The Man In Black Remembered, Punk Rock Style

All Aboard: A Tribute to Johnny Cash - Various Artists (Anchorlessrecords.com)

Anchorless Records will donate all the profits of this release to The Syrentha Savio Endowment, a non-profit organization that provides financial assistance to underprivileged women who cannot afford the expense of fighting breast cancer.

About a year ago fellow Jersey Beater Tim and I caught a Bouncing Souls show at Asbury Lanes ( I hear they’re in Asbury preparing their new album, which they’re going to release one song a month starting January ‘09). After finishing an intensely fun show, one of their encores was a Johnny Cash cover “Ring of Fire,” which left most of us gap-mouthed. They turned Johnny’s authentic rockabilly number into an acoustic tale of sorrow, and personal misfortune.

On All Aboard: A Tribute to Johnny Cash, The Souls lead off the 16 song disc with “Man in Black.” Above a jangely guitar riff, lead singer Greg, sounding like a almost evangelical David Byrne explaining, “Well you wonder why I always dress in black/ Why you never see bright colors on by back/ And why does my appearance seem to have a somber tone/ Well, there’s a reason for the things I have on/ I wear the black for the poor and beaten down/ Living in the hopeless, hungry side of town…” If ever there were a punk rock credo, and a band to deliver it, this would be the perfect match. Tim and I interviewed the Souls at this years Warped Tour and you couldn’t find a more down to earth, focused band that embraced these words whole-heartedly.- Americana Punk.

Chuck Ragan takes on “Wreck of the Old ’97” with ragged, arrested rage. An acoustic guitar and fiery fiddle accent Chuck’s heart-felt vocals, which rivals the original for old-school story telling reminiscent of Woody Guthrie or Pete Seeger.

The Gaslight Anthems’ cover of “God’s Gonna Cut You Down” (Johnny’s last single before his death a few years ago), The Loved Ones’ “Cocaine Blues,” and “Give My Love to Rose” by Onguard, featuring Jason Shevchuk of Kid Dynamite, create a three-song groove that connects them, intertwining inspiration, desperation, God and the Devil, all of which John struggled with most of his life. And that’s part of what made Johnny Cash and his music so inspiring. He could bare his soul, fleshing out the good, the bad, and the ugly. Sometimes backing slowly out of Hell, other times running gloriously into the arms of God. Addiction and redemption, as genuine as you can get.

The Dresden Dolls, known for their eccentric cabaret approach, create an eerie, simplistic, vibe on “Ballad of a Teenage Queen” that draws your attention, taking you further inside Johnny’s original. Same for Chon Travis on “Folsom Prison Blues,” only he plays it more close to the vest, with acoustic guitar, and his powerful, expressive vocals.

MXPX (“Hey Porter”), The Flatlanders (“Cry, Cry,Cry”), The Sainte Catherines (“There You Go”), and Russ Rankin from Good Riddance (“I Walked the Line“), match the heart-wrenching qualities of these life-stories with enthaustic vigor. What made Johnny Cash famous, and at times infamous is: John could pack a song with magical, concentrated intimacy that is timeless.

Nothing on All Aboard: A tribute to Johnny Cash is half-done or filler. The album is basically in your face with covers of both obvious, and obscure hits. Thank God no one covered A Boy Named Sue!”

- Phil Rainone