KEEPING THE SHOW ON THE ROAD

I have followed The Jive Aces for many years and seen them in concert at the annual Big Jive All Dayer in my hometown of Worthing and at their major yearly event Summertime Swing. I also own all of their albums and really enjoy their mix of swing, jazz, rock 'n' roll and jive music.

The line-up consists of Ian Clarkson (vocals, trumpet & ukulele), Alex Douglas (trombone, washboard & blues harp), 'Big' John Fordham (tenor saxophone, clarinet & fiddle), Vince 'Professor' Hurley (piano), Ken Smith (double bass), Peter 'Bilky' Howell (drums) and Grazia Bevilacqua (accordion).

For over three decades they have been the Number One UK Jive and Swing band with a worldwide following, touring all across the United Kingdom, throughout Europe and America.

I have spent many hours backstage chatting to them and the other acts that have appeared on their shows and photographed their 'All Dayers' in Worthing, some of which have been published, alongside my show reviews, in various magazines including Vintage Rock and Vintage World. 

Photograph (c): The Jive Aces

They have recently released their latest CD, Keeping The Show On The Road, recorded at Mad Hatter Studios in Los Angeles, and in this latest article I take an in-depth look, song-by-song, at the album including the history of the songs.

The album opens in style with Rockin' Is Our Bizness, a song written by twins Cliff and Claude Trenier who, under the name The Treniers, had a hit with the song back in 1953. Like the original, the Jive Aces follow a similar sound with a solid, thumping beat and great saxophone solos. During the song each member of the band is given a mention.

Clementine dates back to 1884 and is a traditional American folk ballad often known as Oh, My Darling Clementine. Original lyrics were written by Percy Montrose and based on an earlier song, Down By The River Liv'd A Maiden. First recorded in English by Bing Crosby in 1941 it has also been recorded by Bobby Darin with lyrics by Woody Harris. Ian Clarkson provides a great vocal which is accompanied by excellent playing from the other band members.

In 1931 Duke Ellington and Irving Mills composed what has become a jazz standard, It Don't Mean A Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing). Ellington, speaking about the song, said, "It was famous as the expression of a sentiment which prevailed among jazz musicians at the time," It is also one of the earliest uses in popular music of the word 'swing.' Opening with some great drumming by Peter 'Bilky' Howell and featuring excellent horn playing by Alex Douglas and 'Big' John Fordham it is given a joyful rendition. Mid-song Vince 'Professor' Hurley shows why he is one of the greatest keyboard players around today. Once again a great vocal from Clarkson.

Henry Mancini's Pink Panther Theme will always be associated with the 1963 comedy film The Pink Panther starring Peter Sellers in the role of Inspector Jacques Clouseau. The film, the first in a series, also starred David Niven, Robert Wagner, Capucine and Claudia Cardinale. The instrumental was nominated for an Academy Award (Best Original Score) but lost out to Mary Poppins. The original featured a saxophone solo played by Plas Johnson and here it is 'Big' John Fordham who takes all the plaudits for some excellent playing supported well by the rest of the band. With it's smoky nightclub feel and great rhythm it is one of the many highlights on the album.

La Vie En Rose follows and is my favourite track on the album. Written in 1945 it has become the signature song of French singer Edith Piaf who released her version in 1947. During the 1950s the song became popular in America with no less than seven versions making the Billboard charts, including covers by Tony Martin, Bing Crosby and Dean Martin. Edith Piaf is credited with writing the lyrics with music added by Luis Guglielmi while the English lyrics were written by Mack David. The literal translation of the title is "Life in pink."

Grazia Bevilacqua opens the song with her fantastic accordion playing before the rest of the band join in for a beautiful cover of this classic song. Released recently as a single it gave them a number one on the Heritage Chart and the accompanying video has received over seven thousand views on You Tube. Close your eyes and you will be taken back to a French nightclub in the 1940s.

The American blues and jazz standard, St. James Infirmary was made famous by Louis Armstrong's 1928 recording which was credited to Don Redman as composer although later versions listed Joe Primrose, the pseudonym of music promoter and publisher Irving Mills. Within two years more than twenty versions had been released including a recording by country music singer Jimmie Rodgers with the title Those Gambler Blues. Ian Clarkson opens this classic song with some muted-trumpet before performing a bluesy vocal that sends shivers down your spine. Great support from the rest of the band as always.

Written in the 1950s by Clyde Otis and Murray Stein Baby, You've Got What It Takes, originally titled You've Got What It Takes, was first recorded by Dorothy Pay, Brook Benton's sister, in 1958. The following year Benton would also record the song as a duet with Dinah Washington, reaching #5 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #1 on the Hot R&B Chart. On this fun version The Jive Aces are joined by Bill Haley's daughter, Gina Haley who I was fortunate to see at one of the Big Jive All Dayer events at which she gave an incredible performance. Clarkson's and Haley's voices work well together and it would be great to hear more duets by them.

Bim Bam was written by pianist and songwriter Ray Stanley and released in 1958 as a single by Sam Butera and The Witnesses. Stanley played piano on early sessions for Eddie Cochran and also recorded a number of his own songs including Let's Get Acquainted and the bluesy Common Sense. Another strong performance from the band with some excellent guitar work although it is not listed who played it on this track.

A major hit for Dean Martin, That's Amore is a classic and has become Martin's signature song. The song, written by Jack Brooks and Harry Warren, first appeared in the Dean Martin & Jerry Lewis film and soundtrack The Caddy in which Martin is the main singer but Lewis joins in. Nominated for an Academy Award (Best Original Song of the Year) it lost out to Secret Love from Calamity Jane. For the second time on the album it is Grazia Bevilacqua and her accordion who make this song a great performance. Following a slow and sexy start the song soon moves up a gear and everyone joins in for a wonderful up-tempo version that finds Ian Clarkson handling the lyrics perfectly. I just love the slowed down ending and interplay between the vocals and accordion.

