Disco de Rosanne Cash: “Interiors”

Prime Cuts: What We Really Want, Paralyzed, On the Inside

Before there was Shania Twain and hubby Robert Lange, there was Rosanne Cash and Rodney Crowell. Crowell in his artistic and commercial ingenuity has produced and/or written a fleet of hits for then-wife Cash. Jointly, they have managed to lock in 10 country chart toppers through the 80s. On this sixth release, Cash dutifully thanks her man again for his "inspiration, love and partnership." If art truly reflects nature, and if Crowell really inspired these songs (which lean towards marital discord), then indeed trouble must had been on the line. In hindsight, this might have been true as the Cash-Crowell marriage did crumble months after this release.

"Interiors" is an aptly titled album. These ten songs unearth the emotional shoals that lurk beneath the surface of human politeness, gentility and superficiality. The utter lack of pretense and the confessional honesty in these songs flies in the face of the shallowness of what is passed along on country radio as hits. The album starts off on a good start with the perky "On the Inside." Setting the thematic pace for the album, "On the Inside" deals with the viciousness of betrayal and hurt. Similar in subject matter is "On the Surface." Though set at a slower tempo, "On the Surface" is disturbingly a duet with Crowell! Were they singing this song to each other?

Lead single, "What We Really Want," is again an introverted number. This time it deals with a desperate plea for personal intimacy. Melodically, "What We Really Want" is upbeat, radio friendly and not dissimilar to Cash's previous hit "Second to No One." It is also Cash's last shot at the country charts (peaking at number 19) before she called it truce with country music altogether. On the other hand, "I Want a Cure," is on the other extreme. It is essentially a rock song that Steve Nicks would be proud to call her own. "I Want to Cure" is proleptic of Cash's later rock oriented efforts. Not to be missed though is the excellent guitar solo from Steuart Smith on this number.

John Stewart, who wrote Cash's number 1 hit "Runaway Train," returns with the philosophical co-write, "Dance with the Tiger." "Dance with the Tiger" is by no means as catchy and it's a tad too metaphorical for radio appeal. Much better is "Real Woman." "Real Woman" is a female emancipation anthem bringing a temporal relief to this dark shadowy album. If released as a single, "Real Woman" could posit Cash back to country's lofty heights.

The album has two nerve wrecking moments. Those faint of heart had better be warned-"This World" has some gruesome lines about a father murdering his child in cold blood. Accompanied by a plaintive string arrangement, "This World" is a touching social commentary on the disintegration of the morals of our society. Things don't get more optimistic with the album's closer, "Paralyzed." Scanty clad only by a keyboard, here we have Cash's naked unnerving vocals recalling overhearing a phone conversation between her husband and his lover. This is spine chilling stuff-betrayal in its most atrocious form.

"Interiors" is definitely an album that needs to be listened with the right frame of mind. It can be far too depressingly to know that the human heart is dark and deceitful. But it's also the bravest and the most honest album Cash has had ever made. "Interiors" might not have awarded her as many charted singles as her previous album, but it has certainly won Cash critically accolades and acclaims. And I might add, rightly so.

This CD will give you nightmares. Oh don't get me wrong, there is only one word for this CD -- BRILLIANT. But as I lay on the beach listening to this CD I couldn't help but wonder, what this poor girl went thru to be able to write such hauntingly beautiful, but disturbing songs. From "This World" she writes about a father murdering his child "He put a fist in her face." It thrills you the way you don't want to take a shower after watching Pyscho. Every song packs image after image. This is more poetry put to music than music itself. I cannot express how amazed I am at this CDs brilliance. However this CD is NOT for casual Rosanne Cash fans. With the exception of "On The Inside and possibly "Mirror Image," the songs on it do not have much commercial appeal but their artist merit is beyond reproach. If Shakespeare could write a modern CD it would sound exactly like this. It really makes you wonder what her life was like at the time she wrote this. Again BRILLIANT.

I have to be honest,I'm not a big fan of country music,but when I heard "What we really want," I had to get "Interiors." Rosanne Cash has a wonderfull Style and voice.I love almost every song on this CD,from the hit single I mentioned,to the hardest rocking number,"I want a Cure." This cut almost sounds like it was recorded by the rock group"Heart,"and "This World" will break your heart,about a Father beating and killing his 9 month old child,and how Rosanne explains that the 9 month old baby is our baby also.We can't turn are back on the World."On the Surface,"about a married couple who just go through the motions of being a couple,is my favorite,and "Dance with the tiger" has a wonderfull acoustic Guitar final,along with so many of the other cuts.For years I've been wondering what happened to Rosanne.The last time I heard her sing was on a Carly Simon song,"Born to Break My Heart." I found out she lost her voice for a couple of years,but is back in the studio recording again.Even if your not a fan of country music,you will still love this CD.It's "what you really want."

Today my copy of Cash's 2006 release Black Cadillac arrived in the mail. It is superb. Although I've had Interiors since '91 and notwithstanding the fact that I recall that I loved it from the get go it isn't a cd that I pull out of the rack very often. This is probably because I have it filed in the "country" section of my collection and I really don't care for this genre very much. If I feel like browsing for a cd to play I am far more likely to pick something that is folk or rock. Anyway, after almost twenty years (time does fly by!), I can report that Cash's 1990 release is as fine as ever. What surprised me when I went to Amazon's reviews of the recording is that there are just 14 people who have offered their opinion. Shania Twain's 1997 cd has attracted over 700 as of 7/2009! Now I do appreciate that Shania's cd was a huge seller, but come on, Interiors is a major work. Perhaps, like Poco, Cash kinda fell through the cracks - too country for non-country fans and not country enough for the Nashville folks.

Interiors has thoughtful and sometimes intense lyrics. The instrumentation is just right, complementing but never overwhelming. I particularly like the use of mandolin and violin. These instruments suit Cash's plaintive vocals perfectly. There isn't a weak song amongst the ten on an album that clocks in well under 40 minutes.

I may be crazy (I have an excuse - I am in my 7th decade of life) but aren't some of the songs very reminiscent of Fleetwood Mac? This is in no way a criticism. Mac produced a huge amount of great music between 1968 and 1977. As I revisit the albums of my life I experience an odd phenomenon quite frequently - I hear influences in the music that I didn't recognize when I was younger. Sometimes they are so obvious that I wonder what on earth I was thinking back when I first purchased and listened to the music. I guess distance adds perspective.

The reviews you're reading here don't overstate the importance of this album. True, it's harrowing if you're inclined to depression, but the song cycle is amazingly good. The pinnacle of the album comes in the song "On the Surface" when Roseanne sings "I don't know you," and deep in the background, almost as an echoing response, is her then-husband Rodney Crowell's voice singing "I don't know you." What level of damage there was in that marriage at that point that he agreed to sing the harmony is mystifying to me - had I been approached by my wife with that sort of request, I'd have known the jig was up. Regardless, though, this album can capture your mind and emotions over and over again.