Johnny Cash & Waylon Jennings - "There Ain't No Good Chain Gang"

Hello Friends and Happy Friday,

Here's a great outlaw country song from 1978.  

If nothing else I've learned four things from this song:

1) There ain't no good in an evil-hearted woman,

2) I ain't cut out to be no Jesse James,

3) You don't go writin' hot checks down in Mississippi, and

4) There ain't no good chain gang!

On a related note, can you imagine the massive amount of speed consumed by these two after this performance? 

They probably drove cross-country afterwards! #thegoodol'days

"She Used to Love Me A Lot"

Johnny Cash - "She Used to Love Me A Lot" from the 2014 release, Out Among The Stars-- a "lost" Cash album from the 80's.

Video is directed by the great Australian director, John Hillcoat (The Proposition, The Road, Lawless).

Hi-Fi Holidays: Belafonte!

Harry Belafonte - "To Wish You A Merry Christmas" (1962) - RCA Victor

Hello Friends,

Originally released by RCA records in 1958 and then re-issued with Harry's incredibly photogenic face gracing the cover along with a slightly different B-Side in 1962, this album was a staple in homes of many a baby boomer.

There's gospel ("A Star in the East", "The Son of Mary") , calypso ("Mary's Boy Child"), folk ("Jehova The Lord Will Provide"), jazz ("Where the Little Jesus Sleeps"), and even a hint of country (the Johnny Cash-penned, "The Gifts They Gave").  What a talent this Belafonte cat is!  Pretty much the only stinker on the album is "The Twelve Days of Christmas" because that song sucks anyways.

The arrangements are, for the most part, quiet and reserved, the star of the record being Belafonte's familiar baritone.  Listening to this on vinyl, where you can really hear the quiver and intricacies of Belafonte's voice, is pretty much the only way to listen to this album! 

Again, not the best record for your Space Age Holiday soiree, but a perfect record to put when you come home from one.  Tired and buzzed, enjoying one last nightcap in the basking glow of your Christmas tree.

RATING: 4 in thy dark streets shineth out of 5

The Fabulous Johnny Cash

Johnny Cash - "The Fabulous Johnny Cash" (1958) - Columbia Records

Hello Friends,

We've got the Man In Black tonight on the turntable.  This is his third LP but first for Columbia Records-- the record label that Cash would leave his Sun Records contract for and stick with until 1986.

And, as the title implies, this record is pretty fabulous.  Flanked by his usual guitarist & bassist (Luther Perkins & Marshall Grant, respectively) these songs are "fleshed out" by some sparse drums, some pedal steel & some subtle backing vocals by The Jordanaires-- who sound almost celestial on the hit, "I Still Miss Someone".

"Okay Johnny, now say Cheeeese!"

In his long career, Johnny Cash released tons and tons of records, some obviously better than others.  This one, however, is one of the good ones; definitely one of his best!   The album's single, "Don't Take Your Guns to Town" (b/w "I Still Miss Someone") reached Number 1 on the Country charts and also reached Number 32 on the Pop Chart.  Other Cash originals include "Run Softly, Blue River", "Frankie's Man, Johnny" and his ode to the cotton fields of his sharecropping youth, "Pickin' Time."  

RATING: 5 Long-Legged Guitar Pickers with Wicked Wanderin' Eyes out of 5