Composed by New Jersey born Jack Fina, who started out playing piano in Clyde McCoy's band in the 1930s and later joined Freddy Martin's band where he became famous when he featured on Tonight We Love. In 1946 he turned to the classic Flight Of The Bumblebee, written by Rimsky-Korsakov for his opera The Tale Of Tsar Saltan, and composed a boogie-woogie version which he called Bumble Boogie. It became a hit and was featured in the 1946 musical It's Great To Be Young. This instrumental is a showcase for Vince 'Professor' Hurley whose pounding piano is really impressive. 

With original lyrics written in 1843 by Ukranian poet and writer Yevhen Hrebinka and featuring a melody based on Valse Hommage written by Florian Hermann, Dark Eyes would go through several lyrics changes over the following years. It has been covered, in various styles, by Maxine Sullivan, Danny Kaye, Spike Jones and Louis Armstrong among others. The song is often described as having an old gypsy melody and that is exactly what is created in the version featured on the album. Another strong instrumental that fits well with the other tracks on the album.

Night Train is a twelve-bar blues instrumental standard written by Oscar Washington and Jimmy Forrest and is another song that has gone through a number of lyrical changes with the earliest credited to Lewis P. Simpkins, co-owner of United Records, back in 1952. Clarkson's bluesy vocal is accompanied by excellent support, especially from the horn section. 

The only original on the album is the title track, Keeping The Show On The Road which fits perfectly among the other tracks. Written by Jive Aces frontman Ian Clarkson the song sums up the bands characteristics and credibility.

Big Noise From Winnetka was originally an instrumental written by Bob Haggart and Ray Baudec, bass player and drummer in the Bob Crosby Orchestra. Lyrics were added by Crosby and Gil Rodin and following it's early success it appeared in films including 1941's Let's Make Music and 1943's Reveille With Beverley. Over the years it has been recorded by Gene Krupa, Kenny Ball, Jack Teagarden and Eddy Mitchell, in French, Quand Une Fille Me Plait. Closing the album is a strong performance that once again shows the skills of everybody involved, especially Ken Smith who plays some great bass and Peter 'Bilky' Howell's drumming.

In the brief liner notes that accompany the album they write, "We have captured the sound and energy of these most requested songs from our live show on record for the first time. We hope you enjoy them as much as we do and that they inspire you to keep the show on the road."

The album certainly bought back many memories of the 2024 Big Jive All Dayer where I watched them perform several songs from the album including Keeping The Show On The Road,  St. James Infirmary, That's Amore and Le Vie En Rose. The latter two were memorable for the accordion playing by Grazia Bevilacqua and the chemistry between her and Ian which was a joy to watch.

I have loved the retro feel that is used on the covers of their previous albums and this latest release is no exception. Featuring an image of a tour bus on the road it sums up the contents of this latest release with its vintage design which was created by Michael Lombardi.

A great album full of wonderful music and one which, I am sure, will find a regular place in the CD player. Don't miss out, pick up a copy today. It can be purchased, along with their other releases and merchandise, from their on-line store - https://jiveaces.org/store

Thanks to Grazia Bevilacqua for providing a review copy of the CD for my collection.

JOHNNY CASH - SONGWRITER

By 1993 Johnny Cash was drifting. When his relationship with Columbia fell apart in the early 1980s he signed with Mercury Records hoping that he would get the support and promotion he felt he deserved.

Unfortunately this was not the case and his deal with them soon turned sour. In 1993, with a career that had been going for almost forty years, his prospects looked bleak. He hadn’t recorded for Mercury for close to three years.

Photography: Alan Messer

Under the terms of his 1986 contract with Mercury they were still owed one more album from Cash. However, neither party were in any particular rush–Cash in producing it or Mercury in releasing it. They both seemed keen to end the relationship and move on.

Struggling to be relevant again Johnny Cash found himself at LSI on 15 January 1993 to record some demos to present to prospective record labels. LSI Sound Studios was originally located on Freehill Road in Hendersonville and among the hits recorded there was Heaven’s Just A Sin Away by The Kendalls in the late seventies.

By 1979 the studio had relocated to 1006 17th Avenue South in Nashville. The studio was owned by Mike Daniel the ex-husband of Rosey Carter. Cash had worked there in March 1991, recording God’s Hands and a remake of Don’t Take Your Guns To Town and again in December 1992.

In fact the session just before Christmas 1992 was the last time he would record with W. S. Holland, Earl Ball and Dave Roe together. At this session they recorded three tracks – It Ain’t Me and remakes of Big River and I Walk The Line. None of these tracks have been issued.

Backing Cash on these 1993 demo sessions were Kerry Marx (guitar), Dave Roe (bass), Terry McMillan (harmonica) and House of Cash publicist Hugh Waddell (drums).

I interviewed Hugh Waddell for the Johnny Cash Fanzine and he explained why he was chosen to play drums, “W.S. Holland played on many such demos but for this particular session John invited me to play. Jackson, Tennessee was too far for Holland to have to drive for just some demo work.”

Over the previous few months Cash had been writing again and brought ten new songs to the sessions and an old track that he wanted to revisit.

Two sessions were held that day and at the first Cash recorded Drive On, Hey Alright, Like A Soldier, I Love You Tonite and She Sang Sweet Baby James. A further five tracks were recorded at the second session, Have You Ever Been To Little Rock, Soldier Boy, Hello Out There, Poor Valley Girl and Spotlight.  Cash also recorded a song from his early days, Sing It Pretty Sue, producing a version with just his acoustic guitar as accompaniment.

Thanks to Hugh Waddell four of the songs have since been released. The songs were found on some cassettes as he explains, “About ten years ago I found a box of unlabelled cassettes. I started to toss out the whole lot as I did not even own a cassette player anymore. However, as I didn’t know what was on these tapes, I borrowed a player and was blown away.

At the session I had asked Mike to make me a rough mix of some of the songs and these were on one of the tapes.” The Return To The Promised Land CD, released in 2000, included the complete audio from the video and this had a running time of only forty-five minutes. Waddell was looking for something to include on the soundtrack to bring the total running time up to an hour and when he found the cassette tapes, knew they would do the trick.

He explained why he chose those particular tracks. “Like A Soldier and Hello Out There were my personal favourites, both lyrically and the way the demos just sounded and felt. I also knew John would want the song he wrote about June, Poor Valley Girl, and John was at ease in singing Soldier Boy. These four songs just fit and more importantly they were the only four songs Mike had been able to mix quickly for me that night. It made the song selection quite easy!” He then contacted Cash about using the tracks who had no objections to them being released.

Waddell has fond memories of the sessions , “I do recall that John told me to just hear the song and play what I felt, as far as the beat. He knew that I was not W.S. Holland and could not and did not want to play like W.S., so it was relaxing to be able to just play what I felt, with no pressure.

Of course, John had that calming effect on musicians after he’d talk to them. He’d confront players with that ‘I’m playing with Johnny Cash’ syndrome and have players just play what they felt. He always seemed to get the best out of musicians who were backing him, whether in a studio or live.”

Recording the tracks was only part of the process and now Cash needed to gain some interest from a record company. After Columbia dropped him he had made the journey from Hendersonville to Nashville time and time again in the hope that the new generation of Nashville record executives would listen to his songs. Seven years had passed and he knew that it would be even harder this time.

Fortunately the bearded rap producer, Rick Rubin, was waiting around the corner and would take Cash in a totally new direction. In fact Cash would re-record two of the demo tracks, Drive On and Like A Soldier, for his first album produced by Rubin.

Most of the material recorded in 1993 has remained unissued for over thirty-one years but has finally been released on a new album, Songwriter, albeit not as originally recorded. As the title suggests every song is written by Johnny Cash and showcases his range of subjects including love, sorrow, beauty, salvation and humour, all in his unmistakable trademark voice. .

John Carter-Cash and producer David 'Fergie' Ferguson have taken the original recordings, stripped them back to just Johnny Cash's vocals and acoustic guitar and invited a group of musicians, many who had worked with Cash previously, to breathe new life into the recordings. For me the results are a mixed bag.

Both Marty Stuart and Dave Roe had previously worked with Cash and Roe's contributions to this new album were recorded just before his untimely death in September 2023.

Other musicians featured include Pete Abbot, Russ Pahl, Mark Howard, Mike Rojas, Kerry Marx and Wesley Orbison. Additional vocals are provided by Harry Stinson, a member of Marty Stuart's Fabulous Superlatives, and Vince Gill.

Songwriter opens with Hello Out There, one of the four songs that had previously been released in its original form on Return To The Promised Land. This message song is close to Cash's heart as he reflects on the fate of the planet with lyrics that include... "In this final fight for life and peace, We're failing, failing, failing." It is a song that definitely benefits from the additional work when compared to the original.

Featuring Black Keys guitarist Dan Auerbach who provides a great bluesy solo, Spotlight is a soul-drenched heartbreak song with Cash's distinctive baritone. Talking about the recording Auerbach said, "It was the thrill of a lifetime to be able to play guitar on a Johnny Cash song. Hearing his voice through the speakers in my studio sent chills down my spine."

Both Drive On and Like A Soldier are songs that Cash would go on to record with Rick Rubin for the album American Recordings. Drive On is my least favourite song on the album and the Rubin produced version is far superior. The lyrics need a less cluttered backing and the version here is spoilt with the additional backing and computer/studio trickery. Like A Soldier, which closes the album, is much better but once again the Rick Rubin version can't be beaten. It is also another song that was previously released in its original 'demo' form.

Waylon Jennings, who joined Cash at the sessions in 1993, provided backing vocals on Like A Soldier and I Love You Tonite. The latter is a beautiful love song to June Carter-Cash on which he marvels that they made it through the sixties, seventies and eighties and wondering if they would last through to the new millennium. The song is one of my favourites on the album. Unfortunately Jennings vocal is so far back in the mix and I feel the song would have benefitted if his vocal was bought forward in the mix slightly.

Have You Ever Been To Little Rock finds Cash expressing his love and pride for his homeland. The song features a beautiful melody and is a highlight on the album.

Over the years Cash recorded many, many songs with a comedic and humorous theme, too many to list here. However, who could forget, The One On The Right Is On The Left, Starkville City Jail, A Boy Named Sue, Everybody Loves A Nut, also the title of an album of comedy songs, Chattanooga City Limits Sign and Flushed From The Bathroom Of Your Heart. All fun to listen to although there is also Chicken In Black, which ranks as one of his worst recordings in his career, instantly forgettable and the least said about it the better.

However, that is not the case with Well Alright, the story of meeting and flirting with a woman at the laundromat. The tongue-in-cheek lyrics include, "I opened up the dryer, and I set it on soft and light. She said 'Be gentle with my silk and lace', and I said, 'Well alright.'" A fun song which, although not fitting in with the dark theme of several other songs on the album, is a nice addition to the track listing.

Cash was a fan of James Taylor who had appeared on his TV Show back in 1971 and the tender She Sang Sweet Baby James tells the story of a young single mother who, facing a life and all its challenges on her own, finds solace by singing Sweet Baby James to comfort her baby. The song features some great mandolin playing by Matt Combs.

Poor Valley Girl is an ode to June Carter and Mother Maybelle Carter and features Vince Gill on background vocals although I am not sure the song needed any additional vocals. Yet another song that had been released previously and is one that I enjoyed in its original demo form and also on this latest release.

Soldier Boy is the last of the four songs that had appeared in its original form on the Return To The Promised Land CD. With it's boom-chicka-boom rhythm provided with just guitar, bass and drums it tells of a boy leaving home to fulfil his dream, heading out on foot, plane and ship with a warning that war will take away his youthful innocence.

Cash returned to one of his early hits with a re-recording of Sing It Pretty Sue, a song he originally recorded in February 1962 and released on the 1962 album The Sound Of Johnny Cash. I always liked the original and this new version is among my favourites on Songwriter. It is taken at a slightly slower tempo and reminds me of the style used on the 1988 Mercury Classic Cash album of re-recorded Cash classics.

With the exception of the humorous Well Alright the songs Cash wrote and recorded as demos back in 1993 would not have been out of place on any of his Rick Rubin produced albums, as proved by the inclusion on American Recordings of Drive On and Like A Soldier.

