Johnny Cash

No, it's not like Johnny Cash was crying out to be remixed, and none of these reworks will likely change your opinion of the Man in Black. Still, Cash's outlaw persona makes for an interesting comparison with latter-day gangsters like Snoop Dogg, while the raw sonics of his recordings provide intriguing fodder for dusty-fingered beatsmiths like Pete Rock. Even if the rest is a listen-once affair, Apparat's shoegazing take on "I Heard That Lonesome Whistle Blow" makes for a nice playlist closer.

This set of heavily doctored Johnny Cash tunes almost succeeds as musical comedy. Pete
Rock adds an electronic shuffle in an otherwise faithful sendup of "Folsom Prison Blues,"
and the result is pleasantly goofy. And producer Philip Steir (No Doubt, Los Amigos
Invisibles) amusingly inserts the fast-talking near-rap from Cash's "Get Rhythm" into a bumpy
disco-house mix. The thing is, this wasn't intended as comedy — it's a "tribute" e... More >