Johnny Cash - American II: Unchained LP vinyl record

The first four songs on Unchained come from the songbooks of Beck, Don Gibson, Soundgarden, and Jimmie Rodgers. What might look like absurdly unsupportable eclecticism in other artists, of course, is pretty much standard stuff for Cash. Unchained is hardly standard, though; it's more like the best album he's made since his 1984 departure from Columbia Records. Not only is this a stack of songs perfectly and idiosyncratically suited to the man, they're given door-rattling backing treatment by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, who prove as fitting for Cash's music as his own Tennessee Two was back in the day. --Rickey Wright Two years on from his triumphant comeback album, American Recordings, 1996's Unchained took the blueprint of it's predecessor and added Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers to the mix along with Marty Stuart, Lindsay Buckingham, Flea and many others. The results were just as fantastic, adding a different dimension and fullness to the overall sound, but maintaining the mood and atmosphere that made American Recordings such a treasure. Songs written by Petty, Chris Cornell and Beck rub shoulders with a handful of Johnny originals.

Tracklist:
1.    "Rowboat" (Beck cover)    Beck    3:44
2.    "Sea of Heartbreak" (Don Gibson cover)    Paul Hampton, Hal David    2:42
3.    "Rusty Cage" (Soundgarden cover)    Chris Cornell    2:49
4.    "The One Rose (That's Left in My Heart)" (Jimmie Rodgers cover)    Del Lyon, Lani McIntire    2:26
5.    "Country Boy"    Johnny Cash    2:31
6.    "Memories Are Made of This" (Dean Martin cover)    Richard Dehr, Terry Gilkyson, Frank Miller    2:19
7.    "Spiritual" (Spain cover)    Josh Haden    5:06
8.    "The Kneeling Drunkard's Plea" (The Carter Sisters cover)    Maybelle Carter, Anita Carter, Helen Carter, June Carter Cash    2:32
9.    "Southern Accents" (Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers cover)    Tom Petty    4:41
10.    "Mean Eyed Cat"    Cash    2:33
11.    "Meet Me in Heaven"    Cash    3:21
12.    "I Never Picked Cotton" (Roy Clark cover)    Bobby George, Charles Williams    2:39
13.    "Unchained" (Jude Johnstone cover)    Jude Johnstone    2:51
14.    "I've Been Everywhere" (Lucky Starr cover)    Geoff Mack    3:16