Photography: Alan Messer

The cover features an image of Cash taken in 1988 by Alan Messer at what would become the Cash Cabin Studio. The sixteen-page booklet includes lyrics and credits but no other photographs.

Despite my comments about certain tracks and the production, which in no way are a reflection of the lyrics, Cash's vocal or the talent of the musicians, I did enjoy this album and pleased the tracks have finally been released. Hopefully we will be treated to more unreleased material in the future, preferably untouched and minus any unnecessary overdubs.

According to John L. Smith's excellent series of discographies there is still a wealth of unreleased material and I am fortunate to own several CDs of tracks that are yet to be released officially, including some great tracks from 1974. Of course, there is also a wealth of material that Cash recorded with Rick Rubin that remains unissued.

Songwriter is also available on vinyl and also as a deluxe CD set with a second disc featuring previously released material from Cash's time with Mercury Records that includes The Night Hank Williams Came To Town, Sixteen Tons, Cats In The Cradle, Wanted Man and Get Rhythm.

Every Johnny Cash fan will already own these additional tracks and I personally feel their inclusion is pointless and a missed opportunity to release the songs from Songwriter in their original form as recorded back in 1993.

JOHNNY CASH - AMERICAN RECORDINGS

Thirty years ago, on 26 April 1994, Johnny Cash released his album American Recordings, his first on his new label and with a new producer, Rick Rubin. In this latest blog, an expanded and updated article that originally appeared in Issue #40 of Johnny Cash-The Man in Black in September 2004, we look back at how his career took on a new direction, the release of the album and its commercial and critical success.

Photographer: Andy Earl

CBS’s decision to drop Johnny Cash after an unparalleled twenty-eight year partnership angered many people. Dwight Yoakam, an up and coming country star back in 1986 that Cash rated highly, didn’t hold back when he said, “The man’s been there thirty fuckin’ years making them money.” And talking about the Columbia executives offices he raged, “He built the building.”

Even in 1986 Cash still had a loyal following playing sell-out concerts throughout the world and shifting over 40,000 copies of every album but this was not enough to justify a record companies investment and many other country stars would suffer the same fate in the years that followed. 

Not one to even consider retirement Cash started looking for a new label and eventually Dick Asher, President at Mercury/Polygram, offered him a deal that would find Cash teaming up once again with producer Jack Clement. Unfortunately things didn’t work out any better. Despite recording some fine albums his five releases only shifted around 200,000 copies in total and once again he found himself without a label. One wonders if he knew what was coming when he recorded the song I’ll Go Somewhere And Sing My Songs Again on his last album for the label.

Photographer: Andy Earl

It was all down to demographics, statistical studies etc. “Demographics! They were always ramming that stuff down my throat,” Cash would often comment.

To his credit he was never angry or resentful towards the people at CBS or Mercury/Polygram and remained friends with many of the company executives. It was beginning to look like he would never find another label but during a show in California in early 1993 he was introduced to a man who would bring about the most dramatic turnaround in country music history.

On the 27th February Cash was playing a show at the Rhythm Cafe in Santa Ana, California and at the end of the show as Cash left the stage his manager, Lou Robin, said, “There’s a man here named Rick Rubin that would like to meet you and would like to record you.” Apparently Cash just laughed and enquired “Record me? What for?”

Photographer: Unknown

Co-founder of the legendary Def Jam label, Rubin was one of the key figures behind the commercial and artistic rise of hip-hop. He was born Frederick Jay Rubin on Long Island, NY, in 1963, and while attending New York University he met Russell Simmons.

Together they founded Def Jam in 1984 and the following year they entered into a distribution deal with Columbia Records. Rubin’s interests extended beyond hip-hop and he produced Slayer’s Hell Awaits the same year. In 1986 both the Beastie Boys’ Licensed to Ill and Run-D.M.C’s Raising Hell, both Rubin productions, made Rap a worldwide phenomenon. Rubin and Simmons’ partnership finally ended in acrimony, and Rubin founded his own label, Def American (American Recordings).

Early signings included the aforementioned Slayer and the controversial gangsta rappers the Geto Boys. Def American scored one of its biggest hits in 1991 with Sir Mix-a-Lot’s Mack Daddy. That same year, Rubin also produced the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ breakthrough effort, Blood Sugar Sex Magik. Altogether an unlikely producer for Johnny Cash.

On 1st June a press release was issued that read: “The legendary ‘Man in Black,’ Johnny Cash, has signed a worldwide exclusive recording contract with American Recordings, it was announced today by label owner Rick Rubin. Rubin will not only be Johnny’s new label boss, but will also serve as Cash’s producer.” Ironically it was Polygram, Cash’s previous label, that would be distributing his new material in the UK, Europe and other foreign markets with WEA taking care of the US distribution.

Rubin was looking forward to working with Cash. "To work with Johnny Cash will be an honour," he said . "I have respected him for years, both as a performer and a writer, and it’s going to be a pleasure having him with American." He went on to say, "The dark side was the side of Johnny Cash that really interested me, and I just tried to do whatever I could to get that point across in the song selection, and just trying to explain that this is really what people wanna hear from you."

The feeling was mutual. "I’ll be expanding my scope of activity while experiencing the excitement of today’s contemporary music,” said Cash. “I look forward to exploring the kind of artistic freedom, creativity and open-mindedness that I knew with the Memphis rockabilly sound."

Cash had always wanted to record an album called 'Johnny Cash Late and Alone', just him and his guitar, and with Rubin he was at last able to do it. Sessions began in May 1993 and would continue, on and off, at various locations, including Rubin’s living room, up to the end of the year. They recorded a lot of songs, well over 100, many more than once. An entire album of acoustic gospel material was also taped that would remain unheard until they worked on a tenth anniversary set in 2003. 

