Out Among the Stars

{{About|the Johnny Cash album|the Merle Haggard album|Out Among the Stars (Merle Haggard album)}}

{{Infobox album

| name = Out Among the Stars

| type = studio

| cover = Johnny Cash - Out Among the Stars.jpg

| alt = A black-and-white photograph of Cash dressed in black with a guitar slung around his back. The title and artist are written on top of the cover.

| released = {{Start date|2014|3|25}}

| recorded = March 18, 1981{{nbsp}}– June 14, 1984, with overdubs in November 2013

| studio = {{ubl|Columbia Studios (Nashville)|1111 Sound Studios (Los Angeles)}}

| genre = Country

| length = {{Duration|m=36|s=37}}

| label = {{hlist|Columbia|Legacy}}

| producer = {{hlist|Steve Berkowitz|John Carter Cash|Billy Sherrill}}

| prev_title = Johnny Cash: The Complete Columbia Album Collection

| prev_year = 2012

| next_title = Johnny Cash and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra

| next_year = 2020

| compiler = John Carter Cash

| misc = {{Singles

| name = Out Among the Stars

| type = studio

| single1 = She Used to Love Me a Lot

| single1date = January 14, 2014

| single2 = I'm Movin' On

| single2date = February 6, 2014

| single3 = Baby, Ride Easy

| single3date = February 27, 2014

|single4 = Out Among the Stars

|single4date = May 7, 2014

}}

Out Among the Stars is the fourth posthumously released studio album (71st overall) by Johnny Cash. It was released on March 25, 2014, by Legacy Recordings. 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.

Background

The album is composed of recordings made by Cash in 1981 and 1984 with producer Billy Sherrill for Columbia Records. The album was shelved by the label and was never released. In 2012, Cash's son, John Carter Cash, discovered the recordings in the archive and commissioned additional production to complete the album. Cash also recorded the 1981 album The Baron with Sherrilll, 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. The album is also a posthumous release for June Carter Cash, Johnny Cash's wife, who is featured on two tracks, and for Minnie Pearl and Waylon Jennings, who provide vocals on two other songs, "If I Told You Who It Was" and "I'm Movin' On", respectively.

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" appears on American V: A Hundred Highways, and a non-duet version of "I'm Movin' On" appears in the box set Unearthed.

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.

Release and promotion

Lead single "She Used to Love Me a Lot" was released on January 14, 2014, on the Rolling Stone website. "I'm Movin' On", featuring Waylon Jennings, was released as the second single and was premiered by CMT on February 6, 2014. The third single, "Baby, Ride Easy", a duet with June Carter Cash (which the two had performed on TV on Johnny Cash's 1985 Christmas Special) was premiered exclusively by One Country on February 27, 2014. The album's title track, "Out Among the Stars", was released as the fourth and final single, with its lyric video premiering on May 7, 2014.

Critical reception

{{Album ratings

| MC = 69/100

| rev1 = AllMusic

| rev1Score = {{Rating|3.5|5}}

| rev2 = Mojo

| rev2score = {{rating|3|5}}

| rev3 = Rolling Stone

| rev3score = {{rating|3.5|5}}

}}

{{Metacritic album prose|Out Among the Stars|positive|69|21}} Prior to its release, Stereogum named it one of the most anticipated albums of 2014.

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".

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."

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. As of June 29, 2014, the album has sold 149,000 copies in the United States.

In the UK, the album debuted at #4 in the album chart. The album has sold 63,700 copies in the UK as of July 2014.

Track listing

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

Personnel

Adapted from the liner notes.

