Johnny Cash - My Mother's Hymn Book
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Free Music Notes for My Mother's Hymn Book
Free Music Review: One of Johnny Cash's Best Albums of His Entire Career!
Hit: 5 Stars
Johnny Cash has released many Gospel albums and compilations during his half century career. MY MOTHER'S HYMN BOOK is easily his best album of Gospel tunes that is still in print and still readily available on CD, recorded and released all at once, (not part of any compilation album).
MY MOTHER'S HYMN BOOK by Johnny Cash is a great album to listen to, whether you like Johnny Cash, or Gospel music, or both. The quiet, voice and acoustic guitar only sparseness seems very personal and expressive. Cash loved doing Gospel music, and you can tell that his heart and soul is in this album of beloved church songs which he learned as a child, literally learning them out of the library of songs in his mother's well worn book of hymns.
MY MOTHER'S HYMN BOOK is calm and quiet listening that is great for calm and quiet Sunday afternoons and contemplation. The musical performances are good to great, and so is the lyrical content.
The b/w CD booklet has personal comments written by Johnny Cash for every song on this album, so that is very interesting.
At the AMERICAN record label, they often had Johnny Cash record tons of music very cheaply and economically, by just recording him singing and strumming his guitar, without any added instruments nor other musicians. MY MOTHER'S HYMN BOOK is the best and most consistent of the albums recorded and released this way. His last album of newly recorded music, 100 HIGHWAYS is pretty much entirely in the same performance format, but is not mostly Gospel in content, though it is very interesting as his last recordings. American V: A Hundred Highways
GOSPEL GLORY by Johnny Cash is my single favorite Gospel compilation by Johnny Cash, because of the high percentage of famous Christian standards that sound very contemporary in their recording style. Gospel Glory
But GOSPEL GLORY can be topped by the Johnny Cash Gospel compilation CD called JUST AS I AM, which contains all but one of the recordings on GOSPEL GLORY, and then also doubles the song count with other Gospel songs from his career. Just as I Am
CASH: ULTIMATE GOSPEL is a recent 2007 remastering and round up of many rare and out of print Gospel tunes by Johnny! It is almost as good as JUST AS I AM. The fresh remastering of a 2007 re-release makes many of the oldest recordings sound fresh again, and much more enjoyable than the same recordings which appeared on earlier CDs released in the 1990's and earlier. A great CD! Cash: Ultimate Gospel
PERSONAL FILE is a two CD pack of which disc 2 is entirely Gospel tunes, almost as good as MY MOTHER'S HYMN BOOK. It is a compilation of "lost" rehearsal tapes of Johnny just singing and strumming his guitar, just like on MY MOTHER'S HYMN BOOK. The singing is stronger and the guitar playing is a bit more lively, but the songs are not quite as strong as the selections of MY MOTHER'S HYMN BOOK. Personal File
And don't forget to check out Johnny Cash's reading of the entire NEW TESTAMENT on CD, which is very fun for any Johnny Cash listeners and/or Bible lovers! The last CD in the set is just Johnny Cash reading the Book of Revelation in its entirety, as if it is a CD album all by itself! Cool stuff and very inspirational! Johnny Cash Reads the Complete New Testament: Collector's Edition
Free Music Review: A poignant spiritual journey to the gospel roots
Hit: 5 Stars
Johnny Cash is so many things to so many people, which served to make him so engaging to such a wide swath of culture over the course of his life. It was evident that he battled a great many demons in his 70-plus years on this earth; some he conquered, and others he wrestled with up to the time of his death last year.Never were Mr. Cash's life struggles and salvations more highlighted than when he chose to delve into gospel music. He fought early in his career to record a Christian album, and these songs that he loved were a prime element of his recording and performing from that point forward. In fact, he may very well have made it "hip" to enjoy this music. So, it is fitting that his first posthumous release is the thoroughly beautiful and powerful "My Mother's Hymn Book".
This disc exposes the spirituality and vulnerability of Mr. Cash in his twilight years, and continues the trend of his career resurrection with the American Recordings label. As described in the liner notes, Mr. Cash recorded songs taken from his beloved mother's hymn book (hence the title of the disc). These songs are pure old-time gospel; songs and hymns that have been a staple of Christians for decades.
What makes this disc so powerful is in the simplicity of its production. All the tracks were recorded just with Mr. Cash's vocals and his acoustic guitar. The result is that the songs are performed as the listener would hear in church. However, there are more intangibles to this recording that make it a wonderful experience to listen to. As with almost every song in his extensive catalog, Mr. Cash conveyed a sense to the listener that he lived the experiences that were put to music; that is no different in this case. Mr. Cash's vocals relate a raw emotional quality that are enhanced even more by the knowledge that he and his wife's time on earth was short. But, there is a power and confidence to his effort that suggest he was comfortable with his place in life and also with his spiritual future.
When I first purchased this disc, I listened to it in entirety three times. I just hit "replay" on the CD player and was enthralled with what I was hearing. I could not wait to share this disc with family and friends, and likewise, I am eager to recommend this to a wide audience. Not only will Johnny Cash fans enjoy this, but fans of Christian music - or just good traditional music in general - will also find this captivating. Therefore, I give "My Mother's Hymn Book" a hearty five-star rating.
