Track Listing

1. Wreck of the Old '97 - Hank III
2. Cry, Cry, Cry - Robbie Fulks
3. Ballad of a Teenage Queen - Rodney Crowell
4. I Guess Things Happen That Way - Raul Malo
5. There You Go - Chuck Mead
6. Get Rhythm - Rev. Horton Heat
7. Pack Up Your Sorrows - Bruce Robison and Kelly Willis
8. Ring of Fire - Billy Burnette
9. Luther Played the Boogie - Redd Volkaert
10. Big River - Rosie Flores
11. Folsom Prison Blues - James Intveld
12. I Still Miss Someone - Earl Poole Ball
13. I'm Gonna Sit on the Porch and Pick On My Old Guitar - Damon Bramblett
14. I Walk The Line - Dale Watson
15. Train of Love - Kenny Vaughan
16. Straight A's in Love - Eddie Angel
17. Jackson - Mandy Barnett & Chuck Mead
18. Flesh & Blood - Chris Knight

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #84331 in Music
• Released on: 2002-09-17
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .22 pounds

Amazon.com
As befits a release on a fledgling indie label, Dualtone's tribute to Johnny Cash celebrates the feistier fringes of the Man in Black's catalog, adding a few mainstream milestones. In what is plainly a labor of love for all concerned, highlights extend from the pop innocence of "Ballad of a Teenage Queen" by Rodney Crowell (formerly married to Johnny's daughter Rosanne) to the folkier strains and husband-and-wife harmonies of "Pack Up Your Sorrows" by Bruce Robison and Kelly Willis to the honky-tonk majesty of "I Still Miss Someone" by pianist Earl Poole Ball. Some of the more familiar touchstones don't fare quite as well, with Billy Burnette turning in a tepid "Ring of Fire" and Dale Watson singing in a lower than comfortable register on "I Walk the Line," though James Intveld rises to the challenge of "Folsom Prison Blues." The house band and the largely acoustic arrangements give the 18-cut album more unity than many such projects, as the collection shows why one of the most influential and commercially successful artists in country's history remains an icon of alt-country as well. --Don McLeese

Customer Reviews

Some incredible Cash covers
In a year that's seen the reissue of so many original Cash LPs, one might wonder what need there is for a tribute album. The answer, as unwound on this album, is obvious: the impact of Cash's music far exceeds his own recordings, having become an essential element of American music. These eighteen covers illuminate both Cash's original legacy -- his songs -- as well as the influence he's had on several generations of musicians.

Like any such various artist compilation, the results are uneven. But unlike many such collections, this one's high-points are exceptionally high, and the remaining cuts are still intriguing. Among the highlights is the opening triple-threat of Hank Williams III, Robbie Fulks, and Rodney Crowell. Others impressive reworkings include those from Rev. Horton Heat, Billy Burnette and Chris Knight.

Hank III's remake of "Wreck of the Old '97" weds the wail of his grand-dad with the locomotive energy of Cash. Williams' and Chuck Mead's guitars push the rhythm that's laid down by bassist Dave Roe and drummer W.S. Holland, and Col. J.D. Wilkes' harmonica screams like a runaway train.

Fulks attacks "Cry, Cry, Cry" with an urgency that even Cash's original (his first single for Sun) didn't register, and Rodney Crowell makes hay from one of the lightest-weight tunes in the Cash catalog, Jack Clement's "Ballad of a Teenage Queen." Though "Ballad" was a #1 country hit for Cash in 1958, Clement's production, especially the chorus and soprano backing vocals, always seemed like mismatch for Cash's presence. Not so with Crowell's take - the cleaner lines of the ringing guitar, the smoothly mixed backing vocals and the narrative lead vocal polishes the song into a true gem.

Rev. Horton Heat infuses his rockabilly mania into "Get Rhythm," while still retaining the essence of Cash's original version. Similarly, Billy Burnette modernizes "Ring of Fire" without losing its soul; the song's loping tempo and iconic guitar hook are lovingly rendered as sacred text. Chris Knight sings Cash's "Flesh and Blood" as his own, rendering it in the spare, acoustic style that's become his trademark. Stripped of the strings and female backing chorus of Cash's 1970 original, the imagery of nature is ever more potent.

A pair of duets recount the combined success of Cash and June Carter. Bruce Robison and Kelly Willis' rendition of "Pack Up Your Sorrows" hints at the Cash/Carter version with it's click-clack train rhythm, but their softer, polished voices more closely follow the song's originators, Richard & Mimi Farina. Mandy Barnett and Chuck Mead's "Jackson" can't possibly match the bristling interpersonal spark of the original, but it fully captures the songs swaggering repartee, and, unlike Nancy Sinatra, Barnett (singing the hell out of the song) gets the lyric "And I'll be waitin' in Jackson, behind my Ja-pan fan" right!

As noted at the top, a world in which Cash's originals are readily available still needs these covers, if only to remind us that Cash's songs -- those he's written, and those he's simply made his own -- are as iconic as his performances.

Dressed in Black - A tribute to Johnny Cash
... You'll be her favorite.

So, what's so great about this record? In a word, Talent. Robbie Fulks doingCry,Cry,Cry is great, Rosie Flores/Big River, great, Raul Malo/I Guess Things Happen That Way, great. The two duets on the record, Bruce Robinson & Kelly Willis/Pack Up Your Sorrows, Mandy Barnett & Chuck Mead/Jackson absolutely smoke and Hank III on The Wreck of Old '97 will kick ....

I'll even give a thumbs up to the packaging, ejoyed the liner notes, The Reverend Horton Heat's comment is nothing short of haunting and the picture on the back, a young June and Johnny, damn June is Hot!

Finally, I'll leave you with this little tale. I was doing music for a friend's wedding this past weekend and I slipped this puppy in at the church after the ceremony. (They had killer sound) The groom's dad and the Bride's dad both wandered in, sat down and flat out refused to leave until it was finished. ...

Loving Tribute to the Man in Black
The best of Americana and Real Country artists gather together to pay homage to one of America's truest and greatest living legends, Johnny Cash. From the mournful wail of Hank III to the rhythmic beat of Chuck Mead's honky-tonk; from Redd Volkaert's gravely bass to the smooth voice of Raul Malo, this disc contains some of the greatest country music ever recorded done by some of today's best country artists (i.e., the ones you generally won't hear on corporate-owned radio, but should know and love if you know and love country music: Robbie Fulks, Dale Watson, Rodney Crowell, Bruce Robison and Kelly Willis, James Intveld, and Rosie Flores, to name a few). If mainstream country music would sound a little more like this disc does, I probably wouldn't have turned off the radio.