Original session musicians

Johnny Cash – vocals, guitar
Pete Bordonali – guitar
Jerry Carrigan – guitar
June Carter Cash – duet vocals on "Baby Ride Easy" and "Don't You Think It's Come Our Time"
Pete Drake – steel guitar
Jerry Kennedy – guitar
Waylon Jennings – duet vocals on "I'm Movin' On"
Kenny Malone – drums
Terry McMillan – harmonica
Weldon Myrick – steel guitar
Minnie Pearl – additional 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 personnel

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

Chart positions

=Weekly charts=

scope="row"{{album chart\|Billboard200\|3\|artist=Johnny Cash}}
class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center" \|+Weekly chart performance for Out Among the Stars !scope="col"\| Chart !scope="col"\| Peak
scope="row"{{album chart\|BillboardCountry\|1\|artist=Johnny Cash}}
scope="row"{{album chart\|Australia\|4\|artist=Johnny Cash\|album=Out Among The Stars\|access-date=April 6, 2014}}
scope="row"{{album chart\|Austria\|2\|artist=Johnny Cash\|album=Out Among The Stars\|access-date=April 4, 2014}}
scope="row"{{album chart\|Flanders\|5\|artist=Johnny Cash\|album=Out Among The Stars\|access-date=April 4, 2014}}
scope="row"{{album chart\|Wallonia\|22\|artist=Johnny Cash\|album=Out Among The Stars\|access-date=April 4, 2014}}
scope="row"{{album chart\|BillboardCanada\|2\|artist=Johnny Cash}}
scope="row"{{album chart\|Denmark\|7\|artist=Johnny Cash\|album=Out Among The Stars\|access-date=April 4, 2014}}
scope="row"{{album chart\|Netherlands\|2\|artist=Johnny Cash\|album=Out Among The Stars\|access-date=April 4, 2014}}
scope="row"{{album chart\|Finland\|16\|artist=Johnny Cash\|album=Out Among The Stars\|access-date=April 4, 2014}}
scope="row"{{album chart\|France\|32\|artist=Johnny Cash\|album=Out Among The Stars\|access-date=April 7, 2014}}
scope="row"{{album chart\|Germany\|4\|artist=Johnny Cash\|album=Out Among The Stars\|access-date=April 4, 2014}}
scope="row"\|Italian Albums (FIMI) \| style="text-align:center;"\|11
scope="row"{{album chart\|New Zealand\|10\|artist=Johnny Cash\|album=Out Among The Stars\|access-date=April 7, 2014}}
scope="row"{{album chart\|Norway\|6\|artist=Johnny Cash\|album=Out Among The Stars\|access-date=April 7, 2014}}
scope="row"{{album chart\|Poland\|13\|artist=Johnny Cash\|album=Out Among the Stars\|id=857\|access-date=April 3, 2014}}
scope="row"\|South African Albums (RISA) \| style="text-align:center;"\|9
scope="row"{{album chart\|Spain\|68\|artist=Johnny Cash\|album=Out Among The Stars\|access-date=April 9, 2014}}
scope="row"{{album chart\|Sweden\|3\|artist=Johnny Cash\|album=Out Among The Stars\|access-date=April 4, 2014}}
scope="row"{{album chart\|Switzerland\|1\|artist=Johnny Cash\|album=Out Among The Stars\|access-date=April 4, 2014}}
scope="row"{{album chart\|UK\|4\|artist=Johnny Cash\|rowheader=true\|access-date=August 19, 2014}}
scope="row"{{album chart\|UKCountry\|1\|date=May 17, 2014\|rowheader=true\|access-date=August 19, 2014}}
{{album chart\|Scotland\|1\|date=20140406\|rowheader=true\|access-date=22 June 2024}}

=Year-end charts=

class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center" \|+2014 annual chart performance for Out Among the Stars !scope="col"\|Chart !scope="col"\|Position
scope="row"\|Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders){{cite web\|url=https://www.ultratop.be/nl/annual.asp?year=2014&cat=a\|title=Jaaroverzichten 2014\|publisher=Ultratop\|access-date=September 18, 2020}} \|82
scope="row"\|Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade){{cite web\|url=https://hitparade.ch/charts/jahreshitparade/2014\|title=Schweizer Jahreshitparade 2014\|website=hitparade.ch\|access-date=September 18, 2020}} \|31
scope="row"\|UK Albums (OCC){{cite web\|url=http://www.officialcharts.com/charts/end-of-year-artist-albums-chart/20140105/37502\|title=End of Year Album Chart Top 100 – 2014\|publisher=Official Charts Company\|access-date=May 13, 2020}} \|99
scope="row"\|US Billboard 200 \|132
scope="row"\|US Top Country Albums (Billboard) \|25