Photographer: Robert Sebree

Many of the early sessions were experiments. Cash would revisit some of his old songs, pick a few favourites and then Rubin would also suggest material. Many of Rubin’s suggestions at first appeared strange to Cash although after they recorded them they felt right. These demo sessions, held in Rubin’s living room and Cash’s Cabin in Hendersonville, in most cases featured just Cash and his guitar. At these early sessions there was no plan to record and release an acoustic album and for some numbers Rubin brought in various musicians, from rock and blues bands, not the country pickers Cash was used to recording with.

Both Flea and Chad from the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Mike Campbell from the Heartbreakers and members of The Red Devils played on some sessions. Talking about the making of the album Rubin said “We recorded a lot of songs with different musicians and tried a lot of things to decide what would be the best record for us to make.” Although unissued at the time the Dolly Parton song I’m A Drifter is a good example of this experimentation. A version was recorded that featured Michael Campbell while a second version featured Flea and Chad. Both would eventually find a release on the tenth anniversary set in 2003. This diversity is further demonstrated on the outtake I Witnessed A Crime which was written by Billy Gibbons of the group ZZ Top. In fact Gibbons also played on this track and another unissued title, Black Boots And A Sack Of Silver Dollars. Cash also delved into his own catalogue re-recording several songs like Understand Your Man, New Cut Road, I’m Ragged But I’m Right and Go On Blues. 

Photographer: Robert Sebree

Photographer Robert Sebree captured images of Cash before and during the sessions as he told me in an interview I did with him for the Fanzine. "This was an interesting job for me because usually when I shoot it's really all about the shoot but in this situation there were times where I was asking Johnny to engage with me and their were other times where I tried to 'disappear' and just be that fly on the wall." He went on to say, "By the time we got to Rick's house Johnny had enough trust in me that I could move around and go about my business without him taking too much notice. There are a lot of outtakes from the shoot that make me laugh! When Johnny did realise I was shooting he would make a silly face for the camera which is something that you would never imagine him doing."

None of his images appeared on the album, but he wasn't disappointed, "I was aware that we weren't capturing anything that would work for packaging. It was intended to be a publicity shoot and it worked perfectly tor those needs." 

In December 1993 during the final weeks of recording Rubin thought it would be interesting to get up in a club and perform some of the songs they had been working on. The place he chose for Cash to play was the Viper Room owned by actor Johnny Depp and infamously remembered as the club where, outside, River Phoenix died.

That was on a Monday and the show was scheduled for Thursday night. Cash had never done a show all alone and Tom Petty recalled that Cash was, “Nervous, very nervous.”

Talking about his appearance after, Cash commented, "I said no at first, then I thought about it. I've played every kind of venue there is, so why not? I felt so free and easy and relaxed. Nobody yelled at me or threw things."

Cash opened the show with Delia’s Gone and followed with several tracks that they had been working on including No Earthly Good, Bad News, Tennessee Stud and The Man Who Couldn’t Cry. After running out of new material he turned to early hits like Folsom Prison Blues and I Walk The Line.

Although the show was filmed only a couple of songs have ever been broadcast although two did make it to the final track listing on the album. “It was an incredible night,” remembered Rubin. While Cash felt , “It turned out really well.” For those who were there, and it was a specially invited crowd, it was an incredible experience and for those who weren’t, they can only wish they had been invited!

On 17 March 1994 Johnny Cash delivered the keynote speech at the South by Southwest conference held at the Austin Convention Center. At 10.30am he was introduced by co-directors Roland Swenson and Louis Meyers and opened with Delia’s Gone a track from his forthcoming album American Recordings. “I’ve always known that when I had to make a speech it would be good if I had my guitar handy to fall back on” he joked. During his speech he also performed Tennessee Stud, Drive On and The Man Who Couldn’t Cry. Before he left the stage, Austin City mayor Max Nofziger proclaimed the day ‘Johnny Cash Day’ and presented him with the key to the city.

In the evening he played a show at EMO’s, a grungy, partly open-air club holding approximately 500 people. Outside several hundred were turned away. Both the keynote speech and his evening show were filmed and broadcast.

Photographer: Unknown

Following his successful shows at the Viper Room and EMO’s Cash also played a show at the New York club The Fez. An invitation-only show and among the audience were Kate Moss, Johnny Depp, and Rachel Williams. However, Cash’s new younger following was not just in America.

During a promotional tour to Europe, after the albums release, he was a surprise triumph at the Glastonbury Festival in England where he gave a performance before an enthusiastic crowd that covered past glories and material from his new album. Edited parts of the show was broadcast on radio and television.

Over two days in late-April a video for Delia’s Gone, the first single lifted from the forthcoming album, was filmed. Location scouts had chosen Hendersonville as the perfect spot and scenes were filmed off Galatin Road, just across from the House of Cash with additional footage shot at a cabin in Monthaven.

Photographer: Kal Roberts

Supermodel Kate Moss appeared on the video as Delia. The video included scenes of Moss tied to a chair and shot through the head while Cash is shown shovelling dirt on her face. In between takes they signed autographs and talked to local residents and members of the crew.

Anton Corbijn, director of the video, said Cash was "very straightforward and nice" and "a delight to work with."

It is hard to believe that Moss was condemned by TV bosses for the video while MTV took it one stage further by ordering certain scenes to be axed before they would broadcast it. They insisted that the scene where Cash is seen shovelling dirt into an open grave and onto Delia's fresh, white-clad body be replaced with her lying motionless with soil already on top of her!

Photographer: Candace Webb

A spokeswoman for Cash’s label was quoted as saying "I guess they have a thing about dead women. We don’t quite understand their reaction." Cash also responded, saying, "It ain't an anti-women song, it is an anti-Delia song!"

Hendersonville Star News reporter Candace Webb covered the shoot and I had the opportunity to interview her a few years ago. She told me how she ended up covering the shoot, "Johnny's friend and assistant, Hugh Waddell, called me first thing in the morning and told me they were shooting and there was going to be almost no media allowed, but he would allow me to cover the shoot and I accepted immediately." Webb has fond memories of the day and in particular how friendly and gracious both Cash and Moss were, "Johnny made a point of coming over to me early on, introducing himself, letting me know that Hugh had spoken highly of me and that he (Johnny) looked forward to reading my story. The basis for the story wasn't actually going to be about Johnny Cash as much as it was about what a crew does to put together a successful video. He was pleased that it was going to focus on the many workers who seldom get recognition and as he said, 'deserve the majority of it'. Several times throughout the day he would stop by me, between filming takes, and ask if I needed anything, talk about life in general etc."

