Johnny Cash – Orange Blossom Special
RARITY - Sealed
Vocals, guitar - Johnny Cash
Vocals - June Carter
Guitar - Luther Perkins, Norman Blake, Ray Edenton
Bass - Marshall Grant
Drums - W.S. Holland
Piano - Bill Pursell
Harmonica - Charlie McCoy
Trumpet - Bill McElhiney, Karl Garvin
Saxophone - Boots Randolph
Written by Ervin T. Rouse (A1), Danny Dill, Marijohn Wilkin (A2), Bob Dylan (A3, A5, B1), Harlan Howard (A4), Johnny Cash (A6, B3), Tillman Franks, Johnny Horton (B2), Frederick Edward Weatherly (B4), A.P. Carter (B5), Jester Hairston (B6)
1 LP, standard sleeve
Original Master Tape : YES
Heavy Press : 180g Virgin Vinyl
Record color : black
Speed : 33RPM
Size : 12”
Stereo
Studio
Record Press : Pallas
Label : Speakers Corner
Original Label : Columbia
Recorded in August 27 – December 20, 1964
Produced by Don Law, Frank Jones
Liner Notes by Johnny Cash
Photography by Frank Bez
Originally released in February 1965
Reissued in 2014
Tracks :
Side A:
1. Orange Blossom Special
2. The Long Black Veil
3. It Ain't Me Babe
4. The Wall
5. Don't Think Twice, It's All Right
6. You Wild Colorado
Side B:
1. Mama, You've Been On My Mind
2. When It's Springtime In Alaska
3. All of God's Children Ain't Free
4. Danny Boy
5. Wildwood Flower
6. Amen
Reviews:
“Even if the best and most popular songs on this 1965 album are the ones most likely to show up on greatest-hits compilations ("The Long Black Veil, "Orange Blossom Special," "It Ain't Me Babe"), it certainly rates as one of Cash's finer non-greatest-hits releases. If nothing else, it would have historical importance for the inclusion of three Bob Dylan covers, at a time when Dylan was just starting to get heavily covered by pop musicians (and not often covered by country ones). "It Ain't Me Babe," with duet vocals by June Carter, was the most notable of them, although hearing it these days, some may be taken aback by the mariachi horns. Ditto for "Mama, You Been on My Mind" (which Dylan himself had not released when Cash recorded it), where it's startling to hear Boots Randolph's yakety sax come in for a bit. "The Long Black Veil," though, is an ageless classic, and the title cut one of his best train-oriented songs. The rest of the album is respectable and diverse, if not as outstanding, and includes the stark Cash original "You Wild Colorado," more duet vocals from Carter on the Johnny Horton cover "When It's Springtime in Alaska," a bouncy rendition of the Carter Family's "Wildwood Flower," the spiritual "Amen," and, less successfully, a sentimental reading of "Danny Boy."” AllMusic review by Richie Unterberger
Rating :
AllMusic : 4 / 5 ; Discogs : 4.5 / 5 ; Record Mirror : 4 / 5