A new posthumous album of unreleased Johnny Cash material has been announced: Songwriter due June 28 (via Mercury Nashville/UMe). Focusing on the original demos Cash recorded in 1993 between contracts, the album strips those recordings down to just the country legend's vocals and acoustic guitar, then invites the musicians he used to play with — guitarist Marty Stuart, the late bassist Dave Roe and drummer Pete. Abbott, among others – to enrich the music. Listen to the lead single, “Well okay“, below.
Songwriter it was conceived and arranged by John Carter Cash, the son of Johnny and June Carter Cash, who also co-produced the album with David Ferguson. “No one plays Cash better than Marty Stuart, and Dave Roe, of course, played with Dad for many years,” said John Carter. “The musicians that came in were just watching with dad, you know, recording with dad, as they had done many times with Marty and Dave, so they knew his actions, his movements, and let him be the guide. He was just playing with Johnny one more time, and that was that. This was the energy of creation.”
Featuring 11 songs in total, the album focuses on Cash's songwriting and the heart of his stories. In addition to the aforementioned musicians, Songwriter Also features contributions from Dan Auerbach, Vince Gill, Waylon Jennings, Ana Cristina Cash, Matt Combs, Mike Rojas, Russ Pahl, Sam Bacco, Kerry Marx and Harry Stinson of the Black Keys.
Three years ago, a rare live album by Johnny Cash, Bear's Sonic Journals: Live at the Carousel Ballroom, 4/24/1968, was released. It was recorded a few days before his iconic live album At Folsom Prisonthe LP was performed in San Francisco at a venue run by members of Jefferson Airplane and the Grateful Dead.
Read about it At Folsom Prison at No. 58 on Pitchfork's “200 Greatest Albums of the 1960s” list.
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