Although she didn't interact with Kate Moss as much as she did with Cash she did notice that both Kate and Johnny were clearly professional and were taking the whole shoot seriously, adding, "there were no diva attitudes from either one of them."

On it's release Chris Willman, in the Los Angeles Times, had this to say about the video, "The Man in Black goes really noir with Delia's Gone. He looks uncharacteristically frightening, coming at the camera with a piece of rope, re-creating the way his murder ballad's doomed narrator went after his cheatin' fiancee, tying her to a chair before unloading two shells into her."

Talking about MTVs reaction and demands, Willman said, "In our lifetime, there will be but one man who gets his music video rejected by MTV because of violence and purported bad taste and can lay claim to being a regularly featured speaker at Billy Graham crusades. Ladies and gentlemen... Johnny Cash."

A promotional video was also produced for Drive On and The Man Who Couldn't Cry featuring black and white footage of Cash on stage at the Viper Room and various candid footage. Unlike Delia's Gone, these video did not create such a negative reaction from MTV or TV bosses.

Released in April 1994 American Recordings featured thirteen tracks. Cash wrote five of the songs, four within the previous year. There was a love song, Like A Soldier, his Vietnam veterans song Drive On, the gospel song Redemption, Let The Train Blow The Whistle and the last of his own compositions was a new version, with slight lyric changes, of Delia’s Gone, which he originally recorded back in the early sixties opens the album.

Photographer: Andy Earl

He also arranged and adapted Cowboy’s Prayer which leads into Oh Bury Me Not, another song he had recorded earlier in his career. The remaining eight tracks came from a variety of sources. Ex-son-in-law, Nick Lowe, wrote The Beast In Me and had offered it to Cash back in 1979, although it took several years before he finally recorded it. The Kris Kristofferson track Why Me Lord, also recorded by Elvis Presley, is covered on the album.

Other tracks came from Leonard Cohen (Bird On A Wire) which had originally been recorded by Cohen and issued on his 1969 album Songs From A Room, Tom Waits (Down There By The Train) a song he gave to Cash who considered Waits, "a very special writer, my kind of writer",  and Glenn Danzig (Thirteen). Danzig was a young punk artist that Rubin had previously worked with and he wrote the song specially for Cash. He would eventually record his own version which appeared on his 1999 album 6:66 Satan's Child.

Two tracks, Tennessee Stud and The Man Who Couldn’t Cry, recorded at the Viper Room back in December 1993 also feature. The former was written by Jimmy Driftwood and originally recorded back in 1959 and first covered by Eddy Arnold who had a top five hit in the same year. The latter was a song composed by Loudon Wainwright III, singer/songwriter who specialised on novelty songs and whose version appeared in 1973 on his Attempted Mustache album.

In 2003 alternate versions of some of the material would appear on the ten-year retrospective, Unearthed, including Down There By The Train, Like A Soldier, Drive On with alternate lyrics and a live version of Bird On A Wire with an orchestra.

Delia's Gone was issued as a CD single in Europe with two previously unreleased tracks from the sessions, Billy Joe Shaver's Old Chunk Of Coal and Cash's own Go On Blues. In the USA two promo CDs were produced. A one-track CD featuring Drive On and a second CD with five tracks, Thirteen, Go On Blues, The Man Who Couldn't Cry, Thirteen (Live) and Old Chunk Of Coal. The live version of Thirteen was recorded in 1995 at the Pantages Theatre in Los Angeles.

The cover artwork featured Cash with two dogs, one white and one black, which summed up the theme of the album – sin and redemption. The photo was taken by Sussex born photographer Andy Earl during Cash’s Australian/New Zealand tour in February. 

Photographer: Andy Earl

Earl was not the only photographer involved in the project. Martyn Atkins, who had first met Rick Rubin in 1990 and would take photos for future albums produced by Rubin, was also in Australia during the photoshoot. In my interview with him he recalled how he got the job of working with Cash and Andy Earl, "For the first record release I wanted to feature John looking strong, looking real, no make up, no hairstyles, like a man that should be carved on Mount Rushmore, a flawed but true American. Unfortunately John was on a tour of Australia and New Zealand when we needed to photograph him and I wanted an American landscape. I called a photographer friend in England, Andy Earl, and asked him if he would fly down to Oz with me to shoot John. Of course he was thrilled." He continued, "John's aura was so powerful the dogs just came to him, with just a simple beckon they came from 200 feet away. We lucked out finding corn fields reminiscent of a Depeche Mode album cover I'd done ten years earlier and lonely railway tracks. We shot the photos within a forty-minute session."

Atkins also told me about how, with Rubin, they decided they needed to re-launch Johnny Cash. "The first thing that we decided with re-launching John was that we had to create the perception that he had always stayed true to this outsider 'man in black' image. I wanted people to forget anything about John's career after his prison shows. This to me would give the impression that he had never sold out or commercialized himself. We decided that any visuals relating to John or his image were to be always shot or filmed in black and white. I also suggested that we rename him on his album covers as simply CASH. This would leave people in no doubt that this was powerful new music."

Although it was Earl's image that made the front cover Atkins does get a credit on the album. One of his images, of John's hands, taken during the Viper Room concert is included.

Many of the photos, several previously unseen, taken by Andy Earl for the first album can be found in his coffee-table book, Johnny Cash - Photographs by Andy Earl.

American Recordings was a stark, serious collection and one which Cash was proud of. On it’s release Cash had this to say about the album. “I think I’m more proud of it than anything I’ve ever done done in my life. This is me. Whatever I’ve got to offer as an artist, it’s here.” Talking about the working relationship with Rubin he went on, “I don’t think I ever worked so well with a producer in my entire career. Rick came up with some songs that I thought were so far out of left field and such weird ideas for me to do… Now that we’ve done them, they feel so right.”

