Hymns, covers, and hits were the bread and butter of Johnny Cash’s early years. The veteran songwriter would come into his own just a few years later as he and his peers began to lay the groundwork for what an album could, and crucially should, be. Hymns by Johnny Cash is hardly going to rekindle a fiery interest in the Man in Black. It does, however, highlight one of those crucial fundamentals Cash has toyed with for so long. Irrespective of your thoughts on religion and the messages found in The Bible, there’s a real stench across Hymns by Johnny Cash. He sings with the same conviction as The Righteous Gemstones when they walk onto their church arena stage. Fundamentally speaking, the “it was Jesus,” chants which act as a backdrop to the recognisable guitar playing of Cash is the only difference between gospel music and classic Cash material. A fine line to walk, one which features a great bulk of sappy lyricisms.
Angels, loaves, and everything in between. Cash performs the hit list of gospel music and it frankly doesn’t suit him. He has a knack for storytelling and such a tremendous, unique instrumental style. It was bound to feature on one or two gospel albums, but it never feels like the right match. Cash’s religious passion makes no difference here, nor does the feelings of a listener looking in on religion. The fact is, these are some lazily put-together songs with very little for Cash to do. Are All the Children In is as sappy as it gets on the A-side, a strange spoken-word experience. Religious experience is at least a unifying concept that keeps the album flowing, it’s the writing itself that suffers most. Cash is no miracle worker, unlike the big man upstairs who features across these songs, and he cannot muster much from this material. Hardly brilliant, but never terrible.
Songs like The Old Account highlight the separate qualities of gospel music and Cash’s unique instrumental styling. Why the two never worked is clear. Cash is a strong writer, and would eclipse the traditional and covers which are frequented on this album. Just a handful of originals and they’re without a doubt the best of Hymns by Johnny Cash. Rather than adapt these traditionals closer to his sound, Cash sounds as though he’s willing to give over some ground to the fundamentals of gospel. Swing Low, Sweet Chariot, even with Cash arranging the tempo and instrumentals, sounds as though it’s in service of the genre, not the singer. Catchy, sure, but there’s a real dissonance between Cash and the gospel outline. Snow in His Hair has a wonderful sentiment to it but it’s a story of that father and son bond Cash would outline better in his own words, away from the gospel push.
There is much to enjoy about the tone Cash takes on these songs but, ultimately, these are songs he could write up better without a gospel focus. It’s in the inference, rather than what is said, that Cash works best. I Call Him and These Things Shall Pass are gospel classics, in that they’re filled with a flowery language and love of God that undermines the purpose of the song. Cash would write songs of faith better than this, and even his covers of other artists who had no connection to gospel get to grips with faith better than Hymns by Johnny Cash. The Bonnie “Prince” Billy track Cash covered decades after this release, I See a Darkness, has a better understanding for Cash on what God can do and has done than anything featured here. Interpretation is everything, and the songs featured on Hymns by Johnny Cash are plodding religious stock irrespective of what Cash can add.
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