class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"

|+2014 annual chart performance for Out Among the Stars

!scope="col"|Chart

!scope="col"|Position

scope="row"|Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders){{cite web|url=https://www.ultratop.be/nl/annual.asp?year=2014&cat=a|title=Jaaroverzichten 2014|publisher=Ultratop|access-date=September 18, 2020}}

|82

scope="row"|Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade){{cite web|url=https://hitparade.ch/charts/jahreshitparade/2014|title=Schweizer Jahreshitparade 2014|website=hitparade.ch|access-date=September 18, 2020}}

|31

scope="row"|UK Albums (OCC){{cite web|url=http://www.officialcharts.com/charts/end-of-year-artist-albums-chart/20140105/37502|title=End of Year Album Chart Top 100 – 2014|publisher=Official Charts Company|access-date=May 13, 2020}}

|99

scope="row"|US Billboard 200

|132

scope="row"|US Top Country Albums (Billboard)

|25

Certifications

{{Certification Table Top|caption=Certifications for Out Among the Stars}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=Switzerland|artist=Johnny Cash|title=Out amongst the stars|type=album|award=Gold|relyear=2014|certyear=2014}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=United Kingdom|artist=Johnny Cash|title=Out amongst the stars|type=album|award=Silver|relyear=2014|certyear=2014|certmonth=6|id=12846-1888-2}}

References

{{reflist|colwidth=30em|refs=

{{cite web |url= http://countryroutesnews.blogspot.co.uk/2014/07/country-bites-news-snippets-june-23.html |title=Country Bites News snippets June 23 – June 29, 2014 |date= July 12, 2014 |work=Country Routes News}}

{{cite web |title=ANIMATED LYRIC VIDEO RELEASED FOR LOST JOHNNY CASH SONG "OUT AMONG THE STARS" {{!}} Legacy Recordings |url=https://www.legacyrecordings.com/2014/05/07/animated-lyric-video-released-for-lost-johnny-cash-song-out-among-the-stars/ |website=Legacy Recordings |access-date=8 November 2018 |date=7 May 2014}}

{{cite web |url=http://www.stereogum.com/1610701/the-100-most-anticipated-albums-of-2014/list/ |title=The 100 Most Anticipated Albums of 2014 |last=DeVille |first=Chris |date=December 23, 2013 |website=Stereogum}}

{{cite magazine |last1=Sullivan |first1=James |title=Hear Johnny Cash's Lost Love Song |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/johnny-cashs-lost-love-song-192329/ |magazine=Rolling Stone |access-date=8 November 2018 |date=13 January 2014}}

{{Cite web |url=https://www.spin.com/2014/03/johnny-cash-elvis-costello-remix-she-used-to-love-me-a-lot/ |title=Elvis Costello Remixes Johnny Cash's Lost Song 'She Used to Love Me a Lot' |date=March 2, 2014 |work=Spin |publisher=Spin Media}}

{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/out-among-the-stars-20140404|title=Johnny Cash Out Among the Stars Album Review|magazine=Rolling Stone|access-date=December 30, 2014}}

{{cite web |title=EXCLUSIVE PREMIERE from Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash: Baby Ride Easy {{!}} One Country |url=https://www.onecountry.com/entertainment/exclusive-premiere-from-johnny-cash-and-june-carter-cash-baby-ride-eas/ |website=www.onecountry.com |access-date=8 November 2018}}

{{cite news |url=http://www.roughstock.com/blog/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 |title=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 |author=Matt Bjorke |date=April 2, 2014 |work=Roughstock |access-date=April 3, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140407073158/http://www.roughstock.com/blog/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 |archive-date=April 7, 2014 |url-status=dead |df=mdy-all}}

{{cite journal|title=Back to Black: Johnny Cash Out Among the Stars|last=Simmons|first=Sylvie|date=April 2014|journal=Mojo|page=105}}

