WAR BY TIMETABLE

Recently returned from my fifth Leger Battlefield Tour... War By Timetable, which explored the role of trains in World War One. This tour covered two of my many interests, history and steam trains and, as with previous Leger Battlefield Tours, did not disappoint.

In this article I take a detailed look back at the tour, the places we visited and where relevant, some World War One history. I have also included just a small selection of the many photos I took during my trip.

Our journey began early in the morning with the short journey down to Stop 24 in Folkestone where we boarded our tour coach for the week. The original plan was to head to Dover and catch the ferry to Calais. Unfortunately, due to problems beyond the control of Leger, we were delayed and a change of plan saw us take the Eurotunnel across to France. I must say at this point that the staff at the Leger desk were excellent, keeping us updated and also supplying food vouchers and drinks during the long wait for our replacement coach to make its journey from Nottingham down to the coast.

During our drive through the French countryside towards our hotel in Saint Quentin our guide, Andrew, pointed out several interesting locations relevant to the First World War including Vimy Ridge, Arras and Cambrai. His knowledge of the subject was second-to-none and he told us stories about how the war started, Britain's involvement and the various battles.

As we passed Vimy Ridge we heard how, in April 1917, four divisions of the Canadian Corps in the 1st Army fought against three divisions of the German 6th Army with the objective of drawing the Germans away from the French forces who were preparing an offensive along the Aisne and the Chemin des Dames Ridge. It was part of the Battle of Arras.

The Battle Of Arras was a British offensive during April and May 1917 which saw them achieve the greatest advance since trench warfare had begun, although when the German defences recovered it resulted in a costly stalemate for both sides.

Continuing towards Saint Quentin we passed close to Cambrai, the site of a late-1917 British attack and the biggest German counter-attack since 1914. It has gone down in history as the first battle to use tanks and records show the use of over 350 armoured vehicles involved during the offensive.

Arriving at the hotel it was time for a refreshing pint and then a good nights sleep in preparation for the busy days ahead.

An early breakfast and then we set off to our first stop of the day, the Steam Railway of the Three Valleys in Belgium whose name derives from the three rivers the line follows, the River Eau Blanche, River Eau Noire and River Viroin. It is a non-profit society that operates the service which connects with the Belgian rail network at Mariembourg.

A specially arranged journey on a period steam train saw us travel the 14 kilometre journey from Mariembourg via Nismes, Olloy-sur-Viroin and Vierves to Treignes, the last station before the French border. The line does continue the 2.5 kilometres to the border but is not used anymore. An enjoyable journey with great views of the Belgium countryside from our carriage. The staff at the station and onboard the train were excellent and very helpful.

At the end of the journey there was time to look around the museum which was very interesting with its collection of various trains, both steam and electric, along with items of railway memorabilia.

Following a quick lunch, Croque Monsieur and a refreshing drink, in the cafe at the station in Treignes we headed out of Belgium and to our next stop in France.

At La Capelle we visited the memorial marking the spot where the German parliamentarians crossed the French lines seeking an Armistice on 7 November 1918.

The German government, under Prince Max of Baden, had contacted President Woodrow Wilson asking him to open the way for an armistice. Conditions were imposed on Germany and they were told to nominate a delegation to Western Front Commander in Chief, Marshal Ferdinand Foch. Once done the Germans were told where to approach the French lines where troops were told to expect the delegations arrival. 

Four cars with full headlights, displaying white flags and with a trumpeter sounding the cease fire approached the French lines near the hamlet of Haudroy. It was there a French bugler, Pierre Sellier, replaced the German trumpeter on the duckboard and would continue the journey to La Capelle and onto Compiegne where the armistice was signed on 11 November 1918, ending four years of conflict. 

On 14 August 1940, during the Second World War, the Armistice Memorial was destroyed by the Germans, who deemed it offensive, and it was reconstructed and inaugurated a few years later after the end of the war.

During the day and while we were on the coach travelling between the different points of interest we were told more about the war. In particular, the history of the 1st Division British Expeditionary Force (the first British formation to move to France and who took part in most of the actions throughout the war), the various battles and in particular The Battle of St. Quentin (also called the First Battle of Guise), the Battle of Le Cateau, the rear guard action at Etreux and the Retreat from Mons.

