''Unearthed'' is a
box set
A box set or (its original name) boxed set is a set of items (for example, a compilation of books, musical recordings, films or television programs) traditionally packaged in a box and offered for sale as a single unit.
Music
Artists and bands ...
by American country singer
Johnny Cash
John R. Cash (born J. R. Cash; February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American country singer-songwriter. Much of Cash's music contained themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially in the later stages of his ca ...
. It was released by
American Recordings on November 25, 2003, two months after Cash's death. The album was compiled by Cash and
Rick Rubin
Frederick Jay Rubin (; born March 10, 1963) is an American record producer. He is the co-founder (alongside Russell Simmons) of Def Jam Recordings, founder of American Recordings, and former co-president of Columbia Records.
Rubin helped popul ...
, who also produced the set. It was
certified Gold
Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...
on December 2, 2004, by the
Recording Industry Association of America
The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...
.
Content
The first three discs feature outtakes and alternate versions of songs recorded for ''
American Recordings'', ''
American II: Unchained'', ''
American III: Solitary Man'' and ''
American IV: The Man Comes Around''. The fourth disc, ''My Mother's Hymn Book'' features
gospel
Gospel originally meant the Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words an ...
songs Cash first learned from his mother as a child and was later reissued as a standalone album in 2004. The final disc is a best-of distillation of the first four American albums.
Previous recordings
Many of the songs Cash recorded during the American sessions were updated versions of songs he had previously recorded.
*"Long Black Veil" was previously recorded by Cash for his 1965 album ''
Orange Blossom Special''.
*"Flesh and Blood" was previously recorded by Cash for the soundtrack to the 1970 film ''
I Walk the Line''.
*"Understand Your Man" was previously recorded by Cash for his 1964 album ''
I Walk the Line''.
*"Banks of the Ohio" was previously recorded by Cash with the
Carter Family
Carter Family was a traditional American folk music group that recorded between 1927 and 1956. Their music had a profound impact on bluegrass, country, Southern Gospel, pop and rock musicians as well as on the U.S. folk revival of the 1960s. ...
for the 1964 album ''Keep on the Sunny Side''.
*"The Caretaker" was previously recorded by Cash for his 1959 album ''
Songs of Our Soil''.
*"Old Chunk of Coal" was previously recorded by Cash for his 1979 album ''
A Believer Sings the Truth''.
*"I'm Going to Memphis" was previously recorded by Cash for his 1960 album ''
Ride This Train''.
*"Waiting for the Train" was previously recorded by Cash for his 1963 album ''
Blood, Sweat & Tears
Blood, Sweat & Tears (also known as "BS&T") is a jazz rock music group founded in New York City in 1967, noted for a combination of brass with rock instrumentation. In addition to original music, the group has performed popular songs by Laura N ...
''.
*"No Earthly Good' was previously recorded by Cash for his 1976 album ''
The Rambler
''The Rambler'' was a periodical (strictly, a series of short papers) by Samuel Johnson.
Description
''The Rambler'' was published on Tuesdays and Saturdays from 1750 to 1752 and totals 208 articles. It was Johnson's most consistent and sustain ...
''.
*"The Fourth Man in the Fire" was previously recorded by Cash for his 1969 album ''
The Holy Land
The Holy Land; Arabic: or is an area roughly located between the Mediterranean Sea and the Eastern Bank of the Jordan River, traditionally synonymous both with the biblical Land of Israel and with the region of Palestine. The term "Holy L ...
''.
*"Dark as a Dungeon" was previously recorded by Cash as the B-side to his 1964 single "Understand Your Man".
*"I'm Moving On" was previously recorded by Cash in 1984 as a duet with
Waylon Jennings
Waylon Jennings (June 15, 1937 – February 13, 2002) was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. He pioneered the Outlaw Movement in country music.
Jennings started playing guitar at the age of eight and performed at age f ...
. This version would not be released until 2014 on ''
Out Among the Stars''.
*"As Long as the Grass Shall Grow" was previously recorded by Cash for his 1964 album ''
Bitter Tears: Ballads of the American Indian''.
*"
Devil's Right Hand" was previously recorded by Cash with
the Highwaymen for the 1995 album ''
The Road Goes on Forever''.
*"The L & N Don't Stop Here Anymore" was previously recorded by Cash for his 1979 album ''
Silver
Silver is a chemical element with the symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical co ...
