Bastard Sons Of Johnny Cash Distance Between CD

Given the fact that Bastard Sons of Johnny Cash have one of the most superbly arrogant names any alt-country band could hope to dream up, it's a bit of a puzzler that they don't sound leaner and meaner than they do, and while the group's second album, Distance Between, is a solid collection of well-crafted country-rock, the fact is these guys hardly sound like outlaws in the manner of their hero, either musically, legally, or attitudinally. While there are a few potent twang-rock numbers on Distance Between -- the two best being about cars, "Wind It Up" and "1970 Monte Carlo" -- most of the album is dominated by languid mid-tempo numbers whose temperament seems influenced either by U2 during their "thinking about America" period (such as "Tears of Gold") or a slightly grittier take on '70s country-rock (typified by "Marfa Lights"). Mark Stuart is a dependable songwriter, and his voice makes him sound like Lyle Lovett's rough-and-tumble younger brother (or Bruce Springsteen's twangier cousin), while the band is tight and professional on all 12 songs here. But while Bastard Sons of Johnny Cash's chops are just fine, their inspiration often sounds a bit forced, and there's very little here that sounds particularly passionate or strikingly original. There isn't a thing wrong with the craft or the execution of Distance Between, but it sounds a bit short on fire and feeling, and it's hard not to think that a little dose of their namesake's attitude and defiance would do them a world of good. ~ Mark Deming

or Mark Stuart and the Bastard Sons of Johnny Cash, it's been a long road as well, a twisting trail, a two-lane highway, a road full of ruts, and it all led to Texacali. Texacali is a mythical place maybe, but it's real enough all the same. It's a borderland, la frontera, somewhere right near where San Diego meets Juarez, where Ensenada and El Paso cross paths. And like all the rest of these tales, like every story that happens in life instead of on a page, sometimes you don't notice the Mile Markers until you look up into the rear-view mirror.A quick look in the rear view mirror: Mark Stuart formed the Bastard Sons of Johnny Cash on a whim, by accident, by chance. He'd been in a punk rock band but that was done, over, finished, and it had nearly finished him. He had a dream one night, and out of the dream came a band name: the Bastard Sons of Johnny Cash. The new name was a joke, sort of. And yet, soon enough, it wasn't a joke anymore. Soon enough, it was a band, and soon enough, it was enough of a band that Johnny Cash himself gave them his personal seal of approval, and Johnny Cash's own legitimate son helped produce their first album.It was a little like waking up alone and naked in a strange new country next to another man's clothes, and discovering that they weren't anybody else's clothes -- they were your own. That they fit you like nothing else ever had, and that it was more than just a new suit of clothes, that it was a new life. And it was yours. For keeps."I kinda got the calling like one of those Pentecostal preachers gets the calling," Stuart says now. "It came like lightning out of the sky. And Johnny Cash coming to me in my dreams wasn't weird. It was just that I had these dreams, and the dreams led to a body of work, to a bunch of songs, and they led to all of this."For Mark Stuart and the Bastard Sons, the last ten years has been a blur of miles and markers. BSOJC has played more shows most years than most bands do in their entire careers, and they've done it the hard way, piling their own gear into their own van, and then heading off into a dark night that's just a couple of hours away from day. A lot of indie bands have done a lot of this, but not many have made the long haul across an entire decade. And amidst that grueling schedule, Stewart has managed to keep writing, delivering two previous records, Walk Alone and Distance Between, that built a hardcore fanbase for the band and yet achieved a critical recognRolling Stone (9/19/02, p.104) - 3 stars out of 5 - "...A disc more influenced by the Blasters and the Del-Lords than the honky-tonk of their debut, WALK ALONE..."