JOHNNY CASH

Songwriter (Mercury Nashville)

Having the opportunity to hear these long-lost, self-penned songs on new album Songwriter from the late Johnny Cash is nothing short of an honour. Opener Hello Out There is a timeless look at the state of the world that’s even more relevant 30 years after the country music legend wrote and recorded it. It’s also a treat to hear Cash’s voice at the relatively tender age of 61: his son, and the musical team around him, have done a great job with the playing and production on this album.

Immediately after Songwriter was recorded, Cash embarked – with producer Rick Rubin – on a final decade of increasingly excellent albums which covered material by fellow country writers but also the likes of Tom Petty, Leonard Cohen and Nine Inch Nails. And, inspired by such great material, the artist produced his late, great piece The Man Comes Around, a song of a different class from anything on the lovingly presented Songwriter.

words JOHN-PAUL DAVIES