The album received rave reviews from the press. Rolling Stone in their 19 May 1994 edition, wrote, "Rick Rubin knew exactly the sort of album Johnny Cash needed to make. American Recordings is that album in spades: Cash, alone with an acoustic guitar, confronting traditional folk songs by the likes of Leonard Cohen, Glenn Danzig and Tom Waits with biblical intensity." They went on to say, "American Recordings is at once monumental and viscerally intimate, fiercely true to the legend of Johnny Cash and entirely contemporary. Not a feeling is flaunted, not a jot of sentimentality is permitted, but every quaver, every hesitation, every shift in volume, every catch in a line resonates like a private apocalypse."

In the UK, Q Magazine reviewed the album saying that, "Pairing Johnny Cash with Rick Rubin sounds like somebody's idea of a joke or nightmare. Instead it turns out to have been a move of pure inspiration. Rubin's involvement didn't go much beyond inviting one of the great and grizzled American voices around to his home, making sure he brought his guitar with him, and letting the tapes roll while Cash sang whatever he fancied. Shorn of all vanity and support, the results are, at times, almost too painfully intimate, like witnessing first-hand somebody putting their affairs in order before going to meet their maker. There simply won't be a braver or more honest record all year."

The album was the July 1994 'Spotlight' album in Country Music People and in their review they said, "You will never hear John more basic than here. The recordings sound little more than demos, but frankly, to have cut them any other way would have destroyed the brutal honesty that hallmarks the recordings. Don't expect to be entertained by American Recordings. It is a serious, often dark and menacing collection, frightfully stark, awesomely commanding and, in a sense, like scrutinising another man's soul, staring fascinated at his battle scars and almost eavesdropping on his confessions and prayers to himself and his maker,"

There were many more positive reviews... "A milestone work for this legendary singer." (Los Angeles Times), "…the alternative rock community has been buzzing about it for months." (Newsweek) and  "Never has the man in black produced a work of such brilliance as this one." (Billboard).

The album won a Grammy Award in the category ‘Best Contemporary Folk Album.’ “It was a very special Grammy, the one I got for that first Rick Rubin production,” said John.

It wasn’t long after the release of the album in April 1994 that ‘bootleg’ tapes and CDs appeared that included several outtakes from the sessions held in May. Tracks included Banks Of The Ohio, The Caretaker, One More Ride, Bad News and All God’s Children Ain’t Free.

The quality of this material meant that any of the tracks would have fitted comfortably on the album and one wonders how they managed to whittle down the hours worth of material to just seventeen tracks.

Photographer: Andy Earl

I am surprised, and to be honest very disappointed, that a thirtieth-anniversary edition has not been released with additional tracks along with comprehensive liner notes, photos and other memorabilia, all of which exists.

Today, albums receive deluxe editions, often with extra discs of material and hardbacked books. American Recordings could have received a similar treatment with extra CDs featuring outtakes, previously unreleased material and even the Viper Room concert on CD and Blu-Ray. I have a thirty-minute video of the concert so it does exist.

However, we do have this classic album which stands as one of Cash's greatest albums.

ELVIS UK EXTENDED

Just published is a new book on the various Elvis Presley Extended Play albums released in the UK. In this article I will be reviewing the book but first a look back at the authors previous work. 

As far back as 1980 friends and co-writers John Townson and Gordon Minto had been writing about Elvis Presley, although it would be a few years before they would publish their first book in, what would become, the ELVIS UK series.

Published by Blandford Press in 1987, ELVIS UK - The Ultimate Guide To Elvis Presley's British Record Releases 1956-1986 was greeted with critical acclaim by not only Elvis fans but also music journalists and rightly deserved being referred to as 'the Bible' when it came to Elvis releases. Despite its retail price of £45 it soon became highly collectable and sought after.

Within its 570-pages the book covered, in detail, every UK record release (singles, extended play albums and long players) issued on the HMV, RCA Victor and third-party labels between the years 1956 and 1986. Listed in chronological order each release was covered with detailed track information, composers names, release dates and chart positions, with every release cross-referenced.

Additional sections looked in detail at label and sleeve variations, including dates, a various artist listing where Elvis was featured on one or more tracks, details of promotional records and introductory sections looking at the companies who issued the records, details that appeared on the labels and a look at how records were made/pressed.

The book was illustrated, in black and white, with hundreds of record labels, album covers, photos and much more.

A list of every song was included which showed where each appeared and referenced to the relevant page numbers of the book.

The pair were often asked when it would be made available again, but realising this would not be a financially viable option for either themselves or the publisher they chose a different route by making the original book available as a digital downloadable flipbook.

For those who don't know, a flipbook is an interactive digital publication that features a realistic page-flip effect. It looks just like a traditional printed book with pages that can be turned over but allows added interactive elements like page navigation and links. It is much easier to read and navigate than a basic pdf and is becoming a popular option for writers who are looking for a way to offer their books digitally.

Issued in 2021 the digital flipbook included an extra 60-pages which covered re-issues of LPs, a discussion about mastering, a section on the RCA 'Golden Grooves' label and a fascinating essay on the Making of ELVIS UK.

Once again, these additional pages were illustrated throughout with labels, sleeves and other images, mostly in colour.

Priced at just £20 the flipbook is available from their website www.elvisukbooks.co.uk

Meanwhile, back in 2002 they published their second book, ELVIS UK2 - The Ultimate Guide To Elvis Presley's British Record Releases 1986-2002, which overlapped and picked up the story from where the first book ended. 

Running to just over 370 pages  the book covers all the UK vinyl releases from 1985 through to 2002 with every single, extended play and LP album examined in detail. Like the previous book there are sections on promotional issues, rarities, releases that featured one or more Elvis tracks, a full song title index and interesting facts on industry background.

A welcome inclusion is an interview with Roger Semon who co-produces many of the Elvis releases throughout the world. 

