Unearthed is a box set by American country singer Johnny Cash. It was released by American Recordings on November 25, 2003, two months after Cash's death. The album was compiled by Cash and Rick Rubin, who also produced the set. It was certified Gold on December 2, 2004, by the Recording Industry Association of America.^[2]

Quick Facts Unearthed, Box set by Johnny Cash ...

Unearthed
Box set by Johnny Cash
Released	November 25, 2003
Recorded	1993–2002
Genre	Country Southern gothic folk gospel
Length	242:31
Label	American Recordings
Producer	Rick Rubin
Johnny Cash chronology
American IV: The Man Comes Around (2002) Unearthed (2003) Life (2004)
American series chronology
American IV: The Man Comes Around (2002) Unearthed (2003) American V: A Hundred Highways (2006)

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The first three discs feature outtakes and alternate versions of songs recorded for American Recordings, American II: Unchained, American III: Solitary Man and American IV: The Man Comes Around. The fourth disc, My Mother's Hymn Book, features gospel songs Cash first learned from his mother as a child and was later reissued as a standalone album in 2004. The final disc is a best-of distillation of the first four American albums.

Rock historian Graeme Thomson in his monograph, The Resurrection of Johnny Cash: Hurt, Redemption, and American Recordings has called Unearthed a monolithic achievement.^[3]

• Note: All tracks previously unreleased. A different take of "Down There by the Train" was issued on the 1994 album American Recordings. "Flesh and Blood" is a newer version of the original that was written for I Walk the Line (Soundtrack).

• Note: All tracks previously unreleased. A solo version of "Like a Soldier", a version of "Drive On" featuring different lyrics, and an acoustic studio version of "Bird on a Wire" were issued on the 1994 album American Recordings.

• Note: All tracks previously unreleased, except "Wichita Lineman" and "Big Iron" which were previously released on the original vinyl pressing of American IV: The Man Comes Around. The final version of "The Man Comes Around" was also released on American IV: The Man Comes Around.

• Note: All tracks previously unreleased.

• Note: All tracks previously released, although "Thirteen" features an additional verse that was omitted from its original album release.

Adapted from the album liner notes.

Album – Billboard (United States)

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The Encyclopedia of Popular Music

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My Mother's Hymn Book is a collection of Christian spiritual songs and hymns that Cash originally learned from his mother while growing up. The album features only Cash's voice and a single acoustic guitar. This disc was released as a stand-alone disc the following year (his 89th overall album) under the same title, and peaked at #9 on the Christian music album chart. In the album's liner notes Cash mentions that this is his favorite album he ever made.

This was Cash's final album devoted to previously unreleased performances of faith-based music and hymns, following a long string of such releases dating back to 1959 and individual singles and album tracks even before that. Tracks 6, 9 and 10 were previously recorded for Hymns from the Heart (1962); tracks 5, 11, 14 and 15 were previously recorded for Sings Precious Memories (1975); and track 7 was recorded in concert for The Survivors Live (1982). Several other songs, such as track 13, had been performed by Cash on TV or live in concert, but formal studio recordings had not yet been issued until now.

Although the images used on the standalone CD depict Cash near the end of his life, most of the recordings on My Mother's Hymn Book actually date to Cash's early sessions for American in 1993–1994 (hence the fact they only feature Cash performing by himself).