1982 was not a good year for Johnny Cash. You would think releasing an album with Cowboy Jack Clement would be a good thing. Indeed, Cash and Clement had entered the studio together several times since the mid-1970s, but never managed to complete an album. When they finally finished one together (1982’s The Adventures of Johnny Cash), it did nothing. If that wasn’t enough, the gospel album he recorded with Marty Stuart, didn’t even see the light of day until 1986 when Word released a modified version as Believe In Him.
Sadly, 1983 was not to be an improvement. Apart from a couple of odd recording sessions for quick compilation tunes, Johnny only hit the studios in April. Brian Ahern was returning to the producer’s chair, and given the success they had with Silver, especially Ghost Riders in the Sky, Johnny 99 was a promising endeavour. While the album holds relatively high esteem amongst Cash fans, it wasn’t to be the one that saved his career. There are two main reasons, in my opinion.
First, the songs are an issue. There are no great singles on this one. The standout track is Highway Patrolman, written by Bruce Springsteen. A heart wrenching tale of two brothers on opposite sides of the law that is destined to go wrong from the start. But it’s a long, wordy number, and not the kind of romantic ballad that would get radio play. The other Springsteen number here, Johnny 99, is more upbeat, but ultimately another dour number about a man led to crime by desperate circumstances.
What might be more radio friendly tunes, say Paul Kennerley’s That’s the Truth or Guy Clark’s New Cut Road, are too generic to stand out amidst the crowd of 1980s country radio. Truth is full of attitude, but Cash fails to convince. Road, for all its traditional country fiddle, is fun but not memorable. Cash did better with Clark’s Last Gunfighter Ballad.
The rest of the album always feels a bit amiss, as well. As we know, Cash loved gospel music, but this album’s gospel tune, Ballad of the Ark, is just plan weird, reducing the tale of Noah, to “it ain’t easy for a good man to go down.” It was one thing to turn Jesus into an outlaw on Johnny’s past duet with Billy Joe Shaver, You Just Can’t Beat Jesus Christ, but it’s a step too far with Noah. Girl from the Canyon is the obligatory cowboy song, but the only thing I can ever recall about it is the irritating repetition of “the girl from the canyon, the girl from the canyon…”
Of course, the glaring omission is that there are no Cash compositions here. What a contrast to 1982’s unreleased (at the time) gospel album where he wrote half the material. Instead we get Cash singing George Jones’ I’m Ragged, But I’m Right. What could Cash possibly do on this song that Jones hadn’t already accomplished? Further, remember when Ahern actually got Cash and Jones to sing a duet? Thus, on many of the songs here, Cash simply sounds uninspired.
Second, the arrangements are an issue. Ahern succeeds at bringing a modern sound to the table, and he’s even moved on from Silver’s outlaw sound to a cleaner, 80s sound. However, there are really only two modes on here – fast shuffle and slow shuffle. While I don’t think Cash needs to be tied to boom-chicka-boom, he needs more variety. Thus, even the slightly calypso-ish Joshua’s Gone Barbados, still has the same underlying lope as Highway Patrolman, and Ballad of the Ark’s beat can be interchanged with That’s the Truth.
Look at the recording notes and you’ll see the issue. These were recorded in Los Angeles, yes with Johnny’s band, but also with other session musicians, particularly the Master of the Telecaster, James Burton. If you hear Marty Stuart’s production work on Believe In Him, though, you’ll find Johnny had an amazing band behind him. Most importantly, Stuart was a telecaster wizard himself. So why was Burton needed?
I imagine the answer is simply Ahern wanted a certain sound and knew he could get it with certain players in LA. Sadly, this approach never brings out the best in Cash. He likes recording at home with his entourage behind him. But imagine what could have been? A Johnny Cash album with guitar battles between Stuart and Burton? Stuart could have made Johnny comfortable, and Burton could have added a new dynamic. Wow! Instead, Stuart is in the background playing acoustic guitar and mandolin, with Burton cut-and-pasted on top.
This is not to say Johnny 99 is a bad album. I like the upbeat songs quite a bit. Highway Patrolman is a stone cold classic, with Johnny injecting true empathy into his delivery. And Brand New Dance gives some hope for Cash’s future. Another number by Kennerley (recall Cash appeared on Kennerley’s Jesse James album), this is a heartfelt duet with June about renewing an old love.
So, amidst the odd choices and wooden arrangements, a song like Brand New Dance allows him to shine. And why? Because it is rooted in his own circumstance. By the end of the year, Cash would enter rehab after a six year decline back into addiction. As hard as that must have been, it also allowed a revival in his relationship with June Carter Cash. Having not released a proper duet with her since 1980’s Rockabilly Blues, this song really feels like the two of them pressing the reset button.
Overall, there’s a lot of good material here. Lots of stories about struggling though life, whether it’s the Civil War or plantation life or America’s fading rust belt. So even when Cash doesn’t bring his a-game to the material, it’s still a worthwhile listen. But when you know who is playing on this album, and when you hear Highway Patrolman and Brand New Dance, you wonder what might have been if all the stars had aligned in 1983.
3.5/5
Other Songs from the Era:
- I Still Miss Someone – Johnny helped out Bill Monroe on this bluegrass rendition of a Cash classic
- Love Me Tender – I love Mary Poppins, The Sound of Music and Elvis Presley. But a breathy Julie Andrews singing this Elvis standard? No, just no. And why was Cash needed to help out.
The Ninety and Nine – Johnny starred in an obscure 1983 Japanese Christian film called Kairei. You can hear him singing this gospel song in it. - Johnny Cash Christmas Special 1983 – Merle Haggard and Ricky Skaggs guest. Plus lots of gospel with the Carters and Johnny’s sister Joanne.
- Crazy Old Soldier/The Chicken in Black/The Battle of Nashville – the only songs released at the time from Johnny’s 1984 post-rehab work with Billy Sherrill. I discuss these on the Out Among the Stars review, but Chicken in Black was one more nail in Johnny’s coffin with Columbia. He may have later disowned it, but he was playing it live at the time and I think it’s a good reflection of Johnny’s twisted sense of humour.
Raise My Glass to the B-Side 