Silver

by Johnny Cash

Overview

Silver was a below-average Cash outing, due both to the routine material and the mixed attempt to update his sound with more modern production techniques. Brian Ahern, who produced Emmylou Harris, was at the helm of a set that often put a more contemporary sheen on the sound with filters and phase shifters. Plenty of session help was on hand as well, sometimes on trumpet and French horn, and it's usually not a great sign when the list of players on some tracks runs to more than a dozen. The idea was probably to make Cash sound less old-fashioned; the ironic result was to make it sound more dated and flat than most of the rest of his catalog, without comparing to his better recordings in the quality of the content. Still, erratic production can't smother Cash's strengths, and the record's not terrible, just uninspired. Some of the better songs include his reading of Tom T. Hall's "The L&N Don't Stop Here Anymore," a cover of "(Ghost) Riders in the Sky" (a song that's hard to ruin) with contributions from Ricky Skaggs, Wayne Jackson, and the Carter Family, and veteran cohort Jack Clement's memorably titled "West Canterbury Subdivision Blues." George Jones adds harmony vocals to "I'll Say It's True." [The 2002 CD reissue on Columbia/Legacy adds two previously unreleased duets with Jones on remakes of the late-'50s Cash recordings "I Still Miss Someone" and "I Got Stripes."] ~ Richie Unterberger

Product Details

Release Date:	08/27/2002
Label:	Legacy / Columbia/Legacy
UPC:	0696998679122
Rank:	70230

Tracks

1. The L & N Don't Stop Here Anymore
2. Lonesome to the Bone
3. Bull Rider
4. I'll Say It's True
5. (Ghost) Riders in the Sky
6. Cocaine Blues
7. Muddy Waters
8. West Canterbury Subdivision Blues
9. Lately I Been Leanin' Toward the Blues
10. I'm Gonna Sit on the Porch and Pick on My Old Guitar
11. I Still Miss Someone
12. I Got Stripes

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Johnny Cash   Primary Artist,Vocals
George Jones   Primary Artist,Guest Artist,Vocals
Ricky Skaggs   Guest Artist,Fiddle
The Carter Family   Guest Artist,Vocals
Marshall Grant   Bass
Earl Ball   Piano
Charles Cochran   Piano
W.S. Holland   Drums
Alisa Jones   Hammer Dulcimer
Bobby Wooten   Guitar (Electric)
Bob Johnson   Mandocello
Jo-El Sonnier   Harmonica,Concertina
Jack Routh   Vocals,Guitar (Acoustic),Guitar (Electric)
Jack Clement   Guitar (Acoustic)
Jack Hale   Trumpet
Jerry Hensley   Guitar (Acoustic),Guitar (Electric)
Bob Lewin   Trumpet
Mark Morris   Percussion
Brian Ahern   Bass,Percussion,6-String Bass,Guitar (Acoustic)

Technical Credits

T.J. "Red" Arnall   Composer
Johnny Cash   Composer
Phil Rosenthal   Composer
Charlie Williams   Composer
Stan Jones   Composer
Billy Joe Shaver   Composer
Jack Clement   Composer
Jean Ritchie   Composer
Rodney Crowell   Composer
Linda Laurie   Composer
Roy Cash   Composer