Pitchfork

[Posted Tuesday, October 28th, 2003 04:00:00 Pitchfork Central Time]

November 25th will see the release of a five-disc posthumous box set from Johnny Cash. Titled Unearthed, the set will contain a whopping 79 songs (a staggering 64 of which have never been released) recorded between 1994 and 2002 under the supervision of producer Rick Rubin during the sessions for Cash's four mostly-stellar American Recordings albums.

Among the gems included in discs one through three are acoustic versions of the Cash classics "Long Black Veil" and "Flesh and Blood," plus covers of Steve Earle's "Devil's Right Hand," Roy Orbison's "Down the Line," and two Neil Young tracks, "Pocahontas" and "Heart of Gold." In addition, you can expect many unreleased duets with stars from the past and present including Carl Perkins, Fiona Apple, Willie Nelson, Glen Campbell, Nick Cave, and Tom Petty. One of the more somber duets promises to be Cash and late Clash vocalist Joe Strummer on a cover of Bob Marley's "Redemption Song."

Disc four will apparently be Cash's long-rumored, but never realized collection of traditional gospel hymns recorded with Rubin. Subtitled "My Mother's Hymn Book," the disc will feature 15 solo, acoustic, deeply spiritual songs taken from a book of hymns Cash's mother sang to him when he was a child. The disc should be a fascinating addition to the set due to Cash's open, and sometimes behavior-contradicting, deeply religious nature.

Disc five, the only previously released material in the set, will be a greatest hits of his four American Recordings discs. In addition, the set will include a 104 page, cloth-bound book full of commentary on each track from Cash, Rubin, and many others, along with one of Cash's final interviews. Tracklist:

Disc one: "Who's Gonna Cry":
01 Long Black Veil
02 Flesh And Blood
03 Just The Other Side Of Nowhere
04 If I Give My Soul
05 Understand Your Man
06 Banks Of The Ohio
07 Two Timin' Woman
08 The Caretaker
09 Old Chunk Of Coal
10 I'm Going To Memphis
11 Breaking Bread
12 Waiting For A Train
13 Casey's Last Ride
14 No Earthly Good
15 The Fourth Man In The Fire
16 Dark As A Dungeon
17 Book Review
18 Down There By The Train

Disc two: "Trouble In Mind":
01 Pocahontas
02 I'm A Drifter [version 1]
03 Trouble In Mind
04 Down The Line
05 I'm Moving On
06 As Long As The Green Grass Shall Grow
07 Heart of Gold
08 The Running Kind [with Tom Petty]
09 Everybody's Trying To Be My Baby
10 Brown-Eyed Handsome Man [with Carl Perkins]
11 'T' For Texas
12 Devil's Right Hand
13 I'm A Drifter [version 2]
14 Like A Soldier [with Willie Nelson]
15 Drive On [alternate lyrics]
16 Bird on a Wire [live with orchestra]

Disc three: "Redemption Songs":
01 A Singer Of Songs
02 The L & N Don't Stop Here Anymore
03 Redemption Song [with Joe Strummer]
04 Father And Son [with Fiona Apple]
05 Chattanooga Sugar Babe
06 He Stopped Loving Her Today
07 Hard Times
08 Wichita Lineman
09 Cindy [with Nick Cave]
10 Big Iron
11 Salty Dog
12 Gentle On My Mind [with Glen Campbell]
13 You Are My Sunshine
14 You'll Never Walk Alone
15 The Man Comes Around [early take]

Disc four: "My Mother's Hymn Book":
01 Where We'll Never Grow Old
02 I Shall Not Be Moved
03 I Am a Pilgrim
04 Do Lord
05 When The Roll Is Called Up Yonder
06 If We Never Meet Again This Side Of Heaven
07 I'll Fly Away
08 Where The Soul Of A Man Never Dies
09 Let The Lower Lights Be Burning
10 When He Reached Down
11 In The Sweet By And By
12 I'm Bound For The Promised Land
13 In The Garden
14 Softly And Tenderly
15 Just As I Am

Disc five: "Redemption Songs":
01 Delia's Gone
02 Bird On A Wire
03 Thirteen [Danzig]
04 Rowboat [Beck]
05 The One Rose
06 Rusty Cage [Soundgarden]
07 Southern Accents
08 The Mercy Seat [Nick Cave]
09 Solitary Man [Neil Diamond]
10 Wayfaring Stranger
11 One [U2]
12 I Hung My Head
13 The Man Comes Around
14 We'll Meet Again
15 Hurt [Nine Inch Nails]