Customer Reviews

The Best Of The Sun Years

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At first glance this appears to be the one that finally gives you ALL of his Sun hits. After all, its title IS "The Very Best Of The Sun Years." And when you go down the list of tracks you see that his first thirteen hits are here - all of them two-sided hits except the first where Hey Porter [b/o Cry, Cry, Cry, # 14 Country in November 1955] did not chart. It SHOULD have, and anyway it's here.

But then you come to hit 14 and 15, another two-sider, and while the # 1 (and # 11 Billboard Pop Top 100) Guess Things Happen That Way is included, the flipside, Come In Stranger [which charted at # 6 Country/# 66 Top 100 itself] is omitted. The same holds true for hits 16 and 17. The # 2 Country/# 24 Top 100 hit The Ways Of A Woman In Love is included, but not the B-side, You're The Nearest Thing To Heaven which checked in at # 5 Country and was regarded as a Pop "follow-along" hit.

And the beat goes on. His next Sun hit was 1959's It's Just About Time which peaked at # 30 Country/# 47 Billboard Pop Hot 100, and while that is left off, the uncharted B-side, I Just Thought You'd Like To Know, IS included! Both sides of his next two Sun hits are here [Luther Played The Boogie (# 8 Country in early 1959) b/w Thanks A Lot (# 12 Country), and Katy Too (# 11 Country/# 66 Hot 100 in late summer 1959) b/w I Forgot To Remember To Forget (did not chart), but both sides of the last one in 1959 are omitted: Goodbye Little Darlin' [# 22 Country in November] b/w You Tell Me (did not chart).

The 1960/61 record is even worse, as only Straight A's In Love [# 16 Country/# 84 Hot 100 in March] is included. Its flipside, the old standard I Love You Because [# 20 Country with The Gene Lowery Singers] is missing, as are both sides of Mean Eyed Cat [# 30 Country in December] and its B-side, Port Of Lonely Hearts (did not chart). Also, the only Sun 1961 release is left out: Oh Lonesome Me [# 13 Country/# 93 Hot 100 in March with The Gene Lowery Singers, and the uncharted flip, Life Goes On].

Sun then avoided any further Cash releases until 1969 when they put out the original of Get Rhythm [originally the flip of I Walk The Line] b/w Hey Porter, but with dubbed-in "live" effects. It charted at # 23 Country/# 60 Hot 100 and is not in this set. But 1970's Rock Island Line is here [# 35 Country/# 93 Hot 100] b/w a re-release of Next In Line, originally b/w Don't Make Me Go in 1957.

The last Sun release, also in 1970, was a re-issue of Big River [originally b/o Ballad Of A Teenage Queen in 1958] b/w Come In Stranger [see above]. It made it to # 41 Country.

Sound reproduction in this CD is excellent, and the liner notes by Joe Cushley are informative, if not exactly abundant, in an 8-page fold-out format.

Put out by 2001 Union Square Music in the U.K., they could have done a lot better by either leaving off LP cuts like Fools Hall Of Fame, Wreck Of The Old '97, Wide Open Road, I Couldn't Keep From Cryin', and Goodnight Irene, and replacing them with some of the missing hits. OR, better still, go to a 2-CD format and give us ALL the Sun hits, plus a few more LP cuts. We would have gladly paid the extra costs.

Still, it's well worth the price.

We live in the age of digital sound - awesome and practically perfect sound reproduction with a full sound spectrum from highs to lows. For ears raised in digital sound Johnny Cash's music can sound flat and monochromatic. And to approach his music with that in mind is to miss the true spirit of Johnny Cash.

Johnny Cash was a giant in his days and his legacy is fully captured in this wonderful compilation from his seminal years at Sun Records. Like all great music, appreciation comes with repeated exposure. Your spirit begins to resonate with the music and the poetry and stories of the lyrics. Some music, that I also love dearly, is best felt via percussive blasts. This music is for quiet and contemplative moments. Watching the turning leaves of fall on a rainy morning or driving down a county lane at dusk a dust cloud bellowing behind the truck.

This is a great collection for fans and a solid step for those who aspire to become a fan of the "man in black"--I highly endorse this collection of songs.

I noticed Amazon recently removed the descriptor that would tell you approximate bitrate of the files you're "buying" (licensing?). Still...they point to a page that indicates that "where possible" they rip at 256. This is not even *close* for this album. These files average a pathetic 151 VBR. Slowly but surely, I'm losing my buzz about Amazon MP3 and going back to my reliable CD formats.

My wife is a Johnny Cash fan. She found " The Very Best of the Sun Years" very appealing, for the fans of the earlier Johnny Cash.

Terrific item.I am enjoying every moment so much that I may wear it out and have to replace it.I recommend it to anyone that likes music.Henry Garcia