Lost Highway/American Recordings have released a promotional trailer for the album featuring producer Rick Rubin discussing the album’s creation and closure. Cut with black-and-white films of Johnny performing live and recording in the studio, it also offers some of the last footage shot of the performer in his final days.
“The last few years, we [Johnny and I] were always working on songs,” says Rubin. “It was the thing that he said was his reason for being alive, especially after June died. I think it was the only thing that kept him going, the only thing he had to look forward to.
“There were about 60 songs that we recorded since American IV came out. I remember we were at my house and we were finishing American IV, and I remember Johnny feeling like, ‘This may be it.’ And I said at that moment that we’re starting on the album today, tomorrow. Start thinking of songs, start writing.”
You can watch the trailer here, or click to the Myspace page created for the album’s release to hear two songs from the record: “God’s Gonna Cut You Down”, and “Like the 309”, the last song Johnny wrote.
http://boss.streamos.com/qtime/losthighway/cashepk.mov