Once again it was well received by fans and music historians alike. Originally only available in printed format, the book originally retailed at £35 though there are a very small number of copies available selling for just £11, once again from their website www.elvisukbooks.co.uk

It was several years before a third volume in the series was released, but in 2021 they announced the publication of ELVIS UK 3 - The Ultimate Guide To Elvis Presley's British CD Releases 1983-2005 which had taken almost six years to research and write. The book far exceeded the scope of the previous books and featured over 1,400 pages with more than one million words and 4,000 illustrations, mostly in full-colour.

Moving on from the vinyl releases covered in the first two books, this volume turns the attention to the compact discs released on the RCA, BMG and FTD labels in the UK between 1983 and 2005 while also being cross-referenced to other territories.

Like the previous books there are full track details and composers for every release along with relevant or interesting facts and images of front and back covers and the discs themselves. Live releases also include recording locations, dates and times.

Those interested in CD singles, promotional releases and in-house promos will find a wealth of information about these particular releases.

An extensive song title index lists every version of every song allowing the reader to search for their favourite track and all the relevant information.

Priced at £50, the downloadable flipbook is available from www.elvisukbooks.co.uk and when you order you can request a complimentary copy of a CD, ELVIS UK presents Beyond The Legend. This 23-track CD includes songs which charted in the UK and were not included on the first ever Elvis CD, The Legend and included extensive liner notes. Among the tracks are, Mystery Train, Paralyzed, Young And Beautiful, Hard Headed Woman, I Feel So Bad and many more great tracks. Also included is a 10-minute interview from 1956. 

A change of direction came in 2022 with the publication, in flipbook format only, of ELVIS UK - Cover Story - The Ultimate Guide To Elvis Presley's EP & LP Sleeves 1956-1977.

Within the 286-pages of this book the authors take a comprehensive look at the covers of the extended play and albums released between 1956 and 1977 in the UK. It makes the perfect companion to ELVIS UK, complementing and extending the information included in their first book.

Illustrated in full colour, it not only features the original front and back covers but also the photos used on the covers along with many alternate images. There are also loads of original adverts to study.

The wealth of information includes printing companies, sleeve notes, details of sleeve designs unique to the UK and a list of all the releases with details of who took the photos, the date and where it was taken.

Other sections cover inserts, record shops, sleeve manufacture and stickers. Everything you need to know about the sleeves, their design and production is covered here.

Once again it was welcomed by fans and music historians. Currently only available in flipbook format, the book retails at £15 and can be ordered from www.elvisukbooks.co.uk

It was only a year before the authors published their fifth book, at the time another digital flip book, in the series, ELVIS UK - Beyond RCA - The Ultimate Guide To Elvis Presley's British Non-RCA LPs 1974-1997. However, that is now available as a soft-backed print copy priced at £45 which includes post and packing in the UK.

As the title suggests this 377-page volume takes a detailed look at those Elvis albums released in the UK on labels other than RCA, including Arcade, K-Tel, Readers Digest, Charly and many others.

The book deals with the albums individually in a detailed way with illustrations of covers, labels, adverts and newspaper articles/reviews. The accompanying text provides extensive background information and previously unpublished information from the various record company files.

Each entry starts with a header detailing information about the material featured including the songs and/or spoken word content and composers.

Like previous books there is a detailed index of the songs with recording dates listed along with which album the songs appear on and details of outtakes where applicable. A nice addition is the index of the spoken word entries showing where and when they were recorded.

Unlike the previous books this one, another only available in print form, is available exclusively through the excellent Now Dig This and Elvis The Man And His Music magazine and website www.nowdigthis.co.uk priced at £45 including postage in the UK, with additional postage for overseas customers.

This bring us to the latest book in the series.

I always loved the extended play format and had several in my collection including Love Me Tender, Jailhouse Rock, In A Tender Mood and Elvis Sails. The latest book brings back many memories of owning these releases.

ELVIS UK - Extended - The Ultimate Guide To Elvis Presley's British EP Releases 1957-2001 has just been made available and, unlike earlier titles, this book is only available in printed form.

Running to 502-pages it is the ultimate guide to the extended play albums released in the UK between 1957 and 2001 and complements the earlier books. The amount of work that has gone into this volume can be judged when you realise that the section covering extended players in the 1987 book ELVIS UK covered just 46-pages.

Every release is covered in great details and follows the style and layout of earlier books with a header giving information on the songs or spoken word included on the release, composer credits and release dates.

Front and back covers are shown along with the labels. There is an incredible amount of detail about the various label differences that occurred over the years when they were re-issued.

There is a wealth of other illustrative material with newspaper articles, reviews and record company ads.

The book not only covers the extended plays released between 1957 (Love Me Tender) and 1967 (Easy Come, Easy Go) but also the 1982 release of The E.P. Collection which included ten EPs with the original artwork. These included Elvis Presley, Heartbreak Hotel, Such A Night, Kid Galahad and a special bonus... G. I. Blues The Alternate Takes which featured four previously unreleased alternate versions of songs from the original film soundtrack album. The booklet that accompanied the set only had four-pages but contained more information than many other collections.

A few months later a second set was issued with, among other originals, Peace In The Valley, A Touch Of Gold (three volumes), Flaming Star and Love In Las Vegas. Like the first set there was another disc of G. I. Blues Outtakes and Collectors Gold, with four 1961 studio outtakes.

Besides the detailed look at each release there are sections on the history of the format, their popularity and decline along with unpublished record company information, technical details about manufacture, tax code and pricing details, significant events of the period, demo extended plays and how to spot fakes.

This book contains contributions by Roger Semon, Bob Jones and Mike Walker whose work included the two EP Collections and which make for interesting reading.

As with previous books in the series this one includes a song index giving the reader all the information they would need about recording dates, where each song appeared and when it was recorded.

As with ELVIS UK - Beyond RCA - The Ultimate Guide To Elvis Presley's British Non-RCA LPs 1974-1997, this volume is only available from www.nowdigthis.co.uk priced at £58 including post and packing.

These books are the last words on their subjects and every Elvis fan should have them in their collection. They are a great and invaluable reference source for Elvis releases and I refer to them regularly when working on any Elvis articles for my blog.

I'm not sure what plans John and Gordon have for future projects but I am sure there will be more volumes and essential purchases for the Elvis collector... I can't wait.