''.
*"Father and Son" was previously recorded by Cash as "Father and Daughter" for his 1974 album ''
The Junkie and the Juicehead Minus Me''.
*"When the Roll Is Called Up Yonder" was previously recorded by Cash for his 1975 album ''
Johnny Cash Sings Precious Memories''.
*"If We Never Meet Again This Side of Heaven" was previously recorded by Cash for his 1962 album ''
Hymns from the Heart''.
*"Let the Lower Lights Be Burning" was previously recorded by Cash for his 1962 album ''Hymns from the Heart''.
*"When He Reached Down His Hand for Me" was previously recorded by Cash for his 1962 album ''Hymns from the Heart''.
*"In the Sweet By-and-By" was previously recorded by Cash for his 1975 album ''
Sings Precious Memories''.
*"Softly and Tenderly" was previously recorded by Cash for his 1975 album ''Sings Precious Memories''.
*"Just as I Am" was previously recorded by Cash for his 1975 album ''Sings Precious Memories''.
Critical reception
Rock historian Graeme Thomson in his monograph, ''The Resurrection of Johnny Cash: Hurt, Redemption, and American Recordings'' has called ''Unearthed'' a monolithic achievement.
[Thomson, G. (2011). ''The Resurrection of Johnny Cash: Hurt, Redemption, and American Recording'' Jawbone Press, p. 232.]
Track listing
*Note: All tracks previously unreleased. A different take of "Down There by the Train" was issued on the 1994 album ''
American Recordings''.
*Note: All tracks previously unreleased. A solo version of "Like a Soldier", a version of "Drive On" featuring different lyrics, and an acoustic studio version of "Bird on a Wire" were issued on the 1994 album ''
American Recordings''.
*Note: All tracks previously unreleased, except "Wichita Lineman" and "Big Iron" which were previously released on the original vinyl pressing of ''
American IV: The Man Comes Around''. The final version of "The Man Comes Around" was also released on ''American IV: The Man Comes Around''.
*Note: All tracks previously unreleased.
*Note: All tracks previously released, although "Thirteen" features an additional verse that was omitted from its original album release.
Personnel
Adapted from the album liner notes.
* Johnny Cash – Vocals, Guitar, Arranger, Adaptation
*
Glen Campbell
Glen Travis Campbell (April 22, 1936 – August 8, 2017) was an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, actor and television host. He was best known for a series of hit songs in the 1960s and 1970s, and for hosting '' The Glen Campbell Good ...
– Vocals, Performer
*
Fiona Apple
Fiona Apple McAfee-Maggart (born September 13, 1977) is an American singer-songwriter. She has released five albums from 1996 to 2020, which have all reached the top 20 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' 200 chart. Apple has received numerous awards a ...
– Vocals
*
Nick Cave
Nicholas Edward Cave (born 22 September 1957) is an Australian singer, songwriter, poet, lyricist, author, screenwriter, composer and occasional actor. Known for his baritone voice and for fronting the rock band Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Ca ...
– Vocals
*
Joe Strummer
John Graham Mellor (21 August 1952 – 22 December 2002), known professionally as Joe Strummer, was a British singer, musician and songwriter. He was the co-founder, lyricist, rhythm guitarist and co-lead vocalist of punk rock band the Clash, ...
– Vocals
*
John Carter Cash
John Carter Cash (born March 3, 1970) is an American country singer-songwriter and musician. He is the only child of Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash, and the grandson of Maybelle Carter.
Biography
For several years after his birth, his fathe ...
– Performer, Arranger, Engineer, Associate Producer, Adaptation
* David Ferguson – Performer, Engineer, Mixing
* D. Sardy – Performer, Engineer, Mixing
*
Greg Fidelman
Greg Fidelman (born September 4, 1965) is an American record mixer, engineer and record producer. He is a frequent collaborator of producer Rick Rubin, and has worked with many bands in various genres, including Metallica, Slayer, High on Fire, B ...
– Performer, Mixing
*
Bill Bateman – Performer
*
Norman Blake – Performer
* Thom Bresh – Performer
*
Nick Cave
Nicholas Edward Cave (born 22 September 1957) is an Australian singer, songwriter, poet, lyricist, author, screenwriter, composer and occasional actor. Known for his baritone voice and for fronting the rock band Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Ca ...
