USM
are proud to present the Johnny Cash American Recordings LP boxed set, a classic
black box housing all studio albums released between 1994 and 2010 on 180gm
vinyl.

American Recordings is the 81st album by the country singer Johnny
Cash after he was approached by producer Rick Rubin and offered a contract with
Rubin’s American Recordings label, better known for rap and heavy metal than for
country music. Under Rubin’s supervision, he recorded the album in his living
room, accompanied only by his guitar.  His successful collaboration with Rick
Rubin was in part due to Rubin seeking a minimalist sound for his songs. The
album was hailed by critics and many declared it to be Cash’s finest album since
the late 1960s, while his versions of songs by more modern artists such as Tom
Waits and Glenn Danzig helped to bring him a new audience.

American
Recordings received a Grammy for Best Contemporary Folk Album of the Year at the
1994 Grammy Awards.  In 2003, the album was ranked number 364 on Rolling Stone
magazine’s list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. Unchained is the second
album in Johnny Cash’s American Recording series and contains songs by Tom Petty
(“Southern Accents”), Soundgarden (“Rusty Cage”) and Beck (“Rowboat”). Unchained
received a Grammy for Best Country Album and Cash was nominated for Best Male
Country Vocal Performance for his version of “Rusty Cage”. American III:
Solitary Man was notable for being Cash’s highest charting solo studio LP since
his 1976 One Piece at a Time. Between Unchained and Solitary Man, Cash’s health
declined due to various ailments, and he was even hospitalised for
pneumonia.

American IV: The Man Comes Around is the fourth album in the
American series by Johnny Cash and his 87th overall, released in 2002.  This is
the last album released before his death in 2003.  The majority of songs are
covers which Cash performs in his own sparse style, with help from producer Rick
Rubin. For the song “Personal Jesus”, Rubin asked then-Red Hot Chili Peppers
guitarist John Frusciante to re-work an acoustic version, which featured a
simple acoustic riff that stripped down the song to a blues
style.

American V: A Hundred Highways is the 93rd overall album and a
posthumous title by Johnny Cash released on July 4, 2006.  The liner notes of
“Unearthed”, a box set composed of outtakes from the first four entries into the
series, claim “around 50” songs were recorded during the American V sessions
before Cash’s death on September 12, 2003.  However, only two albums worth of
material were released, including American VI: Ain’t No Grave, which was
released in February 2010