Out Among the Stars

Out Among the Stars
Studio album by Johnny Cash
Released	March 25, 2014
Recorded	1981 and 1984
Studio	Columbia Studios, Nashville, Tennessee, United States (first session) and 1111 Sound Studios, Los Angeles, California, United States (second session), with additional recording in 2013
Genre	Country
Length	36:37
Language	English
Label	Columbia Records/Legacy Recordings
Producer	Billy Sherrill, John Carter Cash, Steve Berkowitz
Compiler	John Carter Cash
Johnny Cash chronology
Johnny Cash: The Complete Columbia Album Collection (2012) Out Among the Stars (2014)
Singles from Out Among the Stars
"She Used to Love Me a Lot" Released: March 11, 2014[1]

Out Among the Stars is a posthumous studio album from Johnny Cash, released through Legacy Recordings on March 25, 2014. The recordings come from lost 1980s sessions with famed countrypolitan producer Billy Sherrill which were shelved by Cash's record company, Columbia Records, and discovered by Cash's son John Carter Cash in 2012.^[2] Cash also recorded the 1981 album The Baron with Sherrill in an attempt to turn around his dismal album sales but the strategy did not work, leaving his record executives eager to end his affiliation with the label.^[3] The album also doubles as a posthumous release for singer June Carter Cash, Johnny Cash's wife, who is featured on vocals on two tracks, and for Minnie Pearl and Waylon Jennings, who provide vocals on two other songs.

Two of the tracks would later be rerecorded by Cash at American Recordings and would be released posthumously prior to earlier versions being included here; "I Came to Believe" on American V: A Hundred Highways and a non-duet version of "I'm Movin' On" appears in the box set Unearthed.

Release and promotion

The album was preceded by the single "She Used to Love Me a Lot" with a b-side remix of the song from Elvis Costello.^[1]

Reception

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[4]
Mojo	[5]
Rolling Stone	[6]

Prior to its release, Stereogum named it one of the most anticipated albums of 2014.^[7]

Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic wrote that Billy Sherrill "winds up simply sweetening Johnny without changing his core sound". He added that the album "is generally chipper and bright" and "one of Cash's stronger '80s albums".^[4]

Rob Tannembaum's review in Rolling Stone mentions Cash's fading star power in the early 1980s amidst the "Urban Cowboy fad". Tannembaum continued: "You might expect Out Among the Stars – a set of unreleased songs he cut with Sherrill in 1981 and 1984 – to be a contract-fulfilling sleepwalk. (Cash put out several mostly mediocre LPs in those years, but left this material unfinished; it was discovered after his death.) Instead, it proves that even at his most uninterested, Cash couldn't help but make a record with weight, moral complexity and grim humor."^[6]

Commercial performance

Released on March 25, 2014, Out Among the Stars debuted at #3 on the Billboard 200 and #1 on the Billboard Top Country Albums charts, selling 54,000 copies its first week.^[8][9] As of June 29, 2014, the album has sold 149,000 copies in the United States.^[10]

In the UK, the album debuted at No. 4 in the album chart. The album has sold 63,700 copies in the UK as of July 2014.^[11]

Further release of additional material

In a March 2014 interview promoting the release of Out Among the Stars, John Carter Cash indicated that there may be as many as "four or five" albums worth of previously unreleased material from Cash's 1990s–2000s American label recording sessions, with Cash's last producer, Rick Rubin indicating at least one more such release is planned for the future.^[12]

Track listing

1. "Out Among the Stars" (Adam Mitchell)  – 3:02
2. "Baby Ride Easy" (Richard Dobson)  – 2:43
3. "She Used to Love Me a Lot" (Kye Fleming, Dennis Morgan, Charles Quillen)  – 3:11
4. "After All" (Charles Cochran, Sandy Mason)  – 2:47
5. "I'm Movin' On" (Hank Snow)  – 3:09
6. "If I Told You Who It Was" (Bobby Braddock, Curly Putman)  – 3:05
7. "Call Your Mother" (Cash)  – 3:17
8. "I Drove Her Out of My Mind" (Gary Gentry, Hillman Hall)  – 3:01
9. "Tennessee" (Rick Scott)  – 3:27
10. "Rock and Roll Shoes" (Paul Kennerley, Graham Lyle)  – 2:41
11. "Don't You Think It's Come Our Time" (Tommy Collins)  – 2:17
12. "I Came to Believe" (Cash)  – 3:29
13. "She Used to Love Me a Lot" (JC/EC Version) (Kye Fleming, Dennis Morgan, Charles Quillen)  – 3:23