The Retreat from Mons was the withdrawal of the British Expeditionary Force and the French 5th Army following defeats at the Battle of Charleroi and the Battle of Mons, both in August 1914.

A counter-attack by the French at Guise on 29 and 30 August failed to end the German advance. Similar attempts by the British at Le Cateau and Etreux also failed.

At Chapeau Rouge, La Groise we stopped to view the BEF Memorial which bears the inscription, "To the Glory of God and to the abiding memory of the 1st Division British Expeditionary Force which from August 1914 to November 1918 served and suffered in France and left there close upon 16,000 dead." It also includes the final two lines of Rudyard Kipling's poem, For All We Have And Are, "Who Stands If Freedom Fall? Who Dies If England Live?"

Following the retreat from Mons in August 1914 many of the soldiers from the 2nd Battalion of the Royal Munster Fusiliers were buried in an orchard at Etreux. The family of Lieutenant Frederick Styles, who had been killed during the rearguard action, purchased the orchard and erected a large Celtic Cross in the centre of the cemetery. The cross listed the battle honours of The Munsters.

There are 99 identified graves at Etreux British Cemetery including Second Lieutenant Carol Edward Vere Awdry of the Royal Munsters, whose story was told to us. On 27th August Awdry, sword drawn, led his men in support of the attack that was underway and was killed by a shot through the lungs.

I recognised the surname and was reminded of where from, when we were told about his family. Carol Edward Vere Awdry's half-brother was Wilbert Vere Awdry, an Anglican cleric, railway enthusiast and children's author. More famously known as the Reverend W, Awdry, he was the creator of Thomas The Tank Engine and author of the series of children's books.

Our final visit of the day was to the Necropole Nationale - Flavigny Le Petit Cemetery in Guise. The cemetery was constructed by the Germans following the Battle of Guise in August 1914. It is unusual in that there are soldiers buried from three different nations, Germany, France and Britain. It was interesting walking around and seeing the different headstones/crosses used by the various nations.

The cemetery contains the graves of 2,332 German soldiers killed in World War One. The cemetery also includes other casualties from the war with 2,643 French graves and 48 British graves.

Back at the hotel, following an informative and enjoyable day, with temperatures during the day between 26 and 30 degrees it was good to relax and enjoy a couple of pints in the hotel bar.

Day two began at the Bagneux British Cemetery located close to the village of Gezaincourt near the town of Doullens. 

It was at this point of our trip that we learnt more about the Casualty Clearing Stations. Known originally as Clearing Hospitals they were part of the evacuation chain although they were located further back than the field hospitals. Manned by the Royal Army Medical Corps their job was to treat soldiers so they could return to the front line or, in the case of the seriously wounded, transferred to a base hospital. They were normally located near to railways to allow movement between the battlefield and hospitals. Throughout the war these Casualty Clearing Stations would relocate as the front line moved.

Bagneux Cemetery was our next stop during the tour and along with the Devonshire Cemetery, which was our last stop on the tour (more of which later), was very emotional. There are 1,374 soldiers of the First World War buried or commemorated there including three nurses who were killed in nearby Doullens.

On 30 May 1918 the Germans bombed the No. 3 Canadian Stationary Hospital based in an ancient citadel in Doullens. The nurses were assisting in surgery when the bombing took place and all three were killed and buried in Bagneux Cemetery approximately 2 kilometers from where they died.

The nurses were, Nursing Sister Agnes MacPherson (age 27), Nursing Sister Eden Lyal Pringle (age 24) and Nursing Sister Dorothy Mary Yardwood Baldwin (age 26). We were shown photos of the nurses while standing near the graves which was a very sad moment.

We had time to walk around the cemetery and read some of the inscriptions on the gravestones. What always strikes me whenever I visit a Commonwealth War Graves Cemetery is how peaceful and well-maintained they are and it is thanks to all those who work for the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) for all their dedicated and hard work all over the world.

On our short walk back to the coach we discovered part of the railway line that ran past the cemetery and close to the Casualty Clearing Stations in the area.

A 30-minute drive found us at our next place of interest, Heilly Station Cemetery. In April 1916 the 36th Casualty Clearing Station was located in Heilly, to be joined in May and June by the 38th and 2/2nd London. However, by June 1917 all three had moved on.

