Quite often, the quality of posthumously released albums from well-loved artists can vary wildly. After all, most unreleased material stays unreleased for a good reason, certainly the case with the terrible Michael Jackson rejects that have been issued since his death. So when it was announced that a long lost Johnny Cash album that was recorded in the 1980s had been discovered and was being prepared for release, it sounded a little bit iffy to me. Luckily, 'Out Among the Stars' is a most enjoyable listen indeed and a fine addition to his back catalog. Cash did some sessions in the 80s with famed countrypolitan producer Billy Sherrill, and the results were shelved by Cash's record company Columbia. Cash also recorded the 1981 album 'The Baron' with Sherrill in an attempt to turn around his dismal album sales but the strategy did not work, leaving his record executives eager to dump him. Many years later it's rather a different story indeed. God Is In The TV remarked that "Not surprisingly, there are no classic gems to shine out and it contains just two self-penned songs. It is, however, a worthy release, so here’s the title track for you." I'd agree with that. Here's his version of the darkly amusing, tongue-in-cheek 'I Drove Her Out Of My Mind', which was written by Gary Gentry and Hillman Hall. "I was really upset when it didn't come out," says Gentry, "when Cash did that song, it was like God saying, 'You did good getting off cocaine and whiskey, so here's a little gift from me.' I was there the day he cut the song, so I knew he'd done it, and I just wanted to hear it...
