Categories : Country + Western, Music Reviews.
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Rating: 3/5 Released: May 23, 2006 Reviewer: David Coats |
When an artist is as prolific as Johnny Cash, and when their career features as much label politics as the Man in Black’s did, it is inevitable that, upon their passing, there will emerge a treasure trove of unreleased material. The first of what will likely be many posthumous Cash releases is Personal File, a double-disc compiled from recording sessions conducted mostly in July of 1973.
Containing a combination of folk (disc one) and gospel (disc two), the songs are performed in much the same manner as the American series was twenty years later – just Cash and a guitar, singing songs that were in some way important to him (many songs in this package come with informal introductions from him). It is a testament to Cash’s presence as a storyteller that he could make something so much of a format so simple; in fact, as is often the case with Cash material, if anyone other than him had done this project, it simply wouldn’t be as memorable.
Cash sounds in peak vocal form here, but many of the songs here aren’t as impacting as others from his catalogue – Cash doesn’t really show his edge on these recordings. Also, forty-nine songs performed with minimal stylistic contrast gets taxing. There is some worthwhile material here, however. Songs like the wistful ‘Paradise’ and ‘In The Sweet Bye and Bye’ perfectly capture Cash’s depth, sincerity, and familiar sound. The highlight of the package is Cash’s recitation of Robert Service’s poem ‘The Cremation Of Sam McGee’ (it’s uniquely exciting to hear “There are strange things done in the midnight sun / By the men who toil for gold / All the arctic trails have their secret tails / That would make your blood run cold” in Cash’s dramatic baritone). Personal File is worthwhile if unessential; and it remains a gift to hear him in his prime, at his most intimate.
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