Personal File, in my mind, is a historical document. It illuminates several aspects of Cash’s personality and is a must have set for die-hard fans as well as fans of music history.The two-disc set contains 49 tracks recorded from 1973 -1982 and feature Cash alone with his guitar, which is what brought him much acclaim with his later American Recordings. And this to me is the first aspect of his personality to show through. In 1973, Cash had a few albums out (including the Gospel Road soundtrack and Any Old Wind That Blows) and he had produced the Gospel Road film. The early- to mid-70’s was a second wave of popularity for Cash and he parlayed that into a platform for both his Christian outreach and his political interests, including speaking out on prison reform. It was during all of this that he retreated to his studio and recorded many of these songs, songs from his youth and songs from artists of which he was a fan. He then put the tape reels into boxes, which he marked Personal File, and stored them away. Twenty-one years later, Cash sat in a studio with producer Rick Rubin and did the exact same thing – only this time the result was released to much critical praise, a Grammy and the discovering of Cash by a new generation. Rubin deserves the respect for signing Cash after he had been released from Columbia and for producing American Recordings. It is often lauded on him the praise for taking Cash back to basics, but Personal File tells me that it might not have been completely Rubin’s idea. That Cash, who at times in his life was not known for his humility, didn’t balk at the claim shows how much he respected Rubin and his friendship.The songs on Personal File are divided into two parts: disc one contains songs on various themes which Cash, or artists whom he admired, wrote. Many of these songs feature spoken introductions in which Cash describes how he came to write them (such as “Tiger Whitehead” from his Children’s album which was recently released on CD for the first time), or more often where and when he learned many of the older songs he sings. Many will write this off as sentimentalism, but Cash was actually very interested in the history of music. In The Man Called Cash, Steve Turner tells the story of Cash quizzing people on the originals of songs, such as whether they were of English or Celtic descent, for example. He perhaps put these recollections on tape as a reminder – to himself or others – where these songs came from and their importance to the development of Cash as an artist.The second disc is made up of mainly Gospel songs, including old standards, songs written by Cash and songs written by others such as the Louvin Brothers. When Cash became a Christian he, like many new converts, hungered for more knowledge and became something of a Bible scholar throughout his life. It is easy to see how much these songs meant to him. Some of the songs were released in other forms, such as “Matthew 24 (Is Knocking at the Door)”, also from 1973 and included on the Johnny Cash and His Woman album. Other songs such as “One of These Days I’m Gonna Sit Down and Talk to Paul” are released here for the first time. You can hear the searching in songs like the enigmatic, uncredited “If Jesus Ever Loved a Woman”. Although Cash released other sets of Gospel songs and hymns, none are as intimate as these.Intimacy is really what this set boils down to. It hear these songs with just Cash’s voice, which was in excellent form, and guitar accompaniment makes you feel as if you were there, that you are sitting directly in front of him as he recounts various points in his life. Even though many compilations and sets have been, and probably will continue to be, released since his death, Personal File is a truly deserving release. Credit is to be given to John Carter Cash for allowing such a release to be shared with the rest of us.
Related posts: