Album Review: Johnny Cash – A Believer Sings the Truth

Johnny left Sun Records because Sam Phillips wouldn’t let him record a gospel album. His second album on Columbia was the excellent Hymns. After 1959, however, Johnny never had success with gospel albums again. Good songs here and there, but the generic Hymns from the Heart and Precious Memories didn’t light up the charts, nor did theme albums like The Holy Land and Gospel Road.  

As we saw, in 1975 Columbia rejected Cash’s gospel album. And now, in 1979, Cash wanted to record another, so Columbia compromised…. they let him release it somewhere else.  And so it is that we have A Believer Sings the Truth on Cachet records. Never heard of that label? Neither have I! 

This album reeks of passion project. It’s not just a gospel album. It’s a double gospel album. And check out the sessionography… They started in January 1979 and didn’t finish until the end of the summer. Silver was recorded in the middle (and they snuck a couple of Believer recordings into those sessions too). They started in Columbia’s big Nashville studios (unusual for Cash), did a little bit in Jack Clement’s studio (where Silver was recorded), and then finished it off in Johnny’s old studio in Hendersonville. 

And everybody and their dog is on this thing too. The Carters. Daughters Rosanne and Cindy. Jan Howard. Background singers. Brass. Orchestra. Even Marshall Grant sings.  

One might think that Johnny was focused and driven, but the reality is that he was addicted to pills again, and seemingly functioning like he was back in the mid-60s again. Interestingly, that was the same era that produced many topical albums, so maybe that was a byproduct of his drug addiction – a manic focus perhaps? 

Regardless, the songs on this sprawling gospel are interesting. There’s an overall emphasis on the message of redemption. Knowing that Johnny’s personal life was in decline again, this is understandable. Messages like, “I’m Just an old chunk of coal/but I’m gonna be a diamond some day,” would speak so well to a struggling addict. There are also many songs of the glory many Christians believe awaits them in death. That beyond that mysterious veil lies a wonderful place with loved ones and no more pain. Interestingly, these songs sit aside harsher numbers about how sinful living won’t be tolerated. I wonder what Johnny thought as he was singing about God’s train “having a rule against adultery” when he had been wandering around on June again. 

Musically the arrangements are dense. There’s lots of great playing and any fan of southern gospel will appreciate the album. A bit overdone for my tastes, but there is undeniable talent here. 

Let’s consider the actual songs on the album. First, Johnny writes several of them himself: 

• Wings in the Morning – a 6/8 waltz that introduces the big theme of the album. These are aspirational songs that speak to the hope of ultimate redemption beyond death as we ride “wings in the morning to carry us home”.  
• Over the Next Hill – a gorgeous mid-tempo gospel duet with Anita Carter, again speaking of the hope of overcoming challenges. 
• When He Comes – a ballad about Jesus’ return, here led with brass and strings and wonderful duet partner Rosanne Cash. 
• I’m a New Born Man – a country shuffle about living a new life thanks to God’s redemption. This one features vocals from Johnny and June’s son John. 
• You’ll Get Yours, I’ll Get Mine – a country stomp in the Waylon style. Not sure why Cash is singing about getting what you deserve and how he’s not into drinking and drugs! 
• Oh Come Angel Band – a quiet waltz about the hope of heaven. 
• I’m Gonna Try to Be That Way – Jan Howard duets on this fun shuffle about moving on to better ways. 
• What on Earth (Will You Do for Heaven’s Sake) – one of Johnny’s favourite songs. The stereo Fender Rhodes piano swirling around your ears really dates this one.  
• The Greatest Cowboy Of Them All – Johnny started this song with Waylon and the influence is obvious. It casts Jesus as a cowboy type hero and this song will reappear several times in Johnny’s career. A good closing number, but I wish Waylon’s vocals hadn’t been wiped (the original mix is on the Nashville Rebel box set). 

Elsewhere, we have some good time gospel numbers: 

• Gospel Boogie (A Wonderful TIme Up There) – Lee Roy Abernathy was one of the first modern gospel singers with a successful career in the 1940s and 50s. The fast rhythms on this song were highly controversial in their day, but made the song immensely successful. Again, more songs about glory in heaven. 
• He’s Alive – a song from 1976 written by a countercultural Christian folk singer, Don Francisco. His version won Dove song of the year in 1980 and was later covered by Dolly Parton too. A powerful recounting of Jesus’ resurrection. Interesting that this relatively simple folk song was rendered in the “Ghost Riders” contemporary style – notably recorded before Johnny started working with Brian Ahern on Silver, showing that Johnny had a clear hand in that stylistic pursuit. 
• I’ve Got Jesus In My Soul – Johnny’s second tune by cajun artist Jo-El Sonnier. This one has a New Orleans flair thanks to the clarinet. 
• I Was There When It Happened – Johnny’s Sun-era classic. The only thing to recommend this one is that Marshall Grant sings! Unfortunately, he’d be fired the next year after working with Cash from the start. 
• Strange Things Are Happening Every Day – if you’ve never heard Sister Rosetta Sharpe, you’re missing out. A female gospel singer who played the meanest guitar you ever heard. This apocalyptic number fits the evangelical circles Johnny frequented in those days. It is also the first Johnny song with distorted guitar since the crazy slide on Put the Sugar to Bed 
• Children Go Where I Send Thee – a gospel classic with everybody singing along. Unfortunately lacking the drive of live versions. 
• I’m Just an Old Chunk of Coal – a Billy Joe Shaver number that Cash often performed live… “I’m just an old chunk of coal, but I’m gonna be a diamond some day” 
• Lay Me Down in Dixie – another Jo-El number. This one is a straightforward acoustic number featuring Cindy Cash, with a bit of accordion for a slight cajun flair. 
• Don’t Take Everybody To Be Your Friend – another Sister Rosetta Sharp number again with some funky guitar. Probably the best guitar on any Cash album since Carl Perkins left the band. A great laid-back gospel stomp. 
• This Train is Bound for Glory – a third Sister Rosetta tune. A fun classic, but a bit too slick for my tastes. Another gospel song about leaving temptation behind to pursue God’s glory. 
• That’s Enough – a classic number about how having Jesus is better than anything else in the world. Written by the great Dorothy Love Coates whose singing style influenced all the greats, including Little Richard. 

It’s hard to make a good evaluation of this album. I think Johnny needed an editor. He brought now ex-stepson-in-law Jack Routh back into the fold to co-produce it, and it’s a bit of an overdone mess. Compare it to Silver from the same year, which also has many overdubbed parts, yet comes across as a crisply-layered work. Also, like any double album, it would have made a solid single album with some trimming. They tried this with the 1984 single-disc reissue, I Believe, but by throwing outtakes in, they weren’t giving the best of the project in the shorter format.  As I’ve said before, Cash always did best with a good producer and this bloated passion project reflects that. 

3/5 
If you like Southern gospel: 4/5 
If you have no tolerance for gospel: 1/5 

Other Songs from the Era: 

• Didn’t It Rain/He Touched Me/Way Worn Traveler/I’ll Have a New Life/Truth – five outtakes from the sessions have been released over the years. In 1982, the album was repackaged as a single LP with 10 of the original songs and the first four of these tracks, including duets with Rodney Crowell, Helen Carter, and June Carter Cash. Truth was released on Bootleg Vol IV, thus clearing out the archives.