Unearthed (Johnny Cash album)

Unearthed is a box set by American country singer Johnny Cash. It was released by American Recordings on November 25, 2003, two months after Cash's death. The album was compiled by Cash and Rick Rubin, who also produced the set. It was certified Gold on December 2, 2004, by the Recording Industry Association of America.

Content
The first three discs feature outtakes and alternate versions of songs recorded for American Recordings, American II: Unchained, American III: Solitary Man and American IV: The Man Comes Around. The fourth disc, My Mother's Hymn Book, features gospel songs Cash first learned from his mother as a child and was later reissued as a standalone album in 2004. The final disc is a best-of distillation of the first four American albums.

Previous recordings
Many of the songs Cash recorded during the American sessions were updated versions of songs he had previously recorded.
 * "Long Black Veil" was previously recorded by Cash for his 1965 album Orange Blossom Special.
 * "Flesh and Blood" was previously recorded by Cash for the soundtrack to the 1970 film I Walk the Line.
 * "Understand Your Man" was previously recorded by Cash for his 1964 album I Walk the Line.
 * "Banks of the Ohio" was previously recorded by Cash with the Carter Family for the 1964 album Keep on the Sunny Side.
 * "The Caretaker" was previously recorded by Cash for his 1959 album Songs of Our Soil.
 * "Old Chunk of Coal" was previously recorded by Cash for his 1979 album A Believer Sings the Truth.
 * "I'm Going to Memphis" was previously recorded by Cash for his 1960 album Ride This Train.
 * "Waiting for the Train" was previously recorded by Cash for his 1963 album Blood, Sweat & Tears.
 * "No Earthly Good' was previously recorded by Cash for his 1976 album The Rambler.
 * "The Fourth Man in the Fire" was previously recorded by Cash for his 1969 album The Holy Land.
 * "Dark as a Dungeon" was previously recorded by Cash as the B-side to his 1964 single "Understand Your Man".
 * "I'm Moving On" was previously recorded by Cash in 1984 as a duet with Waylon Jennings. This version would not be released until 2014 on Out Among the Stars.
 * "As Long as the Grass Shall Grow" was previously recorded by Cash for his 1964 album Bitter Tears: Ballads of the American Indian.
 * "Devil's Right Hand" was previously recorded by Cash with the Highwaymen for the 1995 album The Road Goes on Forever.
 * "The L & N Don't Stop Here Anymore" was previously recorded by Cash for his 1979 album Silver.
 * "Father and Son" was previously recorded by Cash as "Father and Daughter" for his 1974 album The Junkie and the Juicehead Minus Me.
 * "When the Roll Is Called Up Yonder" was previously recorded by Cash for his 1975 album Johnny Cash Sings Precious Memories.
 * "If We Never Meet Again This Side of Heaven" was previously recorded by Cash for his 1962 album Hymns from the Heart.
 * "Let the Lower Lights Be Burning" was previously recorded by Cash for his 1962 album Hymns from the Heart.
 * "When He Reached Down His Hand for Me" was previously recorded by Cash for his 1962 album Hymns from the Heart.
 * "In the Sweet By-and-By" was previously recorded by Cash for his 1975 album Sings Precious Memories.
 * "Softly and Tenderly" was previously recorded by Cash for his 1975 album Sings Precious Memories.
 * "Just as I Am" was previously recorded by Cash for his 1975 album Sings Precious Memories.

Critical reception
Rock historian Graeme Thomson in his monograph, The Resurrection of Johnny Cash: Hurt, Redemption, and American Recordings has called Unearthed a monolithic achievement.

Track listing

 * Note: All tracks previously unreleased. A different take of "Down There by the Train" was issued on the 1994 album American Recordings. "Flesh and Blood" is a newer version of the original that was written for I Walk the Line (Soundtrack).


 * Note: All tracks previously unreleased. A solo version of "Like a Soldier", a version of "Drive On" featuring different lyrics, and an acoustic studio version of "Bird on a Wire" were issued on the 1994 album American Recordings.