{{cite web|url=https://www.metacritic.com/music/out-among-the-stars/johnny-cash|title=Out Among the Stars by Johnny Cash|website=Metacritic|access-date=February 21, 2019}}

{{Cite AV media notes |title=Out Among the Stars |others=Johnny Cash |year=2013 |publisher=Columbia Records/Legacy Recordings |type=CD booklet |id=88883709732}}

{{cite web|url=http://www.rsg.co.za|title=South African Top 20 Albums Chart|publisher=RSG (Recording Industry of South Africa)|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140604180902/http://www.rsg.co.za/|archive-date=June 4, 2014|access-date=April 7, 2019|url-status=live|df=mdy-all}}

{{cite news|title=Johnny Cash: 'four or five more albums in the works', says his son |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2014/mar/26/johnny-cash-four-or-five-more-albums-in-the-works-says-son|work=The Guardian|access-date=March 15, 2015|date=March 26, 2014}}

{{Cite book|last=Cash |first=Johnny |author-link=Johnny Cash |title=Cash: The Autobiography |date=October 1997 |page=250 |publisher=Harper San Francisco |isbn=0062515004}}

{{cite magazine |url=http://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/the-615/6039415/johnny-cash-debuts-at-no-1-on-top-country-albums |title=Johnny Cash Debuts at No. 1 On Top Country Albums |author= Wade Jessen |date= April 3, 2014 |magazine=Billboard}}

{{cite magazine|url=http://www.billboard.com/charts/year-end/2014/top-country-albums|title=Top Country Albums: 2014 Year-End Charts|magazine=Billboard|publisher=Prometheus Global Media|access-date=January 16, 2015}}

{{cite magazine |url=http://www.billboard.com/charts/year-end/2014/top-billboard-200-albums|title=Billboard 200 Albums: Year-End top-selling albums across all genres|magazine=Billboard}}

{{cite magazine |url=http://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/the-615/6143267/florida-georgia-line-luke-bryan-eric-church-soundscan-mid-year-2014 |title=Florida Georgia Line, Luke Bryan, Eric Church Lead SoundScan Mid-Year Country Charts |last=Roland |first=Tom |magazine=Billboard |publisher=Prometheus Global Media |date=July 2, 2014 |access-date=July 2, 2014}}

{{Cite web |url=http://bigstory.ap.org/article/new-johnny-cash-album-be-released-next-spring |title=New Johnny Cash Album to Be Released Next Spring |last=Talbott |first=Chris |date=December 10, 2013 |publisher=Associated Press}}

{{cite web|url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/out-among-the-stars-mw0002607162|title=Out Among the Stars review|last=Erlewine|first=Stephen Thomas|work=Allmusic|access-date=March 27, 2014}}

{{cite web|title=Artisti – Classifica settimanale WK 13 (dal 24-03-2014 al 30-03-2014)|url=http://www.fimi.it/main/chart_id/1780|date=April 3, 2014|publisher=FIMI|language=it|access-date=April 3, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140407073510/http://www.fimi.it/main/chart_id/1780|archive-date=April 7, 2014|url-status=dead|df=mdy-all}}

{{cite web |title=Hear Johnny Cash and Waylon Jennings' "I'm Movin' On" |url=http://www.cmt.com/news/1721927/hear-johnny-cash-and-waylon-jennings-im-movin-on/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171102111016/http://www.cmt.com/news/1721927/hear-johnny-cash-and-waylon-jennings-im-movin-on/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=November 2, 2017 |website=CMT News |access-date=8 November 2018}}

}}

External links

[http://www.vevo.com/watch/johnny-cash/out-among-the-stars-preview/USSM21302218 Trailer for the album] from Vevo
[https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/johnny-cashs-lost-love-song-20140113 Stream of "She Used to Love Me a Lot"] from Rolling Stone

Category:2014 albums

Category:Albums produced by Billy Sherrill

Category:Johnny Cash albums

Category:Legacy Recordings albums

Category:Albums published posthumously

Category:Columbia Records albums

Category:Albums produced by John Carter Cash