Search - Jerry Lee Lewis :: Sunday Down South / Sing Hank Williams

The Gospel According to Sun Records

Mark Adams | Redwood Estates, CA United States | 12/05/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Johnny Cash wanted to be a gospel singer, but Sam Philips told him there wasn't a market for gospel. Ultimately, Cash left Sun Records for Columbia, which allowed him to record religious music, but Cash did at least record a few gospel songs on the Sun label--all of which are included on this set.The gospel Sun recordings are "Belshazah," one of the earliest songs from Cash's pen, and "I Was There When It Happened," a cover version. The other two "gospel" songs aren't really religious at all, though they contain the words, "Lord," "God," etc., as in "If the Good Lord's Willing," which is really a love song. So Sunday Down South is a bit of a stretch as far as gospel songs go, in terms of Cash's output.Jerry Lee Lewis redeems the album, particularly "When the Saints Go Marching In" and "Will the Circle be Unbroken." The piano is such a righteous instrument. He recorded a few more gospel tunes than did Cash.It should be noted that Cash and Lewis didn't collaborate for this album; Philips simply brought these songs together to sell a few albums. (Lewis did play piano on a few Cash recordings, though I'm not sure he does on any of these songs.)The second half of the disc contains other Sun releases: Cash and Lewis' covers of Hank Williams, which were released as singles, EP's and LP's in their day. These are really good.One last note: the CD version contains piano overdubs (not by Lewis) on some of Cash's songs. The overdubs are particularly annoying and were added long after Cash left Sun Records. Some cassette and vinyl versions do not include the overdubs, but if you want these recordings as they were originally released--not as they were originally recorded--this disc is for you. Minus one star for the overdubs, though."