My Johnny Cash collection consists of Live at San Quentin, the box set of Love, God & Murder, the 5 main discs done with Rick Rubin/American Recordings and a couple of old LPs with titles such as Here Comes Cash or The Best of Johnny Cash…you know the drill. Anyway, while I’m a big fan of his music, I’ll admit I don’t own all of his recordings or much of the lesser known stuff. But, when I do get a chance to hear Cash tunes that are new to my ears, I always perk up. Â
The sticker on the outside of this particular CD says, “Includes Songs Rarely Performed Live.” The show was recorded at Paramount Theatre in Asbury Park on July 28, 1990 and Johnny performs with his band which also features the Carter Sisters for a few of the gospel ones.Â
The set is a family pleaser and is probably not far off from what you’d hear at the Grand Ole Opry, (or in my case the Carolina Opry at Myrtle Beach…cheesy but fun) but I’ve never been so I can’t say for sure. It is very much in contrast to the San Quentin and Folsum discs released earlier in his career. This is an older man looking back on his life, as he says when he does a version of Kristofferson’s “Sunday Morning Coming Down” and the first song he wrote and recorded “Hey Porter.”Â
Gospel tracks include “Life’s Railway To Heaven,” “A Wonderful Time Up There,” What Is Man,” and “A Beautiful Life.” This is the first ever live performance of “What Is Man” says Johnny, and “A Beautiful Life” is the closer of a set of four songs about the South that link together in a storyteller fashion that only Cash could do.  (And something he in fact used to do on his television show years earlier.)  The opener on the disc is “Ring of Fire,” and he doesn’t announce, “Hi, I’m Johnny Cash,” until the 4th song in the set, “Folsom Prison Blues.” I always thought he did that before starting a set, but whatever, it’s still there.  Â
Though June Carter Cash is a bit corny, when she rejoins Johnny at the end of the set for “Jackson” and “The Wreck of Old ’97,” she’s still endearing. I’m sure it was nice to have your true love with you on stage at times and it’s sweet to hear Johnny say, half off the mic, “I’ll see you in a few minutes June,” as she exits for the band to do one last song, “I Walk the Line.”Â
This release is billed as The Great Lost Performance, but I’m not sure I’d go that far. It is a rollicking good time but lacks the piss and vinegar of the jailhouse live albums mentioned earlier and was recorded four years before the release of American Recordings which revived his career and brought him a slew of younger fans. Still, for the die-hard fan, or casual listener, there’s plenty of fun to be had, and if you didn’t see Cash anywhere in the late 80’s or early 90’s this would probably be a good representation of what his live performances were like.
About the author: Producer, Engineer, Musician and all around music enthusiast.