Columbia/Legacy Recordings are preparing a special treat for both fans of country and classical music all in one package! On November 13, 2020, the recording giant will release Johnny Cash and The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, an album that “re-imagines” 12 Johnny Cash performances in new symphonic arrangements.
The set is produced by Don Reedman and was recorded at the legendary Abbey Road Studios. According to the release information, the recordings of “I Walk The Line” and “Flesh and Blood” used in making Johnny Cash and The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra are both previously unreleased alternate takes from Johnny Cash’s soundtrack sessions for the 1970 film I Walk The Line.
“I believe we have captured the emotion, sensitivity, and genuine honesty of Johnny Cash through his storytelling and his touching and captivating vocal performances,” says Don Reedman.
“My father, Johnny Cash, was in some ways an orchestra unto himself,” adds John Carter Cash, named as executive producer of the album. “I remember when my father introduced me to the RPO. I was around ten years old and he and I went to see three films from the James Bond saga at a festival in New York. When the theme for Goldfinger began, he leaned over to me. ‘That’s the finest orchestra in the world, son,’ he said. ‘That’s the Royal Philharmonic.’… He knew the music of the RPO. He respected them all throughout his life… I know my father would be enormously excited to see this new album become a reality.”
This is not the first such project for the RPO, which previously also ‘reimagined’ songs by Elvis Presley and Roy Orbison.