– Performer
*
Lester Butler
Lester Butler (November 12, 1959May 9, 1998) was an American blues harmonica player and singer. He achieved fame as the singer and harmonica player for the Los Angeles, California, blues rock band, the Red Devils
Biography
Butler was born in th ...
– Performer
*
Mike Campbell – Performer
*
Laura Cash – Performer
*
Jack Clement
Jack Henderson Clement (April 5, 1931 – August 8, 2013) was an American singer, songwriter, and record and film producer.
Biography Early life
Raised and educated in Memphis, Tennessee, United States, Clement was performing at an early age, ...
– Performer
*
Sheryl Crow
Sheryl Suzanne Crow (born February 11, 1962) is an American musician, singer, songwriter and actress. Her music incorporates elements of rock, pop, country, folk, and blues. She has released eleven studio albums, five compilations and three l ...
– Performer
*
Howie Epstein
Howard Norman Epstein (July 21, 1955 – February 23, 2003) was an American musician best known as a bassist with Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.
Early life
Epstein was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and grew up in a musical household. Hi ...
– Performer
* Steve Ferrone – Performer
*
Flea
Flea, the common name for the order Siphonaptera, includes 2,500 species of small flightless insects that live as external parasites of mammals and birds. Fleas live by ingesting the blood of their hosts. Adult fleas grow to about long, a ...
– Performer
*
John Frusciante
John Anthony Frusciante (; born March 5, 1970) is an American musician, best known as the guitarist for the Red Hot Chili Peppers across three stints since 1988. He has released 11 solo albums and 7 EPs, ranging in style from acoustic guitar to e ...
– Performer
* Terry Harrington – Performer
*
Smokey Hormel
Smokey Hormel (born circa 1959)Cohen (2017) quotes Hormel as saying he was "4 or 5 ears old when "I Want to Hold Your Hand" by The Beatles was "a big hit on the radio"; the song was released in America in December 1963. is an American guitarist ...
– Performer
* Rami Jaffee – Performer
*
Roger Joseph Manning Jr. – Performer
*
Carl Perkins
Carl Lee Perkins (April 9, 1932 – January 19, 1998)#nytimesobit, Pareles. was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. A rockabilly great and pioneer of rock and roll, he began his recording career at the Sun Studio, in Memphis, Tennes ...
– Performer
*
Larry Perkins
Larry Clifton Perkins (born 18 March 1950) is a former racing driver and V8 Supercar team owner from Australia.
Biography Early years
Growing up on a farm in Cowangie in the Mallee region of Victoria, Larry, the son of racing driver Edd ...
– Performer
*
Tom Petty
Thomas Earl Petty (October 20, 1950October 2, 2017) was an American musician who was the lead vocalist and guitarist of the rock band Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, formed in 1976. He previously led the band Mudcrutch, was a member of the late ...
– Performer
* Juliet Prater – Performer
* David Roe – Performer
*
Randy Scruggs
Randy Lynn Scruggs (August 3, 1953 – April 17, 2018) was an American music producer, songwriter and guitarist. He had his first recording at the age of 13. He won four Grammy Awards and was named Musician of the Year at the Country Music ...
– Performer
* Paul "The Kid" Size – Performer
*
Chad Smith
Chad Gaylord Smith (born October 25, 1961) is an American musician who has been the drummer of the rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers since 1988. The group was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2012. Smith is also the drummer of the h ...
– Performer
*
Marty Stuart
John Marty Stuart (born September 30, 1958) is an American country and bluegrass music singer, songwriter, and musician. Active since 1968, Stuart initially toured with Lester Flatt, and then in Johnny Cash's road band before beginning work as a ...
– Performer
*
Benmont Tench
Benjamin Montmorency "Benmont" Tench III (born September 7, 1953) is an American musician and singer, and a founding member of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.
Early years
Tench was born in Gainesville, Florida, the second child of Benjamin M ...
– Performer
* Jimmy Tittle – Performer
*
Rick Rubin
Frederick Jay Rubin (; born March 10, 1963) is an American record producer. He is the co-founder (alongside Russell Simmons) of Def Jam Recordings, founder of American Recordings, and former co-president of Columbia Records.
Rubin helped popul ...
