American Recordings

Johnny Cash had been without a record deal for several years when rap/rock producer Rick Rubin revived his career by focusing the spotlight solely on Cash\'s minimal guitar accompaniment and his commanding, chiseled-in-granite vocals. Rubin and Cash also cherry-picked an astonishing range of material from such unlikely sources as Glenn Danzig (\"Thirteen\"), Tom Waits (\"Down There By The Train\"), Leonard Cohen (\"Bird On A Wire\"), Loudon Wainwright III (\"The Man Who Wouldn\'t Cry\") and Nick Lowe (\"The Beast In Me\"), all of which rest comfortably alongside a fistful of Cash originals and traditional tunes. With subjects stretching from horses (\"Tennessee Stud\") and travel (\"Let The Train Blow The Whistle\"), to God (\"Redemption\" and \"Oh Bury Me Not\") and murder (\"Delia\'s Gone\"), this album is as timeless as a Matthew Brady photograph from the Civil War.

Each Sunday, Pitchfork takes an in-depth look at a significant album from the past, and any record not in our archives is eligible. Today, we explore Johnny Cash’s 1994 comeback American Recordings.

Johnny Cash was in the unenviable position of being a living legend who was beloved by fans of classic country music without being able to interest anyone in his most recent work when he was signed to Rick Rubin's American Recordings label in 1994.