 * Note: All tracks previously unreleased, except "Wichita Lineman" and "Big Iron" which were previously released on the original vinyl pressing of American IV: The Man Comes Around. The final version of "The Man Comes Around" was also released on American IV: The Man Comes Around.


 * Note: All tracks previously unreleased.


 * Note: All tracks previously released, although "Thirteen" features an additional verse that was omitted from its original album release.

Personnel
Adapted from the album liner notes.


 * Johnny Cash – Vocals, Guitar, Arranger, Adaptation
 * Glen Campbell – Vocals, Performer
 * Fiona Apple – Vocals
 * Nick Cave – Vocals
 * Joe Strummer – Vocals
 * John Carter Cash – Performer, Arranger, Engineer, Associate Producer, Adaptation
 * David Ferguson – Performer, Engineer, Mixing
 * D. Sardy – Performer, Engineer, Mixing
 * Greg Fidelman – Performer, Mixing
 * Bill Bateman – Performer
 * Norman Blake – Performer
 * Thom Bresh – Performer
 * Nick Cave – Performer
 * Lester Butler – Performer
 * Mike Campbell – Performer
 * Laura Cash – Performer
 * Jack Clement – Performer
 * Sheryl Crow – Performer
 * Howie Epstein – Performer
 * Steve Ferrone – Performer
 * Flea – Performer
 * John Frusciante – Performer
 * Terry Harrington – Performer
 * Smokey Hormel – Performer
 * Rami Jaffee – Performer
 * Roger Joseph Manning Jr. – Performer
 * Carl Perkins – Performer
 * Larry Perkins – Performer
 * Tom Petty – Performer
 * Juliet Prater – Performer
 * David Roe – Performer
 * Randy Scruggs – Performer
 * Paul "The Kid" Size – Performer
 * Chad Smith – Performer
 * Marty Stuart – Performer
 * Benmont Tench – Performer
 * Jimmy Tittle – Performer
 * Rick Rubin – Producer
 * Richard Dodd, Thom Russo, Andrew Scheps, David Schiffman, Chuck Turner – Engineers
 * Sylvia Massy – Engineer, Mixing
 * Jim Scott – Mixing
 * Vlado Meller – Mastering
 * Steven Kadison – Assistant
 * Christine Cano – Art Direction, Design, Photography
 * Martyn Atkins, Andy Earl – Photography
 * Lindsay Chase – Production Coordination
 * Sylvie Simmons – Interviewer, Text

Charts
Album – Billboard (United States)

My Mother's Hymn Book
My Mother's Hymn Book is a collection of Christian spiritual songs and hymns that Cash originally learned from his mother while growing up. The album features only Cash's voice and a single acoustic guitar. This disc was released as a stand-alone disc the following year (his 89th overall album) under the same title, and peaked at #9 on the Christian music album chart. In the album's liner notes Cash mentions that this is his favorite album he ever made.

Tracks 6, 9 and 10 were previously recorded for Hymns from the Heart (1962); tracks 5, 11, 14 and 15 were previously recorded for Sings Precious Memories (1975); and track 7 was recorded in concert for The Survivors Live (1982). Several other songs, such as track 13, had been performed by Cash on TV or live in concert, but formal studio recordings had not yet been issued until now.

Although the images used on the standalone CD depict Cash near the end of his life, most of the recordings on My Mother's Hymn Book actually date to Cash's early sessions for American in 1993–1994 (hence the fact they only feature Cash performing by himself).

Personnel
Adapted from the album liner notes.
 * Karen Adams – Group Member
 * Craig Allen – Design
 * Martyn Atkins – Photography
 * John Carter Cash – Liner Notes, Associate Producer
 * Rosanne Cash – Liner Notes
 * Lindsay Chase – Production Coordination
 * Steven Kadison – Assistant
 * Vlado Meller – Mastering
 * Rick Rubin – Producer