If vague legend is to be believed, Now, There Was a Song! took Johnny Cash just five hours to record. True or not, it doesn’t, honestly, affect the record and how it sounds. But if it did turn out to be half a day’s work, then more credit to Cash, who is certainly an artist who could turnaround songs with such speed. It was also a sign of the times, those early days of assembling albums, where a week in the studio seemed excessive. Cash continued this trend of writing and releasing with such rapid pace that the early years of his discography, and again in the 1980s when the charts dimmed the lights on his star power, hold some deep cut classics. Songs which, had they been exposed to a wider audience at the time or performed that little bit more, would be classics. Preceding album Songs of Our Soil has that, with some exceptional tracks found in that consistent, baritone style. Having such a grasp on his sound so soon into his career is crucial, it means early works like Now, There Was a Song! are of a similar quality to his greatest releases.
Twelve short, solid songs are what Cash offers here, as he would offer on releases to precede and follow this. It’s the style of the times and it works brilliantly. A sub-half-hour of material with that classic Cash style, both instrumentally and vocally. This is a little different, though, with winding, piano-led country tracks to be found on Now, There Was a Song!, it’s a real game changer for Cash. It doesn’t soften that vocal style or the plucked guitar range, those still feature on Seasons of My Heart for instance, though it’s backed by some bold choices. Considering this was, allegedly, thrown together in a day, it seems there’d be little room for experimentation. Hardly so, and Cash sticks with the rambler fundamentals of his trail song treats. For the passing Cash listener, these instrumental additions will mark a sweet break.
A bit of fiddle here, a slap of electric guitar there, it’s nice to hear how open Cash was to these instrumental variations, and that curiosity is rewarded. I Feel Better All Over is short, sweet, standard stylings of the genre but with that little fiddle addition, the swing of the song is more notable. It stands out. Romanticised songs without the faith of Hymns by Johnny Cash. Strip away the religious aspects of that middle-of-the-road album and allow Cash to flourish as a vocalist. Entirely made up of covers, Now, There Was a Song! has a delightful lightness to it. He never lost that flourish for cover work, and the likes of Marty Robbins’ I Couldn’t Keep from Crying and Hank Williams’ I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry are in safe hands here. Familiar instrumental tones can be found on Transfusion Blues, a T.J Arnall cover which would be the catalyst for 25 Minutes to Go and Cocaine Blues.
This is golden material for those interested in hearing how Cash developed his very best works. You can hear the pieces falling into place. Lighter work can be found across the rest of Now, There Was a Song!, but it suits Cash’s voice well. If we’re to believe this album was rattled out in just a few hours, it makes sense to feature just a collection of covers. Cash had a phenomenal command of the trail song fundamentals, and he makes an easy-going piece of work here. It’s refreshing to hear that looser feel to these songs, competent and capable covers, as to be expected by Cash. Don’t be fooled by that softer touch, these are formidable interpretations which rely, a little too much, it must be said, on the unique vocal styling Cash provides throughout his discography.
