Rating:
Genre:
Country
Release Date: 09/17/2002
Few artists deserve tribute more than
Johnny Cash, and none pose a greater challenge to those who would offer their homage. The problem is that his sound has been pounded so deep into America's soul that it's almost impossible to play his music without lapsing into imitation -- and those who try to avoid that trap can sound a little misguided. Examples of both approaches abound throughout
Dressed in Black, though even the bravest performers generally sing to a tack bass rhythm accompanied by those menacing low guitar licks that
Cash patented long ago. Some do a pretty good job of evoking
Cash, especially
James Intveld, whose rendition of
"Folsom Prison Blues" comes darn close to the original, and
Chuck Mead on
"There You Go." Damon Bramblett also has
Cash's phrasing down; the fact that his voice is pitched about an octave higher, along with his
Maybelle Carter style on guitar, makes
"I'm Gonna Sit on the Porch and Pick On My Old Guitar" a special treat. Then there's
Billy Burnette, whose playing comes closest to the essence of
Cash but whose vocals completely miss the squint-eyed macho quality that
"Ring of Fire" requires. Rarest of all are those artists who have found their own voice yet use this format to acknowledge their forebears; none does this more persuasively than
Dale Watson, who turns
"I Walk the Line" into something both powerful and original -- the ultimate tribute that anyone can pay to the real icons in this business.
~Robert L. Doerschuk, All Music Guide
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