Johnny Cash - Bootleg Vol 1V: The Soul of Truth

  by Daniel Cressey

published: 1 / 5 / 2012

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Review

Johnny Cash never pushed his faith front and centre, but it was always there in his music. The same is true of release, which brings together a collection of songs, linked by their religious subject matter. Cash's son, John Carter Cash, writes in the sleeve notes that “If not for gospel music, there never would have been a Johnny Cash.” Certainly his passion for the music shines on this collection of late 70s/ early 80s country gospel, most written by the man himself. For an album of religious songs, 'The Soul of Truth' is far from preachy. Unless you're paying close attention, it is easy to overlook the fact that songs like 'Lay Me Down in Dixie' are actually explicitly religious, rather than just down-home tracks with a yearning note. This two-CD collection also shows the variety of styles Cash was capable of embracing, from the simple country of 'Over the Next Hill We'll Be Home' to the funky soul of 'Strange Things Happening Every Day'. Like much of Cash's recordings, he is at his most musical at his most pared down, and the tracks that feature just him, a guitar, and perhaps a backing singer are powerful pieces of Americana. Not everything in this fusion of country and gospel comes off. 'The Greatest Cowboy of All', which reinterprets Jesus as the prototypical American icon shows that this shtick can be taken too far. How much the listener appreciates the retelling of Biblical stories – such as 'I Was There When It Happened' – will likewise depend more on their appreciation of the Bible than on their appreciation of Cash. But where the tackling of religious subjects is more subtly handled 'The Soul of Truth' is – as every album from Cash is – a stark reminder of what the world of music lost when he passed in 2003. Most of the songs here have been released before, but were never widely available, something that seems disgraceful when hearing them now. This is indisputably a great collection of music, and far from the cobbled together and substandard fare that normally comprises posthumous releases. And if there is any more where this came from, its addition to the Cash canon cannot come too soon. Bring on 'Bootleg V'

Track Listing:-

1 Wings In The Morning
2 Gospel Boogie (A Wonderful Time Up There)
3 Over The Next Hill (We'll Be Home)
4 He's Alive
5 I've Got Jesus In My Soul
6 When He Comes
7 I Was There When It Happened
8 I'm A Newborn Man
9 Strange Things Happening Everyday
10 Children Go Where I Send Thee
11 I'm Just an Old Chunk of Coal (But I'm Gonna Be a Diamond Someday)
12 Lay Me Down In Dixie
13 Don't Take Everybody To Be Your Friend
14 You'll Get Yours And I'll Get Mine
15 Oh Come, Angel Band
16 This Train Is Bound for Glory
17 I'm Gonna Try To Be That Way
18 What On Earth (Will You Do For Heaven's Sake)
19 That's Enough
20 The Greatest Cowboy Of Them All
21 Didn't It Rain
22 He Touched Me
23 Way Worn Traveler
24 I'll Have A New Life
25 Truth
26 Back In The Fold
27 Look Unto The East
28 I Was There When It Happened
29 Sanctified
30 Would You Recognize Jesus
31 That's Just Like Jesus
32 What On Earth Will You Do (For Heaven's Sake)
33 Keep Me From Blowing Away
34 Don't Give Up On Me
35 Over The Next Hill (We'll Be Home)
36 Waiting On The Far Side Banks Of Jordan
37 Our Little Old Home Town
38 Belshazzar
39 My Children Walk In Truth
40 The Old Rugged Cross
41 One Of These Days I'm Gonna Sit Down And Talk To Paul
42 God Ain't No Stained Glass Window
43 Half A Mile A Day
44 Another Wide River To Cross
45 You're Drifting Away
46 Believe In Him
47 Over There
48 Gospel Road
49 What Is Man
50 Wildwood In The Pines

Band Links:-

https://www.facebook.com/johnnycash
http://www.johnnycashonline.com/
https://twitter.com/JohnnyCash
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLwdO
https://plus.google.com/+johnnycashoff

Label Links:-

http://www.columbia.co.uk/
https://www.facebook.com/ColumbiaRecor
https://twitter.com/ColumbiaUK
https://www.youtube.com/user/icolumbia