Review Summary: Johnny Cash brings us a wholesome, patriotic, and feel good album.
Released in January of 1968, "From Sea to Shining Sea" came about as a very patriotic type of album. It starts off with a rendition of the classic "America the Beautiful" sang by the man in black himself. He starts off speaking of how beautiful this land really is, and kicks off the album.
Upon listening to this album, as a whole it really brings forth a very comfortable sounding laid back kind of feel that is easily relatable. Johnny Cash has always had a very soothing voice, along with the mixture of basic instrumentals it really comes together well. The instrumentals themselves are here to compliment the vocals and it never really strays far from that. There is a vision of a bright sunny day out in the west, the warm sunshine raining down upon you, the uplifting feeling of being away from the city. However this album is not just about happy little ditties, it comes with its spin of negative tales and that is really where this album shines. Tracks like "Call Daddy from the Mine" and "The Masterpiece" are sad but they tell stories of perseverance and strength. It might seem full of cliches today, but back then this kind of material was all new and was something fresh and exciting. Throughout the album Johnny Cash paints beautiful pictures in our heads, with the song "The Walls of a Prison" he talks of a man that boasts that these very walls will not hold him forever and he will be free once more. The entire flow of the album is very soothing itself. But there is also a very visible theme of storytelling, more so that of american tales. Each song follows a similar format but it stays fresh, these songs all feel like they belong on this album and nothing really stands out.
Johnny Cash seems to really know what exactly he wants to display with this album, its a story of the American west in its finest moments. From the Californian mines, to the windy plains, to the relics left behind by the native Americans, to go so far as the cotton fields of the south. There are some filler songs placed in between, but they really do fit with the themes, these songs more so just end up going no where. Which is fine in an album, as long as its done right. Even the song "Shrimpin Salin" starts off completely manic, with Johnny Cash yelling about something but doing it in a rhythm that only he could pull off. It comes out of nowhere but he talking about something with a shrimping boat and jelly jam and getting it on his clothes...its completely bizarre but its interesting to say the least. But painting a story for the audience is something Johnny Cash has seemingly perfected throughout the years. The track "The Masterpiece" is about a sculptor who is getting on in years who prays to God for strength and at the most another week of life to create his magnum opus. He awakes the next morning to find a new found strength in which he uses to climb to the top of a mountain to work out his masterpiece. The descriptive vocabulary and background music gives an excellent sense of imagery. Songs like "The Flint Arrowhead" which is about Cash finding an arrowhead and claiming it is an unnerving and exhilarating feeling to know that this arrowhead was once used against others. The closing song completes this album perfectly. He continues onward naming the landmarks of the states. He states that America will be forever ours, and finishes the "America the Beautiful" song and closes the album. This album is in no way perfect, but it is something that is often overlooked and that just feels like a crime to any fan of Johnny Cash. This man is a legend and I feel as if I can do no justice by reviewing this album. But it has some interesting and feel good songs that give you that summer morning kind of feel that can only be described by listening to this album.
But overall it has some pretty good tracks that really hit home for me, they are solid and well made. Give more substance and feel more so apart of something greater. The filler tracks are not even that bad and are short so it does not even come off as a problem. Its short and sweet, but filled with substance that makes this album pretty solid all around.