• Tracks 1–8, 10, 12, recorded in 1984
• Tracks 9, 11, recorded in 1981
• Track 13 originally recorded in 1984, remixed in 2013

Chart performance

Weekly charts Chart (2014) Peak position scope="row" Australian Albums (ARIA)[13] 4 scope="row" Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[14] 2 scope="row" Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[15] 5 scope="row" Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[16] 22 scope="row" Canadian Albums (Billboard)[17] 2 scope="row" Danish Albums (Hitlisten)[18] 7 scope="row" Dutch Albums (MegaCharts)[19] 2 scope="row" Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[20] 16 scope="row" French Albums (SNEP)[21] 32 scope="row" German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[22] 4 Italian Albums (FIMI)[23] 11 scope="row" New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[24] 10 scope="row" Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[25] 6 scope="row" Polish Albums (ZPAV)[26] 13 South African Albums (RISA)[27] 9 scope="row" Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[28] 68 scope="row" Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[29] 3 scope="row" Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[30] 1 UK Albums (OCC)[31] 4 UK Country Albums (OCC)[32] 1 scope="row" US Billboard 200[33] 3 scope="row" US Top Country Albums (Billboard)[34] 1 Year-end charts Chart (2014) Position US Billboard 200[35] 132 US Top Country Albums (Billboard)[36] 25 Personnel Compiled from liner notes.[37] Original session musicians Johnny Cash – vocals, guitar Pete Bordonali – guitar Jerry Carrigan – guitar June Carter Cash – duet on "Baby Ride Easy" and "Don't You Think It's Come Our Time" Pete Drake – steel guitar Jerry Kennedy – guitar Waylon Jennings – duet on "I'm Movin' On" Kenny Malone – drums Terry McMillan – harmonica Weldon Myrick – steel guitar Minnie Pearl – vocals on "If I Told You Who It Was" Hargus "Pig" Robbins – piano Billy Sanford – guitar Dale Sellers – guitar Henry Strzelecki – bass guitar Marty Stuart – guitar, mandolin John C. Williams – bass guitar Bobby Wood – piano Robert Wray – guitar Additional musicians on 2013 sessions Niko Bolas – percussion Sam Bush – mandolin on "Don't You Think It's Come Our Time" Carlene Carter – background vocals on "Baby, Ride Easy" Laura Cash – fiddle Jerry Douglas – Dobro Mark Fain – upright bass on "Don't You Think It's Come Our Time" Tony Harrell – keyboards Rick Lonow – percussion Buddy Miller – guitar Pat McLaughlin – guitar Marty Stuart – guitar, mandolin Bryan Sutton – acoustic guitar and banjo on "Don't You Think It's Come Our Time" T. Blade – percussion Additional backing vocals by the "Cash Cabin Vocal Group" and the full student body of Sumner Academy of Gallatin, Tennessee. Technical Steve Berkowitz – production (additional recording) Niko Bolas – mixing John Carter Cash – production (additional recording) Lou Robin – executive production Joseph M. Palmaccio – mastering Billy Sherrill – production (original sessions) Chuck Turner – engineering Nathan Yarborough – additional mixing See also 1981 in country music 1983 in country music 1984 in country music List of 2014 albums The New Basement Tapes, a supergroup also featuring Costello who completed songs with Bob Dylan lyrics and released them as Lost on the River: The New Basement Tapes in 2014 References "Elvis Costello Remixes Johnny Cash's Lost Song 'She Used to Love Me a Lot'". Spin. Spin Media. March 2, 2014. Talbott, Chris (December 10, 2013). "New Johnny Cash Album to Be Released Next Spring". Associated Press. Cash, Johnny (October 1997). "Cash: The Autobiography". Harper San Francisco: 250. ISBN 0062515004. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Out Among the Stars review". Allmusic. Retrieved March 27, 2014. Simmons, Sylvie (April 2014). "Back to black: Johnny Cash Out Among the Stars". Mojo. p. 105. "Johnny Cash Out Among the Stars Album Review". Rolling Stone. Retrieved December 30, 2014. DeVille, Chris (December 23, 2013). "The 100 Most Anticipated Albums of 2014". Stereogum. Matt Bjorke (April 2, 2014). "Country Album Chart News: The Week of April 2, 2014: Johnny Cash Is Out Among The Stars While It's High Noon time for Jerrod Niemann". Roughstock. Wade Jessen (April 3, 2014). "Johnny Cash Debuts at No. 1 On Top Country Albums". Billboard. Roland, Tom (July 2, 2014). "Florida Georgia Line, Luke Bryan, Eric Church Lead SoundScan Mid-Year Country Charts". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved July 2, 2014. "Country Bites News snippets June 23 – June 29, 2014". Country Routes News. July 12, 2014. "Johnny Cash: 'four or five more albums in the works', says his son". The Guardian. Guardian Media Group. March 26, 2014. Retrieved March 15, 2015. "Australiancharts.com – Johnny Cash – Out Among The Stars". Hung Medien. Retrieved 6 April 2014. "Austriancharts.at – Johnny Cash – Out Among The Stars" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 4 April 2014. "Ultratop.be – Johnny Cash – Out Among The Stars" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 4 April 2014. "Ultratop.be – Johnny Cash – Out Among The Stars" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 4 April 2014. "Johnny Cash – Chart history" Billboard Canadian Albums Chart for Johnny Cash. "Danishcharts.com – Johnny Cash – Out Among The Stars". Hung Medien. Retrieved 4 April 2014. "Dutchcharts.nl – Johnny Cash – Out Among The Stars" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 4 April 2014. "Johnny Cash: Out Among The Stars" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 4 April 2014. "Lescharts.com – Johnny Cash – Out Among The Stars". Hung Medien. Retrieved 7 April 2014. "Longplay-Chartverfolgung at Musicline" (in German). Musicline.de. Phononet GmbH. Retrieved 4 April 2014. "Artisti – Classifica settimanale WK 13 (dal 24-03-2014 al 30-03-2014)" (in Italian). FIMI. 3 April 2014. "Charts.org.nz – Johnny Cash – Out Among The Stars". Hung Medien. Retrieved 7 April 2014. "Norwegiancharts.com – Johnny Cash – Out Among The Stars". Hung Medien. Retrieved 7 April 2014. "Oficjalna lista sprzedaży :: OLIS - Official Retail Sales Chart". OLiS. Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry. Retrieved April 3, 2014. "South African Top 20 Albums Chart". RSG (Recording Industry of South Africa). Archived from the original on June 3, 2014. "Spanishcharts.com – Johnny Cash – Out Among The Stars". Hung Medien. Retrieved 9 April 2014. "Swedishcharts.com – Johnny Cash – Out Among The Stars". Hung Medien. Retrieved 4 April 2014. "Swisscharts.com – Johnny Cash – Out Among The Stars". Hung Medien. Retrieved 4 April 2014. "Johnny Cash | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart Retrieved August 19, 2014. "Official Country Artists Albums Chart Top 20". Official Charts Company. Retrieved August 19, 2014. "Johnny Cash – Chart history" Billboard 200 for Johnny Cash. "Johnny Cash – Chart history" Billboard Top Country Albums for Johnny Cash. "Billboard 200 Albums: Year-End top-selling albums across all genres". Billboard. "Top Country Albums: 2014 Year-End Charts". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved January 16, 2015. Out Among the Stars (CD booklet). Johnny Cash. Columbia Records/Legacy Recordings. 2013. 88883709732. External links Trailer for the album from Vevo Stream of "She Used to Love Me a Lot" from Rolling Stone