An album of lost Johnny Cash material is due to be released after the country star's son discovered tapes of the recordings.

The late country icon recorded Out Among The Stars in the early 1980s with producer Billy Sherrill, but the album was never released by Columbia Records and the Ring of Fire star was dropped from the label in 1986.

But the singer and his wife kept tapes from the recording sessions, and these were discovered by his son John Carter Cash last year (12). He has now re-recorded portions of the tracks.

Cash tells Billboard.com, "They kept everything in their lives. They had an archive that had everything in it from the original audio tapes from The Johnny Cash Show to random things like a camel saddle, a gift from the prince of Saudi Arabia...

"We were so excited when we discovered this. We were like, 'My goodness, this is a beautiful record that nobody has ever heard'."

He adds, "Johnny Cash is in the very prime of his voice for his lifetime. He's pitch perfect. It's seldom where there's more than one vocal take. They're a live take and they're perfect."

The 12 tracks, which include two duets with Cash's wife June Carter Cash, are due to be released in March (14).