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Submit your own review-- click here! Average Reviewer Rating:
Number of Dressed In Black: A Tribute To Johnny Cash (2002) Reviews: 2
Reviewer: Anonymous, July 31, 2003 I LOVE TRADITIONAL COUNTRY MUSIC AND ARTISTS.THE ALBUM HELPED BE APPRECIATE THE NEW GENERATION OF ROCKABLLY AND COUNTRY ARTIST THAT MY 22 YEAR OLD SON LISTENS TO. I LIKETHE ALBUM WAS VERY GOOD.
Reviewer: John Fitzgerald, Human resources staff database assistant January 16, 2003 There has been much criticism of this platter in comparison to "Kindred Spirits A Tribute
to the Music of Johnny Cash" (released about the same time as each other) as many felt as
though the "Kindred spirits..." release was superior due mainly to the fact that most of the
artists on that CD rearranged many of Cash's songs for their own tributes. However,
and I must confess that I have not heard the "Kindred spirits..." release as of this date but I
am personally torn on this issue as in some cases it can bring something new and
refreshing to a song (such as Gary Moore's version of Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac tune
"Looking for somebody" on his "Blues for Greeny" album for instance, as although the
Mac version has it's positive purist points, it did help hearing Moore cut loose on six
string on such an effort whereas FM used NO guitar on the original), but to me it can
defeat the purpose of a tribute effort as by changing an arrangement, it is almost like
saying the "great song" by the great one isn't good enough the way it was and should be
changed" for the tribute cover. So, by sticking close to what the artist in question has
done, is (or should be) the covering artist's way of saying "listen to how great the original
artists music was". "Dressed in black..." does stick to Cash's arrangements more or less. Of
most importance to us here, Billy's "Ring of fire" is heavier on that signature acoustic
rhythm guitar sound on most Cash tunes than it is on many others here but it does tend to
sound quite repetitive after a few tunes on this CD in general. After hearing Rodney
Crowell's "Ballad of a teenage queen", one can't help but think of it thematically sounding
like Billy's own "Whatcha gonna do when the sun goes down" from his "Gimmie you"
album, perhaps Burnette should have done this number instead though "Ring of fire" will
grow on you for sure (if you aren't familiar with it already). Some of the old gold such as
"Wreck of the old '97" (here done by Hank III) you feel may have been better conquered
if done by an older artist but once that middle breakneck part kicks in, man it sure cooks!
Robbie Fulks' "Cry, cry, cry" is a howling take while Raul Malo's "I guess things happen
that way" is a mid tempo chimer. Chuck Mead's "There you go" shuffles along nicely and
there's a nice pairing of Bruce Robison and Kelly Willis on "Pack up your sorrows" but
Rev. Horton Heat's "Get rhythm" doesn't work as well as some of these others. Kenny
Vaughan's "Train of love" is pretty fresh and Redd Volkaert handles those tongue
twisting vocals on the chorus of "Luther played the boogie" very well! However, after
hearing Rosie Flores' brilliant album "Speed of sound" her take on "Big river" here sounds
rather bland. It sure would've been interesting to see what it would have sounded like had
Rick Vito produced this cut! Ups and downs abound on the rest. James Intveld's "Folsom
prison blues" is straightforward enough but Eddie Angel's "Straight A's in love" is
uninspired sounding. Earl Poole Ball's "I still miss someone" is fresh as it has a slight
ragtime feel to it (and Stevie Nicks fans will recognize this song from her "The other side
of the mirror" album though you will mainly only really recognize the lyrics on the
choruses) but as Johnny's song of all songs, "I walk the line" is handled here by Dale
Watson, it sounds to me like a parody however unintentional it might be. There are a few
songs that don't use that Cash "chung-ti-ti-chung" rhythm (that work well because of (the
lack of) it) such as Damon Bramblett's "I'm gonna sit on the porch and pick my old
guitar" which although may be the same tempo as those that do have that rhythm, it is
only accompanied (nicely) by acoustic guitar and a stand up bass sound and the closing
"Flesh & blood" by Chris Knight (no, not Peter Brady) which has a slight Springsteen feel
because of the acoustic guitar sound that permeates the song though it is joined by fiddle
as well but it's not intrusive. "Jackson" is one of the faster songs on this disc sung well by
Mandy Barnett and it is a nice pairing, but why is it with Chuck Mead (who appears on
this record... again)? It may be due to the assumption that the "Kindred spirits..." CD had a
much larger budget which is another angle of this comparison those comparing critics love
to shove in the face of those who have put together "Dressed in black..." and yes, "Dressed
in black..." does have it's highs and lows (like many releases) but I would like to say that I
think it is not as bad as some reviewers in certain popular magazines have stated, but
that's just my humble opinion. I'll have to go with my three star rating here due to the sameness of
that Cash rhythm draped all over this album as it forces this album to be one in the
category that is good for song listens but not many complete album listens, hence the
reason for the rating, but it's a high three stars.
