Johnny Cash’s second collaboration with Rick Rubin brought Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers into the studio, recruited musicians from Fleetwood Mac and Red Hot Chili Peppers, and established the American Recordings series as one of the defining chapters of Cash’s career.
When Johnny Cash released Unchained on 5 November 1996, he made a statement about the direction of his career. Two years after the stark, largely acoustic American Recordings had reintroduced him to a new generation of listeners, Cash returned with a record that expanded the musical possibilities of his partnership with producer Rick Rubin. This time, he brought a band into the picture, with Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers providing the musical foundation.
The album, officially titled American II: Unchained, was the second instalment of what would become one of the most important late-career recording projects in popular music. It also demonstrated that Cash was not interested in simply repeating the formula that had made the first album successful.
For American Recordings, Cash had largely stood alone with his guitar, allowing the songs and the unmistakable character of his voice to carry the performances. Unchained retained that directness but introduced a fuller, more expansive sound. Petty, Mike Campbell, Benmont Tench and Howie Epstein formed the central musical partnership, with drummer Steve Ferrone also contributing to the sessions.
Marty Stuart was another significant presence, adding guitar to much of the album. The guest list extended well beyond the country and rock establishment. Fleetwood Mac’s Lindsey Buckingham and Mick Fleetwood appeared on the album, while Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea contributed to the track Spiritual.
The combination might have looked unlikely on paper, but the musicians understood the importance of serving the songs rather than turning the sessions into an exercise in star power.
The 14-track collection brought together material from different generations of American songwriting. Cash also reached into his own catalogue, revisiting Country Boy, first recorded for his 1957 debut album Johnny Cash with His Hot and Blue Guitar, and Mean Eyed Cat, originally recorded in 1960. The album included his new composition Meet Me in Heaven.
The opening track, Rowboat, was written by Beck, whose alternative rock career was then gathering international momentum. Cash’s interpretation transformed the song into something entirely his own, demonstrating how effectively Rubin could connect contemporary songwriting with Cash’s traditional musical vocabulary.
One of the album’s most striking choices was Rusty Cage, originally recorded by Seattle band Soundgarden for their 1991 album Badmotorfinger. Chris Cornell’s composition was a long way from the traditional country material associated with Cash, but his interpretation gave the song a darker, more foreboding character. It became one of the most memorable recordings of the American series.
Cash also tackled Tom Petty’s Southern Accents, bringing a different emotional perspective to a song already deeply connected to its songwriter’s Southern American identity.
Other selections included Sea of Heartbreak, The One Rose (That’s Left in My Heart), Memories Are Made of This, The Kneeling Drunkard’s Plea, I Never Picked Cotton and the title track, written by Jude Johnstone.
The closing song carried a particularly interesting Australian connection. I’ve Been Everywhere was written by Australian songwriter Geoff Mack, who originally composed it around a rapid-fire catalogue of Australian towns and cities. Lucky Starr recorded the Australian version before the song was adapted for the North American market, where Hank Snow helped establish it as a country standard.
Cash’s version gave the song another international audience and would later become familiar to television viewers through its use in advertising.
The album was recorded during 1995 and 1996, with the basic sessions taking place at Sound City Studios in Van Nuys, California. Additional recording work was undertaken at several studios in California and Nashville. Sylvia Massy engineered and mixed the record, while Rubin maintained the production approach that had given the first American album its distinctive character.
Commercially, Unchained reached number 170 on the Billboard 200 and number 26 on the US country albums chart. In Britain, it reached number four on the Official Country Albums Chart. Its most significant recognition came at the 40th Annual Grammy Awards in 1998, when it won Best Country Album.
The Grammy was further confirmation that Cash’s relationship with Rubin had become much more than an interesting career revival. The first American Recordings had won the Grammy for Best Contemporary Folk Album. Unchained demonstrated that the partnership could move into a different musical setting without losing its identity.
The collaboration continued with American III: Solitary Man in 2000 and American IV: The Man Comes Around in 2002. The latter was the final American album released during Cash’s lifetime. Following his death in September 2003, further recordings appeared on American V: A Hundred Highways in 2006 and American VI: Ain’t No Grave in 2010.
Looking back, Unchained occupies an important position in that sequence. It was the record that expanded the possibilities of the Rubin partnership, allowing Cash to move between traditional country, rock, folk and contemporary alternative material without sounding like a guest in somebody else’s musical world.
At 64, Cash was recording with musicians from several generations and embracing songs that challenged the expectations attached to his name. He was not attempting to recreate his Sun Records years or revisit the commercial country success of the 1960s. He was making new music on his own terms.
Thirty years later, Unchained remains the album that confirmed the American Recordings project had a future. What began as an unexpected return had become a sustained creative partnership, producing some of the most compelling recordings of Johnny Cash’s final decade.
Johnny Cash – Unchained (American II: Unchained) – Original Tracklisting
1. Rowboat
2. Sea of Heartbreak
3. Rusty Cage
4. The One Rose (That’s Left in My Heart)
5. Country Boy
6. Memories Are Made of This
7. Spiritual
8. The Kneeling Drunkard’s Plea
9. Southern Accents
10. Mean Eyed Cat
11. Meet Me in Heaven
12. I Never Picked Cotton
13. Unchained
14. I’ve Been Everywhere
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