– Producer
* Richard Dodd, Thom Russo,
Andrew Scheps
Andrew Scheps is an American mix engineer, recording engineer, record producer, and record label owner, based in Los Angeles and the United Kingdom. He received Grammy Awards for Best Rock Album for his work on Red Hot Chili Peppers' ''Stadium Ar ...
, David Schiffman, Chuck Turner – Engineers
* Sylvia Massy – Engineer, Mixing
* Jim Scott – Mixing
* Vlado Meller – Mastering
* Steven Kadison – Assistant
* Christine Cano – Art Direction, Design, Photography
* Martyn Atkins,
Andy Earl – Photography
* Lindsay Chase – Production Coordination
*
Sylvie Simmons
Sylvie Simmons is a London-born, California-based music journalist, named as a "principal player" in Paul Gorman's book on the history of the rock music press '' In Their Own Write'' ( Sanctuary Publishing, 2001). A widely regarded writer and r ...
– Interviewer, Text
Charts
Album –
''Billboard'' (United States)
Certifications
''My Mother's Hymn Book''
''My Mother's Hymn Book'' is a collection of Christian spiritual songs and hymns that Cash originally learned from his mother while growing up. The album features only Cash's voice and a single acoustic guitar. This disc was released as a stand-alone disc the following year (his 89th overall album) under the same title, and peaked at #9 on the
Christian music
Christian music is music that has been written to express either personal or a communal belief regarding Christian life and faith. Common themes of Christian music include praise, worship, penitence, and lament, and its forms vary widely around ...
album chart. In the album's liner notes Cash mentions that this is his favorite album he ever made.
This was Cash's final album devoted to previously unreleased performances of faith-based music and hymns, following a long string of such releases dating back to 1959 and individual singles and album tracks even before that. Tracks 6, 9 and 10 were previously recorded for ''
Hymns from the Heart'' (1962); tracks 5, 11, 14 and 15 were previously recorded for ''
Sings Precious Memories'' (1975); and track 7 was recorded in concert for ''
The Survivors Live
''The Survivors'' is a live album by country/rockabilly musicians Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins, and Jerry Lee Lewis, released in 1982 on Columbia Records.
Contents
The album was recorded live on stage on April 23, 1981, in Böblingen, near Stuttgar ...
'' (1982). Several other songs, such as track 13, had been performed by Cash on TV or live in concert, but formal studio recordings had not yet been issued until now.
Although the images used on the standalone CD depict Cash near the end of his life, most of the recordings on ''My Mother's Hymn Book'' actually date to Cash's early sessions for American in 1993–1994 (hence the fact they only feature Cash performing by himself).
Track listing
Personnel
Adapted from the album liner notes.
*Karen Adams – Group Member
*Craig Allen – Design
*Martyn Atkins – Photography
*
John Carter Cash
John Carter Cash (born March 3, 1970) is an American country singer-songwriter and musician. He is the only child of Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash, and the grandson of Maybelle Carter.
Biography
For several years after his birth, his fathe ...
– Liner Notes, Associate Producer
*
Rosanne Cash
Rosanne Cash (born May 24, 1955) is an American singer-songwriter and author. She is the eldest daughter of country musician Johnny Cash and Vivian Liberto Cash Distin, Johnny Cash's first wife. Although she is often classified as a country ar ...
– Liner Notes
*Lindsay Chase – Production Coordination
*Steven Kadison – Assistant
*
Vlado Meller
Vlado Meller is a Slovak audio mastering engineer, currently with Vlado Meller Mastering in Charleston, South Carolina. Meller works across many genres of music, with credits on rock, hip-hop, pop, jazz, metal, dance, opera, Broadway, and classica ...
– Mastering
*
Rick Rubin
Frederick Jay Rubin (; born March 10, 1963) is an American record producer. He is the co-founder (alongside Russell Simmons) of Def Jam Recordings, founder of American Recordings, and former co-president of Columbia Records.
Rubin helped popul ...
– Producer
References
External links
Luma Electronic's Johnny Cash discography listing
{{Authority control
Albums produced by Rick Rubin
Unearthed (album)#Disc 4 – My Mother's Hymn Book
Compilation albums published posthumously
2003 compilation albums
Gothic country albums
Johnny Cash compilation albums
American Recordings (record label) albums
Universal Music Group compilation albums