a collection of the
\nbest songs from the American Recordings series, and for someone who
\ndoesn’t own the majority of those albums, it is a welcome addition.
\nHere is where you will find the big players, like “Delia’s Gone,”
\n“Solitary Man,” or the brilliant, sorrowful remake of “Hurt.”
\nBeyond the better-known tracks you’ll find ones of equal worth.
\n“Rusty Cage” features a driving vocal performance from The Man In
\nBlack, as he belts out each line with such feeling you can’t help
\nbut be riveted. Cash and Rubin also take U2’s “One” and make it
\ntheir own. Sorry Bono, but Johnny did you one better.<\/p>\n

As one plows through Unearthed<\/i>, one can begin
\nto comprehend how well Cash and Rubin cover other artists’
\nmaterial. I knew most of these songs in their original
\nincarnations, but after listening to Cash delivering them, it is
\nlike they have been his own for decades. “Redemption Song,” is one
\nshining example, featuring Joe Strummer in one of the best duets on
\nUnearthed<\/i>. Neil Young’s “Pocahontas,” coming from a frontier
\nman like Cash, is much more potent. June Carter Cash even makes an
\nappearance, backing up her husband on “As Long As The Grass Shall
\nGrow.”<\/p>\n

At times it becomes hard to keep listening to
\nUnearthed<\/i>, as you can hear Cash’s voice slowly
\ndeteriorating. Never is it unbearable, in fact sometimes it makes
\nthe songs more emotional (the best example of this probably being
\n“Hurt”). The reality is Cash has been singing about life and death
\nin various ways his entire career, but when facing his own
\nmorality, it adds an authenticity. This is not to trivialize Cash’s
\nprevious work, but I think it makes the material on
\nUnearthed<\/i> that more powerful.<\/p>\n

There is really not much more I can say about
\nUnearthed<\/i>. It takes its place as the best box set I have had
\nthe privilege of listening to. As a final statement from Johnny
\nCash, it could not be more fitting. It encapsulates what he all
\nabout. Maybe the hits like “Ring Of Fire” aren’t here, but what you
\nhave instead is the brilliant last decade of music from The Man in
\nBlack.<\/p>\n

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