Songwriter

AlbumJun 28 / 202411 songs, 30m 53s91%
Country
Popular Highly Rated

*Songwriter* takes a set of demos Johnny Cash recorded in early 1993 and builds them out with posthumous recordings from a full band. Casual fans may find this a weird proposition, but those versed in Cash will recognize ’93 as the year preceeding the career-changing *American Recordings* and hence a kind of tremor before the quake. With the exception of “Drive On” and “Like a Soldier,” both of which showed up on *American Recordings*, and 1962’s “Sing It Pretty Sue,” these songs are new to us. Several are great: the cosmic “Hello Out There,” the gritty “Drive On,” the quaintly noble “Have You Ever Been to Little Rock?” and, best of all, “Well Alright,” in which a man meets a woman in a laundromat on a “dangerous, beautiful night” and, having helped her with her load (“she was washin’ extra hot”), begins a life with her. Mysterious, mundane, funny as a bird and deep as a well where you’ll never hear the penny hit bottom: Johnny Cash.

6.5 / 10

A set of recently unearthed studio recordings sheds light on the country icon’s remarkable comeback in the early 1990s.

Johnny Cash's 'Songwriter' album, reviewed by Rolling Stone.

8.0 / 10

Recorded in early 1993, the songs of Songwriter were stripped down to just Cash's voice and guitar and then built back up with the help of a host of legendary musicians. The result is an album that wonderfully reflects Johnny Cash's singular musical vision.

8 / 10

"When I get an idea for a song it would gel in my mind for weeks or months, and then one day just like that, I'll write it” said Johnny Cash, arguably one

(Mercury Nashville/UMe)<br>A collection of songs recorded before the Man in Black’s 1990s Rick Rubin revival and reworked by his son has much to offer

Album Reviews: Johnny Cash - Songwriter

Album review: John Carter Cash cleans up original recordings, dropping all but his father’s renowned voice

Album: Johnny Cash, Songwriter. Review by Liz Thomson