Johnny Cash's third album and his major label debut recorded in 1958 and issued in early 1959 doesn't mess much with the Sun era shuffle-and-twang musical formula. Luther Perkins does the twanging as he did as a member of The Tennessee Three, Cash's backing group but the overall sound is somewhat watered down.
If I have to fight with you over the logic of releasing a double LP of music transferred from 78s, just think of your battles with digital lovers over the superiority of vinyl! I'm not suggesting that the original 78s from which this absolutely fascinating and often startling compilation was sourced sound like modern, full frequency response recordings. However, in the vital midrange, the sense of "living presence" is remarkable.
With a nod to the Hank Williams tune of the same name (which also was the name of a book Earle authored), this Steve Earle album released last spring is a collection of songs dealing mostly with mortality, keying off of his father’s passing.
Speakers Corner has unearthed an unlikely gem here: a 1957 blues set by a stellar assemblage of jazz musicians that's been obscured by time—at least I've never seen or heard of it before.
At first you might think "Can these tracks really have come from the same session that produced A Night in Tunisia?" That’s the claim, so you'd be expecting the same level of raw intensity, the same Van Gelder generated echoey backdrop and the same sense that this was a “cutting session” for the ages.
A more pleasant pairing of musical icons you’re not likely to hear and the backing by The Oscar Peterson Trio (Ray Brown on bass, Herb Ellis on guitar plus Buddy Rich on drums) completes the setting. Add a superb monophonic recording and a literally astonishing 45rpm re-mastering that just about brings them all back to life in your listening room and you have something truly special that’s clearly stood the test of (a long!) time.