Free Music Review: Simple+Outstanding = simply outstanding
Hit: 5 Stars
I have previously purchased most of the Rick Rubin produced 'American Recordings' of Johnny Cash. Unfortunately however, and for some unknown reason I missed this one. Fortunately when I was searching for 'regular' hymn CDs this came up and knowing the pedigree of that series I purchased it without hesitation.
Whilst it ostensibly a mute point, I feel it is worth re-stating the obvious, that if you are a fan of 'church' music in the traditional sense, or if you are looking for choral or classical renditions of hymns (as some reviewers appear to be), then this CD is clearly not for you and you should look elsewhere for your aural pleasure.
Assuming you are Cash fan, a Rick Rubin or maybe someone who was inspired after watching 'Walk the line', then you pretty much know what you are going to hear, although with the slight exception of the latter group, who may be expecting some kind of Elvis-esque hillbilly curling his lip and slurring his words, which of course they will not find.
What one finds, instead, on this CD is Cash. Cash and Cash. JC stripped down so bare that he might as well be playing his guitar in his birthday suit. What we have is an Artiste taking his last gasp of air before he departs this world, a producer who know how to produce and how to leave well alone, a guitar and a voice; a voice that reverberates and resonates from the soul of a man who has lived a tempestuous and tumultuous life; a spiritual man who sees the end is near and fears judgement - although if there is a God in the Christian sense, one can't but help feel they'd welcome JC with open arms and ask him what he was worried about.
Alas, I digress. To summarise, this is an outstanding CD of unrivalled passion and beauty and a technically superb recording. Whilst it will not satisfy the aforementioned listeners, it will no doubt crystallise and consolidate the power and authority of Cash as a world-class Artiste in the minds and hearts of those individuals who are ready and able to 'hear' his plea.
The power and presence of the CD lies in the transparency of Cash's soul and heart. To see a performer laid so bare before us is a rare sight and something seldom witnessed in the current MacCorporate recording industry. Certainly something one couldn't envisage seeing of many of today's performers - or rather I should re-phase that, something one wouldn't want to see of many of today's performers.
Respect JC, R.I.P.
Free Music Review: Prayers from a Faithful Son and a True Artist
Hit: 5 Stars
It is important to say -call it the result of not being warned time after time, of the actual source of posthumous releases- that "My Mother's Hymn Book" is, without exceptions, the exact same collection that appeared as volume 4 of the "Unearthed" set. That said, and for people who can't or would not buy the 5-CD set, this is a remarkable album in its own right. Whether you grew up listening to these or similar songs at home or church or not, whether you are even religiously inclined toward the Christian faith or you profess some form of agnostic alergy to spiritual music, it would be very hard not to be drawn to the austere honesty and profound depth of these renditions. For Cash's devotees, this is yet another true gem from the inexhaustible soul of a great artist. The fact that Cash decided to record these old hymns knowing full well that he was dying makes the listening experience even more meaningful, an act of faith and an artistic document of moving depth, but, and this must be stressed, its musical value is unimpeachable, it is not "great" because of biographical circumstances -imminent death, a last musical statement of glorious and long career, etc.- its greatness is fully attained in artistic value alone. Even at the end, his voice clearlyn weakened by illness, Cash' singing has not lost any of its presence nor the well-earned authority of his phrasing. To listen to Cash, always, is to listen seriously to a man who would never indulge in words he did not mean. Being a proud owner of the "Unearthed" set (you can see my review of the 5-disc set too), yet understanding that not everyone may want to invest so much, I'm glad that this album has been released. So, I do not disparage the record company for putting it out as a "stand-alone" item, although I do resent that it was released around Easter, in the wake of Gibson's "Passion of the Christ", to benefit commercially from such media-fueled controversy. I doubt Johnny would have appreciated such Philistene strategy, yet in the end, as with any authentic works of art, nothing can stain its message.Free Music Review: Smithsonian-worthy...a rough beauty
Hit: 5 Stars
Not a week goes by when I don't listen to this CD at least once...it is absolutely essential. For a pure, unvarnished, unsentimental, reverent, and heartfelt rendering of classic American hymns, Johnny Cash's MY MOTHER'S HYMNBOOK cannot be beaten.
Personally, I believe a copy of this CD should be placed in the Smithsonian Institution and other world-class museums as a fine and landmark example of true American folk-Gospel music. There are so many compelling elements at work here: as he recorded these songs, Cash was acutely aware of his own mortality; he was singing precious songs passed on to him by his beloved mother from his earliest days; and he was singing songs he deeply believed to the God he loved.
All of the cuts are great, but I particularly find "I Am a Pilgrim" deeply moving and real. "Let the Lower Lights Be Burning" is a rich piece of songwriting and Johnny really brings it home. In the hands of another, "In the Garden" could be a little syrupy or sentimental--but with Johnny, it's a beautiful song of worship and devotion. "Just As I Am" is about as close to an autobiographical statement as you could get for Johnny Cash.
If you're looking for fancy production numbers, rich harmonies, tuneful warbling, and loaded instrumentation, don't look here. This is CD is like an astringent that cleanses and purifies the soul with its sharp simplicity. Seldom has a work of such barebones austerity made such a large and landmark impact.
Whether you want to buy this album as a single CD, or as part of the titanic UNEARTHED box set...whether you are a believer or a seeker...whether you're a pilgrim or a stranger...you need to get it, and get it soon.