Johnny Cash - the Album-by-Album Thread

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by BeatleJWOL, Sep 20, 2020.

  1. RSteven

    RSteven Forum Resident

    Location:
    Brookings, Oregon
    Nice pickings by Jamie. Bing was a very good friend of my Aunt's, but I never got to meet him myself. I still manage some property in Southern California that the two of them bought together as a joint business venture in the 1960's. I think I was too young to go to some of the events when they were friends, but I remember seeing Christmas gifts from Bing and Kathryn in my Aunt's living room around the holidays.
     
  2. BeatleJWOL

    BeatleJWOL Senior Member Thread Starter

    Bing Crosby in a Johnny Cash thread. Well, I never.

    Y'all are great. Keep it up.
     
  3. jalexander

    jalexander Forum Resident

    Location:
    Canada
    And eventually Danzig and Nine Inch Nails (and don’t forget our early link to De La Soul)! The weird, wide world of Johnny Cash.
     
  4. JoeRockhead

    JoeRockhead Forum Resident

    Location:
    New Jersey
    agreed!
     
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  5. raveoned

    raveoned Forum Resident

    Location:
    Ambler, PA
    Indeed he did! At the time, my dad owned a hobby shop, and when the ad blitz started by Lionel, we got all kinds of promo stuff with Cash on it (catalogs, etc.) There were specials on the train sets that featured in the ads (the ones Johnny was holding in each one, like Trains n Truckin', Black River Freight, etc.)

    When Lionel sent us the silver boxcar with Cash on it, as well as promoting the Ridin' the Rails TV special on the other side, my dad put it on a special spot in the store, so that people could see it. Still have the boxcar as well as my Black River Freight set.
     
  6. jalexander

    jalexander Forum Resident

    Location:
    Canada
    Now that I think about it, my first exposure to Cash was a life size cutout at my local Canadian bank in the mid-80s... but I’ll save that story (and commercial) for later!
     
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  7. Anti_Elijah

    Anti_Elijah Well-Known Member

    Location:
    USA
    I would also like to give big thanks to @jalexander for his great contributions to this thread. He has helped my journey through Cash's music to be a lot more expansive and helps me find material that I have never heard before! I love the way that he picks apart the albums and different songs, did I mention his reviews are great too? Was very happy to read the rest of the 70's and looking forward to what is next! Also a big thanks to @BeatleJWOL for starting this thread. It is really great fun and discussion seeing everyone's thoughts on the albums and we still have so much more to go! I'm looking forward to see what else will come out of the Cash rabbit hole, because with his great discography, I always find something new that I never heard before. I hope everyone is doing well!
     
  8. The MEZ

    The MEZ Forum Resident

    Location:
    CT
    I agree Thanks you both and all contributors. So great
     
  9. BeatleJWOL

    BeatleJWOL Senior Member Thread Starter

    The Rambler
    [​IMG]
    Studio album by
    Johnny Cash
    Released
    June 27, 1977
    Recorded 1976-1977
    Genre Country
    Length 37:28
    Label Columbia
    Producer Charlie Bragg, Jack Routh, Johnny Cash

    The Rambler is the 56th album by American country singer Johnny Cash, released in 1977 on Columbia Records. A concept album about travelling, its songs, in between, include dialogue between Cash and hitchhikers picked up or other people he meets during the album's cross-country trip. It is the last, and one of the few Johnny Cash albums to only feature songs written by Cash himself. It is also his last non-religious concept album, and was included on the Bear Family box set Come Along and Ride This Train. The Rambler reached #31 on the country album charts; the two singles, "Lady" and "After the Ball", had minor chart success.

    Track listing
    All songs by Johnny Cash

    No. Title Length
    1.
    "Hit the Road and Go" 2:35
    2. "Dialogue #1" 2:33
    3. "If It Wasn't for the Wabash River" 2:09
    4. "Dialogue #2" 2:22
    5. "Lady" 2:48
    6. "Dialogue #3 (Background: It's All Over)" 2:27
    7. "After the Ball" 2:48
    8. "Dialogue #4" 2:02
    9. "No Earthly Good" 2:45
    10. "Dialogue #5" 1:51
    11. "A Wednesday Car" 2:12
    12. "Dialogue #6" 0:55
    13. "My Cowboy's Last Ride" 2:29
    14. "Dialogue #7" 2:48
    15. "Calilou" 3:20
    16. "Dialogue #8" 1:24

    The Rambler (album) - Wikipedia

    ~~~~~



    Well, this is an album. It's a fun listen, but the "story" is fairly unremarkable. Still, it starts off great. As a former Indiana dweller (hello Fort Wayne!), I do appreciate the second song's callout as well. It's not one of the states commonly thought of to have songs about it. :D

    Bangert: That time Johnny Cash stopped in Lafayette to go fishing
    Just a fun article I found while doing a quick Google about this record. Nice interview with Jack Routh, too.

    Thoughts? Is this record more cringe or captivating?

    Next: See you again Wednesday!
     
