Unearthed

Product Information

This mammoth five CD box of seventy nine tracks from his American Recording sessions will only enhance his legend. To celebrate the Man in Black’s enduring and influential legacy, American Recordings and UMe have reconfigured this monolithic collection for its first-ever vinyl release, spreading Unearthed’s 79 songs over nine high-quality 180-gram vinyl LPs while expanding the original box's distinctive packaging for the long-playing format. To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average.

Cash che canta senza limiti, Depeche Mode, U2, Merle Haggard, Beatles, Neil Diamond, in coppia con Joe Strummer o Tom Petty o con il vecchio amico Carl Perkins, canta ogni cosa, la sua voce nel tempo è diventata profonda cavernosa, ti scende fin giù nelle viscere non ti perdona, sei costretto a seguire il suo cavallo, anche senza il Boom Chicka Boom dei tempi gloriosi. The fourth disc, My Mother's Hymn Book, features gospel songs Cash first learned from his mother as a child and was later reissued as a standalone album in 2004.Neither are the definitive statements that some of Cash's covers from this period are (his glorious takes on Nick Lowe and Danzig, to name just two), but they're still very much worth hearing. The deluxe packaging includes a 104-page, cloth-bound book; never-before-seen photographs; and Cash's personal commentary on every song in the box. It's true that there is no ground breaking version of a contemporary song, no fresh triumph like ''The Mercy Seat'' or ''Hurt''. Not just a must have for completists but for those who see Cash as a great interpreter of other's work alongside his own. Redemption Songs is largely acoustic, and features duets with Joe Strummer, Fiona Apple, Nick Cave and Glen Campbell.

The set was originally planned to celebrate Cash and Rubin’s decade of recording together, but sadly Cash passed away before receiving the final mixes to approve. Knowing that Rubin was holding back tracks for V and VI, so the inclusion of further outtakes was unlikely, I would have been more than pleased for Disc 5 to have featured the complete Viper Room show from which two tracks from American I were taken. It's hard to think of a more appropriate and impressive send-off for this one-of-a-kind American original than the massive musical statement that is Unearthed. There is just one thing that I don't like but it's not related to the music itself: the design of the folder that holds the discs.Unearthed is divided into five thematic sections (it was a five-CD set) with Who’s Gonna Cry focusing on acoustic solo recordings, Trouble In Mind slanted towards electric performances (this section features some guest performances from the likes of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and Carl Perkins) and Redemption Songs another acoustic collection, with duets with Joe Strummer, Fiona Apple, Nick Cave and Glen Campbell. Flesh and Blood" was previously recorded by Cash for the soundtrack to the 1970 film I Walk the Line. In addition to the 4 other albums of American Recordings and the many fine collections of his earlier material, Unearthed is a treasure trove for devotees and new acolytes alike.

When He Reached Down His Hand for Me" was previously recorded by Cash for his 1962 album Hymns from the Heart.In terms of the set itself my only complaint is the unnecessary 5th disc featuring previously released tracks from the first 4 American CDs (except for "Thirteen" which is actually a longer alternate take or edit than the version previously released). The recordings, which run the stylistic gamut from stark balladry to punchy rockabilly to heartfelt gospel to classic covers, offer a stunning encapsulation of Cash's wide-ranging musical vision, and provide a fitting epitaph for his iconic career. There are delights throughout: a towering performance of Tom Waits' ''Down There By The Train'', and a spine tingling take on Neil Young's ''Heart of Gold''.

The quality of these outtakes are just as good as the material that was originally released on the American Recording albums. This is newly compiled half-speed mastered limited edition and contains 20 hits including Folsom Prison Blues and I Walk The Line.Comes with a very handy, entertaining and interesting little book; quite informative and full of cool facts from that era. Particularly on the first CD, starting with a powerful performance of ''Long Black Veil'' this feels like a one man journey through the history of American song. 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.