Water From the Wells of Home

Johnny Cash

  • AllMusic Rating
    4
  • User Ratings (0)
  • Your Rating

Water From the Wells of Home Review

by Stephen Thomas Erlewine

By 1988, neither Johnny Cash nor his label, Mercury, wanted much to do with each other, and it's easy to see why -- Mercury was simply not supporting Cash, not letting him tackle challenging material, and Cash, in turn, wasn't delivering hits. Of course, making him re-record such classics as "Ballad of a Teenage Queen" was no guarantee of getting him back in the charts, but that's exactly how Water from the Wells of Home kicks off. It gets quite a bit better from there, as Cash sings a variety of material from Roy Acuff's "As Long as I Live" (also featuring Emmylou Harris) and Tom T. Hall's "The Last of the Drifters" to J.J. Cale's "Call Me the Breeze" and "New Moon Over Jamaica," which was co-written with Paul McCartney, who also appears on the song. In fact, the album is filled with guest appearances, including June Carter, Glen Campbell, Jessi Colter, the Everly Brothers, Waylon Jennings, Hank Williams, Jr., Rosanne Cash, and John Carter Cash. It's almost too many cameos for one album -- it might have garnered attention, which is exactly what Mercury would have wanted, but it tends to obscure Cash himself. Still, it makes for an interesting curio, and several cuts are strong enough to make the record worth a listen for hardcore fans. It's likely, however, that they'd rarely return to it after that initial listen.

Track Listing

Title/Composer Performer Time Stream
1
Ballad of a Teenage Queen
Jack Clement
Johnny Cash feat: The Everly Brothers / Rosanne Cash 02:48 SpotifyAmazon
2
As Long as I Live
Roy Acuff
Johnny Cash feat: Emmylou Harris 03:00 SpotifyAmazon
3
Where Did We Go Right
Dave Loggins / Don Schlitz
Johnny Cash feat: June Carter Cash / The Carter Family 02:57 SpotifyAmazon
4
The Last of the Drifters
Tom T. Hall
Johnny Cash feat: Tom T. Hall 03:19 SpotifyAmazon
5
Call Me the Breeze
J.J. Cale
Johnny Cash 03:26 SpotifyAmazon
6
That Old Wheel
Jennifer Pierce
Johnny Cash feat: Hank Williams, Jr. 02:51 SpotifyAmazon
7
Sweeter Than the Flowers
Morry Burns / Lois Mann / Syd Nathan / Ervin T. Rouse
Johnny Cash feat: Waylon Jennings 02:57 SpotifyAmazon
8
A Croft in Clachan (The Ballad of Rob Macdunn)
Johnny Cash
Johnny Cash feat: Glen Campbell 04:05 SpotifyAmazon
9
New Moon Over Jamaica
Johnny Cash / Tom T. Hall / Paul McCartney
Johnny Cash feat: Paul McCartney 03:15 SpotifyAmazon
10
Water from the Wells of Home
Johnny Cash
Johnny Cash 03:02 SpotifyAmazon
11
Johnny Cash Talks About Water from the Wells of Home
Johnny Cash 05:47 SpotifyAmazon
blue highlight denotes track pick
Water From the Wells of Home

Johnny Cash Discography Browser