  10. Ellen1014

    Ellen1014 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Leeds
    I listened to the Last Gunfighter yesterday and can barely remember anything about it. I enjoyed it while it was on but it was very forgetful.

    Now the Rambler is an album I love. I've played it a lot and will play it again this week.
     
  11. Anti_Elijah

    Anti_Elijah Well-Known Member

    Location:
    USA

    Here is an outtake from The Rambler. What do you guys think? Would this have fit on the album instead of any of the other songs? It's a fine tune!
     
  12. KTM

    KTM Forum Resident

    Why walk the line? I have a story as well!
     
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  13. KTM

    KTM Forum Resident

    Great songs all around. Love this one! But yeah - the story is rather lame
     
  14. jalexander

    jalexander Forum Resident

    Location:
    Canada
    I have never been keen on the Rambler. Didn’t have it until the Complete box set came out and the hokey dialogue meant I didn’t dig deep. Then I saw some of you guys praising it in some of the Cash threads around here, so I tried again. But still, that dialogue...

    I’ve given it several more listens and I think there are about four good songs here. Some of my thoughts:
    • This album gives a great example of the Jack Routh-Earl Ball-Jerry Hensley sound
    • Jack was married to Cash’s stepdaughter Carlene Carter and they seemed to get along well. We’ll see a few more collaborations in the coming years
    • Opener Hit the Road and Go is a solid upbeat road song
    • Wabash River and My Cowboy’s Last Ride are good examples of taking the acoustic Personal File style and arranging it into an album track
    • No Earthly Good is one of Cash’s best gospel songs. This is the third version after the acoustic demo and the single with the Oak Ridge Boys
    • The other stuff is not my favourite. Wednesday Car is second tier One Piece..., Calilou is merely amusing, and After the Ball reuses All I Do Is Drive. I can’t stand Lady...
    • The dialogue just doesn’t hit for me, and is worse when you realize the girls they’re flirting with at the bar are Johnny’s daughter and stepdaughter. Yikes!
    My longer review: Album Review: Johnny Cash – The Rambler
     
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  15. jalexander

    jalexander Forum Resident

    Location:
    Canada
    I quite like I Can’t Go On That Way. Not sure about how it would fit the “narrative”, but at 8 songs, one more would have helped.

    Another outtake is the incredible It Takes One to Know Me, finished in 2002 by Carlene:
     
  16. jalexander

    jalexander Forum Resident

    Location:
    Canada
    Also, Wabash River was first recorded as an acoustic demo, released on the House of Cash bonus CD:
     
  17. Anti_Elijah

    Anti_Elijah Well-Known Member

    Location:
    USA
    My thoughts on The Rambler is that I think it is just a fine later 70's release. I like the fact that it is one of the last albums that Cash and the band would sound this stripped back, Cash's sound will really change and have a lot more going on in the mix when we hit these next couple of albums and especially when we hit the 80's.

    I rarely listen to the album as a whole though, the story is rather corny of course. The problem with it is that I don't see much replayability with it. I understand the message of the story, but I just don't get much from it or can relate to it much. I can see why Cash wanted to do it though and I see where he was trying to go with it. The whole story just seems so scattered too. The Rambler isn't a great example of how Cash can make a concept album a great and interesting listen like Bitter Tears, America, Sings True West, Ride this Train. I think I even like From Sea To Shining Sea more for a couple reasons. This isn't my first choice at all for a concept album if his to give a listen.

    As for the songs, I think most of them are good. Even though some of them are just recycled from earlier albums like @jalexander pointed out. I'm happy I wasn't the only one who thought After The Ball sounded like All I Do Is Drive! I dig both songs despite the similarity. I can't pass up on many tunes where Bob Wootton is going ham on the guitar. I'm not too big on the more mellow tunes either being Lady or Cowboy's Last Ride. Wabash River is fine. I feel like the album would have worked so much better if it stuck to more upbeat songs like the opener and After the Ball, it wouldn't feel as scattered out. I would say I like the album for the good batch of the songs and the production is stripped back and sounds very good. A lot will really change for Cash and the band in the next few years.
     
  18. Anti_Elijah

    Anti_Elijah Well-Known Member

    Location:
    USA
    I would have much rather had I Can't Go On That Way instead of Lady! It's way more upbeat, fits with the album more, and it would be one less skip for me song wise.
     
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  19. jalexander

    jalexander Forum Resident

    Location:
    Canada
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  20. jalexander

    jalexander Forum Resident

    Location:
    Canada
    I could go for an album of upbeat driving/rambling song... and of course All I Do is Drive would be a perfect fit, so I’m not sure why it was rewritten as After the Ball. Plus, Jerry Hensley was opening their live shows with an awesome cover of Rambling Man in those days! Hello!!! The album is called The Rambler...

    As much as I like No Earthly Good, what is it doing here? I definitely agree that he’s lost his knack for a good concept album.
     