It was in May 1916 that work began on the cemetery, a short distance from Heilly Station, and was used by the three Casualty Clearing Stations until April 1917. During 1918 it was used by Australian units then hospital burials when the 20th Casualty Clearing Station was based nearby.

There are 2,800 servicemen buried or commemorated with 12 of the graves unidentified. There were also casualties whose graves were not exactly located and special memorials were erected. The cemetery also includes 83 German graves.

Many of the burials were carried out under extreme pressure with many graves close together and not marked individually. Furthermore, some contained multiple burials and these did not include the regimental badges. However, along the cloister walls there are 117 badges carved into the wall.

Once again this is another cemetery that is well-tended and so peaceful. In fact, when we turned up there were volunteers working on cutting grass and undertaking general maintenance. They even stopped working so as not to disturb our visit.

For lunch we stopped at Corbie, a short distance from Heilly, where we found a nice cafe in the city square and enjoyed a meal and drink before returning to the coach.

On our way to our next stop, another train journey, we passed the site where Baron von Richthofen (The Red Baron) was shot down on 21 April 2018 over the Morlancourt Ridge close to Vaux-sur-Somme. There is a debate as to who actually shot him down. It has been said he was flying low over Australian positions and gunners shot him down although another claim is that Canadian pilot Roy Brown who was flying behind and above Richthofen was responsible. Maybe we will never know for sure.

Our next steam train journey would see us travel through the Somme Battlefield in open sided carriages, and was the most interesting of the three train journeys on the tour.

The 600mm narrow gauge railway was built in 1916 for the needs of the Battle of The Somme and used to supply the trenches and artillery with estimates of 1,500 tonnes moved every day. It was part of a larger military network built in preparation of the 1916 offensive. After the war it was operated by a sugar refinery in Dompierre to transport sugar beet. In the 1970s a group of enthusiasts bought the line and rolling stock from the refinery and hunted across the country for other locomotives. They opened the line which ran for 1.5 kilometres in 1971.

We all boarded our open-sided carriage for the journey and had already been advised not to wear anything white during the journey as the smoke and soot emanating from the train while we were in the tunnel might ruin our clothes. Fortunately it was all ok.

During the one-hour return journey, which runs alongside the Somme Canal and River Somme, there are superb views of the Somme Valley. There was also time after the journey to look around the museum, located at the departure point, which held a fascinating collection of narrow-gauge rolling stock and other items.

Another interesting and emotional day came to an end and it was back to the hotel for dinner and a good rest.

The next day found us heading to Le Crotoy and The Steam Railway at the Bay of the Somme for our final rail journey which would take us to St Valery-sur-Somme. It is another narrow-gauge railway that runs the entire length of the bay connecting Le Crotoy with Noyelles-sue-Mer and St Valery. During the summer season it runs on to Cayeux-sur-Mer.

During the almost 25 kilometre journey we passed brooks lined with willows, salt and freshwater marshes, fields, and the beautiful greenery of the Somme Bay.

Throughout the whole trip my love of steam trains and old railways was well catered for and at St Valery there was another highlight for those on the trip who had the same interest as me, and there were quite a few. We had the opportunity to watch as the train was uncoupled and with the use of a turntable moved onto another track and travel to the other end of the train to be coupled for the return home.

We had a couple of hours in St Valery and a group of us walked along the waterfront, grabbed a drink at a lovely little cafe and then a much needed ice cream before returning to the coach.

St Valery is a lovely seaport and resort on the south bank of the River Somme estuary and with its medieval character and long waterfront area has become a popular tourist destination. It is somewhere I would love to visit again and spend more time looking around.

It was back to Le Crotoy and the Communal Cemetery to find out more about those soldiers 'Shot at Dawn'. The actual cemetery only holds four World War One casualties, one of which is Lieutenant Edwin Leopold Arthur Dyett.

During World War One the British Army executed around 300 soldiers of which just three were officer, Edwin Dyett was one of those officers. A junior officer in the Nelson Battalion of the 63rd (Royal Naval) Division, in October 1916 he was with the rest of the Division on The Somme preparing for the attack on Beaucourt-sure-Ancre.

Feeling that he wasn't suitable, an impression the Company Commander shared, he had already applied to be transferred away from the front. Not considered as quality material he was left as a reserve officer and was only sent forward with the reserves. Unable to find anyone from his unit he chose to return to Brigade Headquarters with another officer. He took exception to being asked by a junior officer to accompany men who needed to be taken back to the front lines and he continued towards the rear.

He was reported by the junior officer for refusing to go forward and the following day was arrested and later charged with desertion. He did not give evidence at his trial and  on 2 January 1917 Field Marshal Haig confirmed the death sentence. Dyett was told on 4 January and the following day, at 07.30, he was shot at dawn by members of his own Battalion. His final words were, "For God's sake shoot straight."

Although China never sent any troops overseas during World War One more than 100,000 labourers served as part of the British Army for both the British and French forces during the war. As the Chinese Labour Corps, they cleared mines, built munitions depots, transported supplies and repaired roads and railways.

Noyelles-sur-Mer was the base depot of the Chinese Labour Corps, their biggest camp and also the site of the No.3 Labour General Hospital. Almost 2,000 lost their lives and 841 are buried at the Chinese Cemetery in Noyelles which was our next visit.

The inscriptions on the headstones are in Chinese and included four different inscriptions in English and Chinese with one reading, "A Noble Duty Bravely Done." There is an inscription carved on the entrance which in English translates roughly to, "This site commemorates the sacrifice paid by the 1,900 Chinese workers who lost their lives during the 1914-1918 war, these are my friends and colleagues whose merits are incomparable." The cemetery is adorned with trees native to China, creating a reminder of their homeland.

I had never heard of the Chinese Labour Corps and it was very interesting to find out more about their contribution to the war. 

The main entry point to the Somme battlefields in 1916 for most of the soldiers was Pont-Remy Station and it was there we headed to next. Now disused, although trains run by SNCF still travel between Amiens and Abbeville, the station and cobbles leading up to the station once echoed to the sound of the many thousand troops heading to the front lines.

I was surprised there is no information at the station on its history and maybe SNCF should consider a board detailing its World War One connection along with relevant images from the period.

Our final visit of the tour was to the Devonshire Cemetery near Mansell Copse (not included in the original itinerary but as our guide put it... 'A Brucie Bonus') and it was somewhere I am glad we had the opportunity to see.

Before entering the cemetery we had a chance to view where the British and German lines were on the 1st July, the first day of the Battle of The Somme. The two images below are taken from where the British trenches were located, south of Mametz, and show the view across to what would have been the German trenches.

Mametz was within the German lines and captured on the first day of the battle while the woods to the east were taken in the days that followed.

The cemetery just visible in the lower picture is the Gordon Cemetery which was made by the men of the 2nd Gordon Highlanders who buried their dead from the 1st July in what had been a support trench.

At the Devonshire Cemetery we heard about their part in the battle. The 8th and 9th Battalions of the Devonshire Regiment attacked the German lines on 1st July and suffered very heavy losses as they left their forward trench. Later that day the survivors buried their fallen comrades, over 160 men, in the same trench. Three days later a ceremony was held and a wooden cross was placed bearing the words "The Devonshires Held This Trench, The Devonshires Hold It Still."

Of the 163 graves, ten are unidentified burials and only two were not part of the Devonshire Regiment. Looking at the two rows of graves it was easy to see where the original trench had been and it was an emotional moment to look at the headstones and imagine what it must have been like back in 1916. Along with the Bagneux Cemetery discussed earlier, this visit was the saddest part of the whole trip.

The wooden cross disappeared, possibly stolen, and in the 1980s officers of the Devonshire Regiment, who were visiting the site, decided to do something about it. On their return a collection was made and a new stone was placed at the entrance to the cemetery bearing the same words as the wooden cross. Those words certainly got to me and will forever live in my memory.

It was the end of our tour and time to head back to the hotel for dinner, a final few pints and a last chance to sit and talk to the other people on the tour before packing and an early night. We had to leave early the next morning for our journey home and although it was sad to be going home there were so many memories to look back on. 

I met a great group of people on the tour and especially want to mention Jules whose company I enjoyed over dinner and a few pints.

There are still so many tours I would like to do and next year I will be going on the Operation Market Garden trip to Arnhem with my good friend John Chisholm, who I met on my previous trip to Dunkirk.

Last, but by no means least, thanks go to our knowledgeable tour guide Andrew Thornton and our excellent driver Michael (Mick) Page who besides doing an amazing job, certainly kept the rest of us in the coach amused with their banter and jokes each day.

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.