Loading Coal/Slow Rider/Lumberjack/Dorraine Of Ponchartrain/Going To Memphis/When Papa Played The Dobro/Boss Jack/Old Doc Brown
Ride This Train may not be to everyone’s taste as it comprises a series of tracks, each of which opens with a monologue by Johnny Cash, who then portrays the character in the song.
“I didn't like this at first. After repeated listening, I'm a true believer. This is a concept album in the truest sense of the word. Between tracks you hear Johnny talking about America, along with the sounds of a steam locomotive. It's as though Johnny is travelling cross country and telling stories of various Americans including slaves, slave-owners, outlaws, Cajuns, lumberjacks, miners etc.”
"All the songs tell a different tale, but they all fit together somehow. The songs are clear and Cash's voice sets far up front of the instruments.”
“The record contains eight tracks that give examples of the different people that make up our great land. It uses the train as transport, complete with sound effects, to take the listener on a tour of America.”
“The linking stories feel incredibly corny, and they do disrupt the flow of the album, but the actual musical performances are so good that I'm inclined to forgive Cash the more self indulgent aspects of the album.”
“To me this album stands alone on a par by itself. Story telling is a lost art and when it is done as masterfully as here, you are at a loss if you don't get to hear it. I recommend this to anyone who likes story telling.”
“I'm a huge Johnny Cash fan, but this album sucked and I had to throw it away. I've never been a fan of Johnny’s spoken word, and would rather he put his ballads to music.”
“It's got some cool moments, but is mostly an oddity. Cash's first person narration of different characters and the same repeating train sounds are more jarring than evocative.”
No comments:
Post a Comment