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  21. BeatleJWOL

    BeatleJWOL Senior Member Thread Starter

    I Would Like to See You Again
    [​IMG]
    Studio album by
    Johnny Cash
    Released
    April 10, 1978
    Recorded July 6, 1976 - October 4, 1977
    Genre
    • Country
    • outlaw country
    Length 32:44
    Label Columbia
    Producer Larry Butler

    I Would Like to See You Again is the 57th album by American country singer Johnny Cash, released on Columbia Records in 1978. The title track peaked at #12 on the singles chart, while "There Ain't No Good Chain Gang" reached #2; the album itself peaked at #23. The album features a pair of duets with Waylon Jennings, one of which was the "There Ain't No Good Chain Gang" single; it was one of Cash's first collaborations with Jennings, and the two recorded songs together throughout the 1980s, including a separate album entitled Heroes. Cash and Jennings would also work together as The Highwaymen with Willie Nelson and Kris Kristofferson.

    Track listing
    No. Title Writer(s) Length
    1.
    "I Would Like to See You Again" Larry T. Atwood, Charlie Craig 2:55
    2. "Lately" Cash 2:01
    3. "I Wish I Was Crazy Again" (with Waylon Jennings) Bob McDill 2:44
    4. "Who's Gene Autry?" Cash 3:53
    5. "Hurt So Bad" Cash 2:37
    6. "I Don't Think I Could Take You Back Again" Earl Ball, Jr., Jo-El Sonnier 2:51
    7. "Abner Brown" Cash 3:40
    8. "After Taxes" Jerry Leiber, Billy Edd Wheeler 3:03
    9. "There Ain't No Good Chain Gang" (with Waylon Jennings) Hal Bynum, Dave Kirby 3:18
    10. "That's the Way It Is" Roger Bowling, Larry Butler 3:03
    11. "I'm Alright Now" Jerry Hensley 2:39

    <i>I Would Like to See You Again</i>

    ~~~~~

    Great solid record here. We've had Waylon and Willie, now witness Waylon and Johnny.



    The title track is wonderful too of course. Great to hear the Jordanaires here as well, still in their original lineup prior to the death of Hoyt Hawkins. Also a Jerry Lieber composition without Mike Stoller? How often does that happen.

    Lots of good boom-chicka-boom here, folks.

    Next: Double the Cash, once again.
     
  22. goroke

    goroke Forum Resident In Memoriam

    Location:
    Brighton, Michigan
    Several songs from this album ("I Would Like to See You Again" and "I Don't Think I Could Take You Back Again") and the next ("It Comes and Goes" and "That's the Way It Is") were used by director Peter Bogdanovich in his woefully neglected 1981 film They All Laughed. Bogdanovich had become enamored with country music during the making of The Last Picture Show, and (as he put it) New York City experienced a country music fad "for about 30 seconds" while he was shooting the film there. In addition to the Cash tracks, Bogdanovich also included recordings by Waylon Jennings ("Omaha" and "We Had It All"), Rodney Crowell ("Leavin' Louisiana in the Broad Daylight" and "A Fool Such as I"), and Roy Acuff ("Back in the Country"). While the film was in post-production, female lead and Bogdanovich's paramour Dorothy Stratten was murdered by her estranged husband, who then killed himself. Then Time's film division (which had financed the project) ceased operation, leaving it with no distributor. Bogdanovich ultimately bought the film back and distributed it himself, with little success, a move which was directly responsible for his declaring bankruptcy. Bogdanovich was grief-stricken by Stratten's murder, and determined to give her the showcase he thought her acting talents deserved. The cast also included John Ritter as a private detective assigned to follow Stratten's character but screws up by falling in love with her, Ben Gazarra as another detective in the same agency assigned to follow Audrey Hepburn's character and also screws up by falling in love with her, Colleen Camp as an aspiring country singer, Patti Hansen (who has a lot of freckles), Jose Ferrer, Joyce Hyser, Elizabeth Peña, and Bogdanovich's daughters Antonia and Alexandra. Cash's contributions are used to decent effect, but Waylon's "We Had It All" is featured prominently and to great effect during a tender scene between Gazarra and Hepburn (in one of her last leading roles).
     
    Last edited: Mar 3, 2021
  23. jalexander

    jalexander Forum Resident

    Location:
    Canada
    Never knew any of this - fascinating!
     
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  24. Michael Manning

    Michael Manning Forum Resident

    Location:
    Nashville, TN
    Let me turn you on to something that Cash did in the fall of 1977. He hosted a special edition of the American Country Countdown radio show. The show was normally hosted by Don Bowman (later Bob Kingsley). For this special episode, instead of counting down the current hits, Cash played recordings of songs about trains. He featured many of his own recordings along with songs by other country artists and shared stories about the songs and trains in general, 46 songs in all. This is a fun listen. This set was not commercially released but sent to radio stations on 3 LPs in a box and was broadcast on the weekend of October 1, 1977. The copy I found was signed on the front of the box by Cash.

    [​IMG]
     
  25. KTM

    KTM Forum Resident

    After "Ragged Old Flag", this is my favourite JC Album from the 70s. There really isn't a bad song here. I'm especially fond of the title track.
     
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