Personnel includes: Johnny Cash, Emmylou Harris (vocals, acoustic guitar); Paul McCartney (vocals, bass); Waylon Jennings, Everly Brothers, Rosanne Cash, John Carter Cash, Glen Campbell, Hank Williams, Jr., Tom T. Hall (vocals); Mark Howard (acoustic & electric guitars, mandolin); Jack Clement (acoustic guitar, dobro, ukulele); Marty Stuart (electric guitar, mandolin); Hamish Stuart (electric guitar); Lloyd Green (pedal steel guitar, dobro); Ralph Mooney (pedal steel guitar); John Hartford (banjo); Joey Miskulin (accordion, piano, keyboards); Ace Cannon (saxophone); Charles Cochran, Bobby Wood (piano, keyboards); Roy Huskey (bass); Kenny Malone (drums, percussion).
Recorded at The Cowboy Arms Hotel and Recording Spa, Nashville, Tennessee.
All tracks have been digitally remastered.
Personnel: Johnny Cash (vocals); Joey Miskulin (vocals, accordion, piano, keyboards); Claude Hill, Tom Skinker, Don Everly, Cindy Cash, Emmylou Harris, Mark Durham, Gove Scrivenor, Helen Carter, Debra Dekelaita, Roberto Bianco, Jessi Colter, John Carter Cash, June Carter Cash, Linda McCartney, Paul McCartney, Phil Everly, Anita Carter, Rosanne Cash, Roy Acuff, Sandy Mason, Carter Family, The Everly Brothers, Tom T. Hall, Waylon Jennings, Hank Williams, Jr., Jody Maphis, Carlene Carter (vocals); Mark Howard, Marty Stuart (guitar, mandolin); Hamish Stuart (guitar); Jack Clement (dobro, ukulele); Lloyd Green (dobro); John Hartford (banjo); Cindy Reynolds Wyatt (harp); Ace Cannon (saxophone); Bobby Wood, Charles Cochran (piano, keyboards); Kenny Malone (drums, percussion); Chris Whitten, W.S. Holland, Jim Dant (drums).
Audio Remixers: David Ferguson; Jack Clement; Joey Miskulin; Mark Howard.
Recording information: Cowboy Arms Hotel; England; Recording SPA, Nashville, TN.
Directors: Jack Clement; Johnny Cash.
Photographers: Alan Mayor; Beth Gwinn; Alan Messer.
Arrangers: Joey Miskulin; Jack Hale.
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. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Water From the Wells of Home has to be one of the more bizarre recordings Johnny Cash ever recorded. Given that it was done in a spirit of hostility between Cash and Mercury Records, who were soon not to be his label anymore, it came out better than expected but still feels like it's not really a Johnny Cash album, but one of Cash hanging out and singing with his friends -- which is exactly what it turns out to be. Had it not been for the focus of the great Cowboy Jack Clement -- whose "Ballad of a Teenage Queen" was an early hit for Cash and the opening cut here -- it would have been a mess. Speaking of the opener, the backing and duet vocals are by daughter Rosanne and the Everly Brothers. Roy Acuff makes an appearance with Waylon Jennings and Emmylou Harris on his own "As Long as I Live," and June Carter and her family duet on Dave Loggins' "Where Did We Go Right?." Get the idea? Cash's friends may not get equal billing, but they appear next to the Man in Black rather than on his record. Some moments, like the aforementioned, are stellar, like "As Long as I Live," "The Last of the Drifters" with its author Tom T. Hall, and "Sweeter Than the Flowers" with Waylon. "New Moon Over Jamaica" is the oddest cut here, written by Hall, Cash, and Paul McCartney, who also appears on the cut. Carter, Hall, and Linda McCartney appear on harmony vocals as well. It's a sweet little country waltz in the spirit of "Auld Lang Syne" but looser, with its singalong feel. The reissue of Water From the Wells of Home features a bonus track of Cash talking about making the record, which is neither here nor there. Ultimately, this is a Cash oddity. Certainly it's not a bad record, but it is far from a great one though it does features some stellar performances. ~ Thom Jurek minimize