On "Bitter Tears Revisited"

The San Francisco Chronicle has an interesting view on 'cover projects'. like Bitter Tears Revisited. 

The more rewarding cover albums shine a light on forgotten or overlooked gems, like a recent project revisiting a potent but little-remembered concept album exploring the plight of American Indians, “Look Again to the Wind: Johnny Cash’s Bitter Tears Revisited” (Sony Music Masterworks). 

More than reclaiming a lost masterpiece, the album requires a reappraisal of Cash’s ties to the era’s politically conscious folk music scene. In a fascinating twist, the music industry and the cresting civil rights movement rejected Cash’s attempt to link the two causes. Half a century later, Cash’s vision retains its power, offering a welcome reminder of why the album might endure despite digital technology’s fragmenting force. 

“I’ve been reading for years and years the demise of the album as a format, but I don’t buy it, and I don’t pay any heed to it,” says “Bitter Tears Revisited” producer Joe Henry. “I don’t work on any project that isn’t meant to play as a full album. Not everybody listens to records in real time beginning to end in sequence. Not everybody’s going to listen the way we wish they did. But anyone who’s willing to meet the work that way should be rewarded for it.”