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List Price: $12.98 | | Label: Ultimatum
Salesrank: 101525
Released: August 27, 2002 |
| Our Price: $6.73 |
| Used Price: $3.75 |
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| Media: Audio CD |
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Distance Between Track Listing:
1. 1970 Monte Carlo
2. Hard Times
3. Distance Between
4. Long Black Veil
5. Burn Down
6. Tears of Gold
7. Wind it Up
8. Marfa Lights
9. Damage is Done
10. Where I Found You
11. Last Goodbye
12. Beautiful Cage
Editorial Review:
With a name like the Bastard Sons of Johnny Cash, you might expect this San Diego quartet to play amphetamine-fueled, Sun Records-style rockabilly music. In fact, the group's 2001 debut owed more to Waylon Jennings than the Man in Black (though Cash did give his blessing for the band to appropriate his name). This time around, the Bastards' sound has even less to do with their legendary namesake. Distance Between has a few countryish numbers ("Marfa Lights," a cover of Lefty Frizzell's "Long Black Veil"), but the overall sound is much less twangy and the apparent inspiration is the roots-rock of Bruce Springsteen and Steve Earle. Singer-writer Mark Stuart often sounds like a slightly countrified version of the former, particularly on "Monte Carlo," an ode to his 1970 muscle car, and "Burn Down," a melancholy rocker about trying to leave the past behind. "Distance Between" and "Wind It Up" recall Earle in his Copperhead Road period. And that's just the problem: Stuart's influences are just a little too obvious, and the result is that Distance Between has a been-there, done-that feel to it. --David Hill
Distance Between Reviews:
Bakerfield Country 
2006-07-27 - There is a definate sound and distinct lyrics associated with the country music originated in the Central Valley of California. I grew up listening to Merle Haggard and Buck Owens and Johnny Cash while watching The Porter Wagner Show and Hee Haw on TV. My mother was a huge country music fan (I was not at the time) so I was "forced" in some way to listen to this Bakersfield sound. That was many years ago and I now appreciate this music like never before......
So here come the BSOJC. Saw them in concert and immediately fell in love with their music and lyrics. The only other country music CDs I own are by Johnny Cash, The Derailers, and Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen. I bought all three of the BSOJC's CDs and truely love listening to each song. The lyrics are uncomplicated and story-telling, and the music is just plain bitchin. I admit I have a few flashbacks about sitting in the kitchen of our house in the nowhere town of Biola listening to the AM country station....
If you want to hear an updated version of that Bakersfield sound--the true roots of country music--CDs by BSOJC are what you need.
good tunes 
2005-08-12 - This cd is different than I thought it would be, but different in a good way. I had only heard them cover Cash songs but was pleasantly surprised with their own original sound. The lead vocals are different than the man in black but have that familiar deep tone. This cd has remained in my player since I got it and it is easy to listen to the entire thing straight through.
Very good American music
2004-05-26 - I got this CD right when it came out a couple of years ago, on the strength of two very good live shows and their previous effort (which I also like a lot, but haven't reviewed). I think Mark Stuart has a lot going for him as a singer/songwriter. Many of the songs here are originals, and all are very well done. They don't go in for the slick Nashville pop sound, but on this record the results are sometimes surprisingly polished ("Distance Between" being a shining example of that). "Marfa Lights" and "Where I Found You" are good traditional country songs, while "Wind it Up", "Damage is Done", and "1970 Monte Carlo" are Bakersfield-style rockers. But my favorite songs are probably the more quiet and comtemplative ones, like "Beautiful Cage" and "Burn Down."
There's a lot here to like, even with repeated listenings over the past two years. I'm looking forward to the next one.
The beautiful brutality of the Bastard Sons of Johnny Cash
2003-02-07 - When I first came upon this CD, I thought it might be a tribute album. So I looked to see which songs were on it. Much to my surprise, I only found one cover, "Long Black Veil" (which after listening to it, I think Mike Ness does better). Knowing little more about this group than what I could gather from the packaging, I bought the CD. This methodology is usually pretty hit or miss, more miss than hit unfortunately. But this time, it paid off.
Mark Stuart's raspy vocals drive these songs home. It's caustic tone pays tribute to the lyrics of these heartbroken and wandering anthems. "Wind It Up" is perhaps the best driving song I have heard in a long time. This is the kind of song that makes you want to hop in your car, put the top down, and hit the highway. On the other hand, while I liked the song, "Beautiful Cage," the reverberating modem sound in the background gets quite annoying. But, my favorite song on this album is "Where I Found You." I am not usually a fan of love songs, but this is the best one I have heard in a long time. It has no frills. It is just an honest, beautiful, simple song and that is what makes it so endearing.
This album seems to suggest a new strain of music, because it does not easily slide into any given category. If this is the direction music is heading, maybe the musical dark ages are finally coming to an end.
The genius of this CD is its simplicity. It is raw, powerful, and ballsy. Buy it!
Pleasant Surprise
2002-11-15 - I picked this album up on a recommendation of a friend. I was pleasantly surprised. They bleed well outside the genre of country into a wonderful gray area. The setting of the album must have contributed to the haunting tracks. If that piques your curiosity, buy it. Watch the videos on the enhanced CD.
Enjoy.
