Release front cover
Album
The Mystery Of Life
Johnny Cash
Release information
Year
1991
Label
Mercury
Recording personnel
Personnel represented by recordings and sessions linked to this release. Credits can vary by recording or take.
Personnel
- Johnny Cash — vocals, guitar
- Kerry Marx — electric guitar
- Steve Logan — bass
- W.S. 'Fluke' Holland — drums
- Earl Poole Ball — keyboards
- Joseph Miskulin — guitar, keyboards
- Marty Stuart — guitar
- Mark Howard — electric guitar, guitar
- Roy Huskey — bass
- Jim Soldi — guitar
- Charles Cochran — keyboards, piano
- Tom T. Hall — vocals
- Kenneth Malone — percussion
Description
Produced by Jack Clement.
This was Cash's last album for Mercury Records, and Cash's last album (save for the lacklustre "Country Christmas" album) before he signed with Rick Rubin.
About half the songs on the album are outtakes from the "Johnny Cash is Coming to Town" sessions. Outtakes from the "Mystery of Life" sessions in 1990 includes Redneck Love and Country Boy.
The song The Greatest Cowboy of Them All was performed reguarly at concerts in 1991. Otherwise Cash doesn't seem to have promoted this album a lot on stage.
A video was made for Goin' by the Book.
Reissue history for The Mystery Of Life:
1. Reissued by Mercury/Universal in 2003 (440 069 089-2) with one bonus track, The Wanderer (originally released on U2' "Zooropa" album).
Images & Source Material
Tracklist
Use this tracklist as a route map: each released track can lead to the specific recording or take, and the studio session behind it.
| # / Side | Track | Archive links | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
The Greatest Cowboy Of Them All
|
—
|
3:33 |
| 2 |
I'm An Easy Rider
|
2:36 | |
| 3 |
The Mystery Of Life
|
3:11 | |
| 4 |
Hey Porter
|
2:20 | |
| 5 |
Beans For Breakfast
|
—
|
3:18 |
| 6 |
Goin' By The Book
|
3:19 | |
| 7 |
Wanted Man
|
2:52 | |
| 8 |
I'll Go Somewhere And Sing My Songs Again
|
3:11 | |
| 9 |
The Hobo Song
|
—
|
3:32 |
| 10 |
Angel And The Badman
|
2:23 |