Friday, October 05, 2007

Johny Cash's The Great Lost Performance


Being the cantankerous old bastard that I am, I’ve been a little down on new music lately. There’s definitely some great new stuff, but I’ve been disappointed just as often. The fascination with bands that sound like second rate Flock of Seagulls impersonators is particularly disheartening (with yelpy, shout in your face indie bands coming in a close second). What could remedy this ennui? Maybe some good ol’ Johnny Cash?

I’m a huge Johnny Cash fan. The guy had an amazing voice and was a relevant artist for close to 50 years. As great as he is, his studio albums have always been hit or miss. He’s the only artist I love where when asked to name his greatest album, I would respond with a live album. At San Quentin and At Folsom Prison are both fantastic records. The song selection, the between song banter and his vocal performance make them essential listening. So even though I know they’re not going to equal those classic albums, I always pick up new Cash live albums when they’re released.

The newest Cash live document is called The Great Lost Performance. With that title, the label’s setting expectations pretty high. When you hear that it was recorded in 1990, you start to feel a bit skeptical. When you put it in and “Ring of Fire” comes on, you’re not feeling any better about the purchase. By now you’ve heard the song so many times, you’re hoping for either a really impassioned performance, or a new take on it. Instead it sounds like a song Cash is pretty tired of singing. But stay with me, because as the record moves along it gets way better. The sound quality is great. Cash is in a really good mood and does the storyteller thing where he introduces a lot of the songs with great anecdotes. There are some new songs (new at the time anyway) like “What is Man.” There are some great performances of songs you know and love like: “Five Feet High and Rising,” “Sunday Morning Coming Down” and “Hey Porter.” His introduction to “Ragged Old Flag” is pretty great too. After seeing Walk the Line, it’s great to hear June Carter Cash’s voice next to Johnny’s on tracks like “Jackson.”

If you’re new to Cash, this obviously isn’t the best starting point. But if you’re a Cash fan who already has his other great live releases, then this release is highly recommended. I think I’d even put it a little ahead of the Madison Square Garden release. I hope they keep unearthing concerts with such great sound quality.

Coming soon: A Review of the Best of the Johnny Cash Show on DVD

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

the best starting point for Johnny Cash is this performance:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=E4TRvYAyt3k