Description
A Believer Sings the Truth is a double disc gospel album by the American singer and songwriter Johnny Cash, released in the US on Cachet Records in 1979. (Re-issued and expanded in 2012 through the Bootleg Series, featuring 51 tracks.)
It is no secret to the majority of us that Johnny Cash is a Christian. His film on the life of Jesus, The Gospel Road, plus his continued participation in events such as Billy Graham’s crusades and last month’s Youth For Christ telethon all witness to Cash’s committment to God. For the most part however, his recording career has been confined to subject matter generally associated with secular country music. That is, until now.
Despite the fact that ‘A Believer Sings The Truth’ wasn’t picked up by Columbia, this two-record set is nevertheless available in general release (not just in Christian bookstores) thereby keeping its audience wide and its potential impact great. ‘Believer…’ is a 20-song collection of gospel music old and new in a superbly arranged and recorded album produced by Jack Clement and Jack Routh. It features several members of the Carter-Cash Family on vocals plus Nashville’s finest studio musicians. Some of the old standards (such as «Gospel Boogie» and «That’s Enough») have been revitalized with arrangements that hearken back to some of Johnny’s earliest sessions for Sun Records in Memphis. Otherwise there are original songs by Cash, some of which are sure to be covered in the coming months by other country and southern gospel artists. Though the oldies included provide the record with a lot of joy, it is these new tunes that bring the album into focus as a very personal statement from Cash concerning his relationship with Jesus Christ. «When He Comes», «I’m A Newborn Man», «You Get Yours, I’ll Get Mine» and «I’m Gonna Try To Be That Way» are all statements of faith from a man who’s learned the hard way and live to tell it. Johnny also covers Don Francisco’s «He’s Alive» so convincingly you’d swear the song was written for him.
Like most double albums, not every track is a winner. «The Greatest Cowboy Of Them All» is a strained piece of imagery that comes off a but contrived. For the most part this record is a good Christian message wrapped in great country music. Johnny declares in the liner notes that it’s his proudest work. We declare that we’re mighty proud to hear a believer sing the truth. [CCM, January 1980]
Bootleg Vol. IV: The Soul of Truth, Columbia 2012, 2CD
I must admit to being a huge Cash fan and disc one of this two CD set gives us the complete tracks from the ‘A Believer Sings The Truth’ double album recorded for the small Cachet label in 1979. I have been wondering for years why this has not been re-released before now; well here it is, the great Johnny Cash at his gospel best! The very last track «The Greatest Cowboy Of Them All» is a gem and a song he often featured on his stage shows and which he did re-record on the last album he cut for Mercury in the early ’90s. The rest of disc one is a few unreleased tracks, the concluding song «Truth» is something that lay in a can for years! Disc two encompasses some aborted album releases. The opening 12 tracks were recorded in 1975 for a gospel album that was never issued and these tracks have never seen the light of day until now. There is some good stuff here including re-recordings of a couple of his old Sun gospel tracks and the backing is fine and uncluttered. Then we move onto more familiar ground to me with lots of tracks originally meant for an album, ‘Johnny Cash Gospel Singer’, many of which originally saw the light of day courtesy of a CBS budget release and then Word Records releasing 10 tracks on a 1986 album, ‘Believe In Him’. I always enjoyed that album but felt it was a bit short though the very catchy «Another Wide River To Cross» is a gem. The remainder of the tracks on disc two are previously unreleased, including a complete recording of «Gospel Road» taken from Cash’s movie filmed in Israel. All together I find this a stunning release. The liner notes are well researched and I really do feel you get inside the soul of this American musical legend. Here’s hoping we eventually get a decent re-issue of the whole ‘Gospel Road‘ project. [Dave Brassington, Cross Rhythms, July 2012]
> Apple Music (https://music.apple.com/us/album/bootleg-vol-iv-the-soul-of-truth/511250835)
2LP tracklist:
Side One
A1. “Wings In The Morning” – 2:43
A2. “Gospel Boogie (A Wonderful Time Up There)” – 2:37
A3. “Over The Next Hill” (feat. Anita Carter) – 2:34
A4. “He’s Alive” (feat. June Carter Cash) – 4:16
A5. “I’ve Got Jesus In My Soul” – 2:40
Side Two
B1. “When He Comes” (feat. Rosanne Cash) – 3:31
B2. “I Was There When It Happened (So I Guess I Ought To Know)” (feat. Marshall Grant) – 2:14
B3. “I’m A Newborn Man” – 1:40
B4. “There Are Strange Things Happening Every Day” – 3:30
B5. “Children Go Where I Send Thee” – 2:42
Side Three
C1. “I’m Just An Old Chunk Of Coal” – 2:14
C2. “Lay Me Down In Dixie” (feat. Cindy Cash) – 1:59
C3. “Don’t Take Everybody For Your Friend” – 2:23
C4. “You’ll Get Yours I’ll Get Mine” (feat. Rodney Crowell) – 2:20
C5. “Oh Come, Angel Band” – 2:48
Side Four
D1. “This Train Is Bound For Glory” (feat. June Carter Cash) – 3:30
D2. “I’m Gonna Try To Be That Way” (feat. Jan Howard) – 2:49
D3. “What On Earth (Will You Do For Heavens Sake)” – 2:08
D4. “That’s Enough” – 2:43
D5. “The Greatest Cowboy Of Them All” (feat. Jack Routh) – 3:55
Note: Simultaneously released on cassette and 12-inch vinyl double LP by Cachet Records with the vinyl edition housed in a gatefold sleeve (front and back cover imitating leather with gold leaf engravings). (Re-issued and expanded in 2012 through the Bootleg Series, entitled Bootleg, Vol. IV: The Soul of Truth, featuring 51 tracks.)
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