Tag Archives: Nick Cave

Music mavens have only one request from Santa: The massive “Unearthed”, a Johnny Cash canon

In the last decade of a career that spanned half a century, Johnny Cash capped off his musical legend with a breathtaking final act, recording a series of raw, stripped-down albums with producer Rick Rubin. Those albums reestablished Cash as a vital artist, while adding a remarkable closing chapter to his incredible body of work.

In November 2003, two months after Cash’s passing, Rubin’s label American Recordings released Unearthed, an expansive box set of material, most of it previously unreleased, recorded during the artist’s graceful twilight years. The set was originally planned to celebrate Cash and Rubin’s decade of recording together, and the final mixes had been sent to Cash, but he passed away before receiving them. The recordings, which run the stylistic gamut from stark balladry to punchy rockabilly to heartfelt gospel to classic covers, offer a stunning encapsulation of Cash’s wide-ranging musical vision, and provide a fitting epitaph for his iconic career.

To celebrate the Man in Black’s enduring and influential legacy, American Recordings and UMe have reconfigured this monolithic collection for its first-ever vinyl release, spreading Unearthed’s 79 songs over nine high-quality 180-gram vinyl LPs while expanding the original box’s distinctive packaging for the long-playing format.

Available November 3, the Unearthed vinyl box features a pair of cloth-bound books housed in an LP-sized black cloth slipcase. One book holds the nine LPs, while the other is a gorgeous 60-page coffee table book that incorporates Sylvie Simmons’ extensive liner notes, drawn from five days of interviews at Cash’s home in Tennessee, as well as Cash and Rubin’s comments on every song on the set, plus a copious selection of photographs from the recording sessions, including some of the last photos ever taken of Cash. Preorder Unearthed now: https://UMe.lnk.to/JohnnyCashUnearthed

Unearthed is divided into five thematic sections. Who’s Gonna Cry focuses on acoustic solo recordings, and finds Cash revisiting several classic songs from his legendary catalog. Trouble In Mind is oriented towards electric performances, and includes guest appearances by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Carl Perkins and members of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, as well as Cash’s wife and longtime duet partner June Carter Cash. Redemption Songs is largely acoustic, and features duets with Joe Strummer, Fiona Apple, Nick Cave and Glen Campbell. My Mother’s Hymn Book demonstrates Cash’s lifelong affinity for gospel music, encompassing 15 time-honored gospel standards. Best of Cash On American offers a memorable 15-song selection of highlights from Cash’s first four albums with Rubin.

Indeed, in the years since Cash’s passing, the artist’s legend has grown and his music has gained in power.  It’s hard to think of a more appropriate and impressive sendoff for this one-of-a-kind American original than the massive musical statement that is Unearthed.

“Leonard Cohen: I’m Your Man” celebrates the legacy of the singer and cultural icon

Celebrate singer-songwriter, poet and cultural icon Leonard Cohen, when the fascinating and critically acclaimed documentary, Leonard Cohen: I’m Your Man, arrives for the first time on Blu-ray (plus Digital HD) from Lionsgate. The 2015 film, narrated by Cohen himself, is based on Came So Far for Beauty, the January 2005 tribute that was held at the Sydney Opera House.

The documentary features performances of Cohen songs by such luminary artists as U2, Rufus Wainwright, Nick Cave, Jarvis Cocker, Antony, Martha Wainwright and Beth Orton. Bonus: Cohen’s former back-up singers Perla Batalla and Julie Christensen appear as special guests. Yet another bonus: The end of the film includes a performance by Leonard Cohen and U2, which was not recorded live, but filmed specifically for the film at Manhattan’s Slipper Room in May 2005. Think of this as a free concert, at which you can sit thisclose.

What did you say? You want more bonuses? The Blu-ray include exclusive performances not seen in the theatrical release: Tunes by Martha Wainwright,  Batalla, The Handsome Family and Teddy Thompson. There’s also a conversation with Cohen and audio commentary with director Lian Lunson. And what timing: Nab the flick on February 7, just before the 2017 Grammys are handed out. Music to our ears . . . and eyes! Want even more? A soundtrack CD is available from Verve.

Claire Danes continues to prove she is a work of art

We always knew Claire Danes was a work of art. Now she paints broader strokes by narrating ART 21: Art in the Twenty-First Century: Season 8, coming out on DVD on October 18. Get inspired by today’s most compelling artists and discover the stories, ideas and methods behind their work in the ART21 documentary series Art in the Twenty-First Century. This Peabody Award-winning series takes viewers behind the scenes into artists’ studios, homes, and communities to provide intimate access to their lives, creative processes and sources of inspiration.

Season 8 reveals how artists today simultaneously draw inspiration from and influence their immediate surroundings, while engaging far-flung communities from all over the world—Amsterdam, Aspen, Basel, Bloomfield Hills, Bregenz, Brussels, Chiapas, Cuernavaca, Denver, Detroit, Istanbul, La Porte, Lisbon, London, Milan, New York City, Okanagan, Pasadena, Philadelphia, Puebla, San Francisco, Sinaloa, and Toronto. Through their work, artists participate in global conversations about the pressing issues of our time: from terrorism to environmental crises to the struggle for civil rights.

Artists and cities featured on the DVD are listed below.

Chicago: Nick Cave, Theaster Gates, Barbara Kasten, Chris Ware

Los Angeles: Edgar Arceneaux, Liz Larner, Tala Madani, Diana Thater

Mexico City: Natalia Almada, Minerva Cuevas, Damián Ortega, Pedro Reyes

Vancouver: Stan Douglas, Brian Jungen, Liz Magor, Jeff Wall