I'll be honest, I haven't listened to each album. I've played American Recordings Volume 1 about a million times. How would you rank each of Cash's American Recordings, in order?
Exactly as they are, seriously. Except, I'd throw out the 'hymm' book, just not my thing. Bore fest...... Otherwise, I - VI.
IV Unearthed I II VI III V (And I've always wondered why Unearthed (or at least My Mother's Hymn Book) wasn't included in the numerical series.)
To me they get less appealing as they go on and his health declined. I love the first couple most, where he's rejuvenated, inspired by the material he's singing and is in good voice. The later ones are still very good, but as his voice declines I find them more difficult and saddening to listen to. I only kept the first three.
IV, III, I, II, V, then VI. Not sure where Unearthed goes. The inclusion of the Best Of records confuses me.
I agree that as they go on they do become more saddening to listen to, yet in many ways I find that there's just as much power in the songs and not despite Johnny's voice but because of it. I think that the frailness in his voice makes the songs just as powerful but in a completely different way.
I love every one of the "American" albums and I'm not sure in which order that I would rank them, but I do think that I would also put the "Unearthed" box at the top.
Yeah, I'm with you. All of them are great in their own way. But Unearthed is definitely the top for me.
The remarkable thing about "Unearthed", is that every single song and performance whilst being an outtake, is actually of such quality they deserve to be on the mainstream album releases.
Agreed. They're all worthwhile but American Recordings (Vol. 1) & Unchained (Vol. 2) are in a different league.
I'm one of the many who started listening to Johnny Cash with those two albums. I didn't care at all for him either way and by the time American Recordings had finished I was a fan. I started listening to music from throughout his career.
IV I III V, II, VI There are some close calls in the above list. I’m basing my choices on a quick scan of the track listings, but there is not a bad album in the bunch. I’m not including Unearthed, only because a) it is multiple albums and b) I’m still discovering the music, (for lack of a better way to describe it.) Lots of good stuff there to.
My rankings are quite different from others. Probably V, I, Hymn Book, II, IV, VI, III however, you’re probably best understanding the nature of the albums: I: Johnny and an acoustic guitar playing the songs that he wanted, plus songs Rubin threw at him. II: now let’s get Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers to be Cash’s roots rock backing band III: more of II with a few new collaborators IV: Cash got seriously ill and developed permanent breathing issues. Now he sounds like death (because he is dying) and he also wrote an apocalyptic gospel song V-VI: Continuation of IV. V just happens to have two of my favourite Cash tunes which is why I rank it so highly. Mother’s Hymn Book: Cash and an acoustic guitar singing old time gospel songs. Obvious why some people love this but others find it a snooze fest. Unearthed: awesome outtakes from I-IV plus hymn book and a best of.
III II I V IV VI Except for VI they're all very fine albums and not much difference in quality in my opinion. If you like one you'll probably like the rest of them as well.
