THROUGH THE LENS: Rosanne Cash and Ry Cooder – The Songs of Johnny Cash

It was billed as "Cash & Cooder on Cash: The Songs of Johnny Cash." A short five-city tour, two now, the other three in this fall. I caught the first one at Ryman Auditorium, and fellow ND writer Henry Carrigan went two nights later in Chicago. (See the rest of the dates at the end of this column.) Henry graciously provided a few thoughts on the latter show for this week's column. Also included is one of his photos.

But first, my thoughts from Nashville.

The same type of majesty that surrounded The Man in Black when he would play in a single spotlight and state "Hello, I'm Johnny Cash," was present on Father's Day at the Mother Church. As with Johnny's touring show, it was a family affair that also featured Rosanne Cash's husband, John Leventhal, and Cooder's son, Joachim. The project originated from a short San Francisco residency last year in which Rosanne Cash and Ry Cooder performed Johnny's songs. It went so well that Cash invited Cooder to do some dates together. Cooder said he'd do it on one condition, that the shows be devoted to her father's songs. It took Cash some time to get her head around it before she agreed. Here's an interview where they talk about that.I have been a Cooder fan longer than I've been a Rosanne Cash fan. From his work with Captain Beefheart and the Stones to his solo work and his previous collaborations with musicians from around there world, Cooder embodies all that music has to offer. But I was a latecomer to all that Cash has to offer. It wasn't until her back-to-back albums in the '90s, Interiors and The Wheel, that I took serious note. When I did, I was a convert. Her music demonstrated an emotional maturity, an intelligence, and an integrity that I found woefully lacking in much of the alt-country scene at the time.  It was as though she was creating a new American Songbook.While each took the lead on various songs this month at the Ryman, as well as singing together, it was evident from the beginning that this was a collaboration — two of the significant artists of our time sharing the wealth of experiences and bringing out the best in each other. It was also evident that the 16 songs they played were not done in a straightforward fashion, dripping with nostalgia (see the set list in the photo gallery below.) As Cash said from the stage, "What's the sense in that?" In the process of bringing those long-honed talents to the songs, they explored their nuances and, in some cases, their deeper, hidden-in-plain-sight meanings.

Early in the evening, Cooder talked about when he first heard Johnny Cash. It was on the radio in 1957, when he was 10: "I Walk the Line" on Sun Records. But it was the single's B-side that intrigued him, "Hey Porter." Cooder said that song meant movement to him. He was stuck in a factory town, going nowhere, and here comes this song about going somewhere. He played it on the guitar that Luther Perkins used on the original recording, referring to the blond '55 Fender through the evening as "Luther." It resulted in that  growling intensity and unmistakable rumble that only Cooder can produce. It was also the first of several standing ovations. (As a side note, that song was on Cooder's first solo album, 1972's Into the Purple Valley.)

Cooder's other story of note was before "Get Rhythm" (which is on his 1987 album titled after the song). Late one night he and David Lindley were in a camping trailer after playing at a music fest in Oregon when a long white limousine appeared from the darkness. Out stepped the man himself who said, "Hello, I'm Johnny Cash. I want to thank you for doing my song." Cash got back into the limo and disappeared. Both were in awe of what had just happened. Lindley then said to Cooder, "I'm glad you did that song."But Rosanne Cash was not to be outdone. Her graciousness, her unwavering commitment to the music itself, and her ability to stand outside herself permeated the evening. Sure, she is part of a family that goes deeper than music, but she can also view it like a novelist.  Overall, Cash had a grounding effect, yet also enabled you not only to lift your eyes to the heavens, but beyond them as well. For instance, on "I Walk the Line" and "I Still Miss Someone" (done back to back) she lost herself in a sea of love, devotion, and heartbreak. Again, with an emotional, zen-like maturity that continues to be in short supply these days. From the stage Cash said the former song always reminds her of her sister, Kathy, who was at the show that night.

With all that came before, we still were not prepared for the the first encore, the singular highlight of the night —and  surely of my year — a nine-minute, slow, quiet, searing, bluesy "Ring of Fire," the song June Carter wrote about her then-illicit attraction to a married man. With a hint of "Light My Fire" at times, you felt the flames, the most-welcomed flames of desire. Flames that may burn, but also ones you cannot live without; flames that fueled a thirst you didn't know you had, flames that completed you. In lesser hands it would have been boiling; in these hands it was a continuous simmer, never quite bringing you to a release. That made it all the more rapturous.Rarely have I heard something so simultaneously draining and fulfilling. On this song Leventhal played Luther, biting into Cooder's long drawn-out lines, sometimes underscoring him, sometimes acting as a counterpoint. There is at least one YouTube video of the song from the Chicago show, and while it did not give me the chills and thrills I experienced at the Ryman, you should still check it out. While unacknowledged from the stage, John Prine, Emmylou Harris, Buddy Miller, Ricky Skaggs, John Hiatt, Sierra Hull, and Buck, Sharon and Cheryl White were also at the Ryman that night.And now let's hear from Henry about the June 21 show in Chicago ...After Rosanne Cash and Ry Cooder walked hand-in-hand onto the stage of the Chicago Theater that Tuesday night, she announced, “We’re not interested in doing carbon copies of these songs; so hang tight.” The two more than delivered on that promise as Cash imbued her father’s songs with her own soulful shades of joy, melancholy, and beauty, and Cooder playfully captured the larger-than-life persona of the man in black.Following the opening song, “Understand Your Man,” Cooder drawled, “Hello! I’m Johnny Cash.” He then told the story of encountering Cash’s music when he was in fourth grade in Santa Monica. He heard “Hey Porter,” and couldn’t get it out of his mind, looking out the window during class as he played that Luther Perkins’ tick-tock guitar riff over and over in his head. Cooder then strapped on Perkins’ ’55 Fender Esquire and plunked out those familiar opening notes as he launched into “Hey Porter,” offering his own simmering galloping take on the tune.

When introducing “Big River,” Cash recalled, “Dad was a great Southern poet; his scenes were so cinematic. 'Big River' unfolds like a John Ford movie.” In her take on the song she rolled out each scene with her own flawless ability to find the essence of the song and to capture its sprawling beauty.

One of the highlights of the Chicago show included watching two master guitarists — John Leventhal and Cooder — play around each other, never wasting notes and always knowing when to play just the right riffs or chords to support the song, and each other. Another highlight was the first song of the encore, a soaring space jazz version of “Ring of Fire.”

The remaining dates for Cash & Cooder on Cash are:

Oct. 30 – Boston at Wang Theatre
Nov. 2 – New York at Carnegie Hall
Nov. 3 – Philadelphia at the Metropolitan Opera House