I remember being blown away by Johnny Cash’s cover of Depeche Mode’s Personal Jesus, when I first heard it back in 2002. The melancholy and regret in his voice is palpable.
I went to see Depeche Mode a couple of weeks ago. They ended the show with Personal Jesus - it was very good - and it’s that that inspired me for this cover. At some point, I might have a go at the original version, but I thought the JC version would be super-fun!
Cash’s recording of Personal Jesus doesn’t really have a bass part, so I echoed the main riff, plus added some root notes where they seemed appropriate. The bass has no effects on it, other than the GarageBand compressor. I also only used the neck pickup on the Dingwall.
The difficulty with this song is remembering that the second chorus is different from the first!!!
Personal Jesus - Johnny Cash