Customer Reviews

Essential Johnny Cash

5 star:		(44)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

In my view, a box set should be an overall look at an artist's career that encompasses the cream of their "hit" material plus the best album sides and a little bit of material that examines the breadth of their experimentalism. This box set has a lot of great songs, but that's more because Cash is a phenomenal artist than that this makes the best case for his work.

First off, this set is at least a disc short...period. Cash hit the Top 40 country charts 104 times between 1955-1988. This set wasn't released until 1992 so there's no reason they couldn't have included material from all the way across this span. We'll be charitable though...after all many of those are songs that might not be remembered by the Cash faithful...so we'll cut that number back to top 20 songs only. That leaves 49 Top 20 hits of which 21 are missing.

The most egregious omissions are the #1 "Highwayman" (with Willie Nelson, Kris Kristofferson, and Waylon Jennings) and several hit duets with June Carter Cash ("It Ain't Me Babe","Long-legged Guitar Pickin' Man","If I Were a Carpenter") and Waylon Jennings (#2 1978 hit "There Ain't No Good Chain Gang"). Any song that hit the Top 10 is likely to be remembered by any big fan of an artist and should have made this box.

Outside of that, there are some artistic highpoints that probably should have made the set, too: his duet with George Jones on "I'll Say It's True" from the SILVER album, his historic duet with Mother Maybelle Carter on 1973's "Pick the Wildwood Flower", "Bury me Not on the Lone Prairie" from his Old West concept album, patriotic recitation "Ragged Old Flag", the eerie acappella "Another Man Done Gone" (with June from folk album BLOOD, SWEAT AND TEARS) and late period environmental anthem "Don't Go Near the Water" (from BOOM-CHICKABOOM).

BOTTOM LINE:
This is still a must buy for any Cash fan. But I'm hopeful that in the next decade, they'll update with a 5 CD set that adds in material from the Mercury and Def American years as well as more concept album material and the missing hits from this set. Until then, buy this and cherish what we DO have here.

4 1/2 stars

I've known a few Johnny Cash songs throughout the years but I've not been familiar with his entire body of work. I found my way to this box set in a circuitous fashion: It started last year with a Junior Brown concert in West Sacramento. That was my first "country/western" music experience and it blew me away. From Junior I somehow took a step over to Hank Williams. At that point I developed a serious interest in this "type" of music. I've since discovered: Buck Owens, Ernest Tubbs, Roy Clark, Chet Atkins, Willie Nelson, and several others that have become immediate favorites. I figured I better pick up some Johnny Cash and learn about his body of work. I decided to go for this set.

Suffice it to say that I listened to this about an hour a day, as I only have one good hour in the evening to listen to music without interuption. It took me about four days to finish all three CD's. I listened to several songs twice to confirm my initial impression. My initial impression grew song by song into my ultimate impression.

Ultimate Impression: This is just simply superb music. I'm amazed at the extremely high quality of virtually every song. The songs have a similar authentic feel to them, but they are still quite diverse in sentiment and subject matter. This is emotionally rich music, epic in scope, non-religious but virtually evangelical in words of wisdom and experience. This is self-improvement music; you become a better person by absorbing the insights poignantly presented. Life-prisoners and Billy Grahams seem to fuse into one common human venture and manifest both their conflicting and common sentiments in an at-peace-with-one's-self musical odyssey. But don't let me imply that Cash's music takes itself seriously or that there is some preachy undertone. Instead, humor is found frequently either in traces or full dosages. The final feel is almost Buddhist: acceptance, of life and circumstance. That is, at least, my interpretation; yours indeed may be quite different.

This is perhaps the only box set I've ever purchased where I felt a little depressed by the end. It was like a nice vacation was ending. Sure, I can always listen to the CD's again, but that first go-through was really a transforming episode. Bear in mind, these views are coming from a guy who has never much appreciated country-type music. My proclivities have always been more toward hard rock. But I certainly have the good sense to recognize brilliance when I hear it. This set goes right up on the same sacred shelf as Abbey Road and Back in Black and Let It Bleed.

It's sad how many fans have been - and will be - cheated the glory of Johnny Cash, simply because they immediately think "country" and turn a deaf ear. This is not country music! If you're at all attracted to the songwriting prowess of (Cash disciples) like Dylan, Springsteen, Petty or Mellencamp, or the dark imagery of the Doors or the Stones, this you must check out. Cash's rhythms & styles may sound country, but his spirit is all Rock N' Roll.

The first disc is composed mostly of his Sun Studio rockabilly tunes, which is as close to actual Rock N' Roll as he stepped (he wrote "Get Rhythm" for Elvis, who never recorded it). The second disc draws its strength mostly on gospel and traditional country ballads; sad, somber, sober, and melancholy. It has an overall folk feel to it. The third disc is more eclectic and gives evidence towards Cash's experimental tendencies of the 70's; it really features a little bit of everything, including some choice cuts from his two "prison" live albums.

One VERY important element to consider is Cash's homestate of Arkansas. The people & places documented in his songs are really rooted in Midwestern folklore, not Southern culture (Cash is also the first artist to defiantly speak out about the plight of the American Indians). The influence of blues & folk music on Cash are much more evident than that of other artists who are considered "country". Cash's connection to Springsteen, Dylan and the Stones are all confirmed here with convincing covers of their songs. Believe me, this is essential work for some of you non-believers - because I hate country music, but I love the Man In Black.

I'm a year younger than Johnny Cash, so as I heard one after another of his songs through my life, I could relate in one sense or another to the stage he was going through. And so many of these songs bring back memories of where I was when I first heard them. Others I am hearing for the first time, and these only reinforce my realization of how much he has become part of our culture.

One great advantage of this set is how these songs have been grouped. The first CD consists primarily the singer's rockabilly songs; the second features story telling ballads; and the final one gives us his later work from the two prison albums on through 1980.

I am sharing my listening and my enjoyment of this set with an older friend who was raised in Canada, and this person's enjoyment and appreciation and desire to hear the records over illustrates the universality and agelessness of Cash's appeal. This set is a worthwhile investment for your pleasure.

The man was truly amazing. He had an incredible 50-year musical journey, he redefined country music, and he made some of his best music at the end of his career. There'll never be another like Johnny Cash.

And there's not a better introduction for those new to Cash than this boxed set. If all you've ever heard from Cash is "A Boy Named Sue," "Folsom Prison Blues," and "Jackson," you're in for some serious studies at the University of Cash.

Newcomers will learn quickly that Johnny Cash played country his own way: no steel guitars, no fiddles, no twangy vocals. Just guitars, a bass, and a voice that you just can't forget. Cash had a way of telling it like it is, whether he was singing about country life, Vietnam, the American Indian, love, hate, or God. This is uncomplicated, brutally honest music sung by a legend. Highly recommended.

3 DISCS, 75 CLASSIC SONGS

The Sun years are well represented (perhaps over-represented) - they occupy over half of the first CD. All the early classics are here, including Hey porter, Cry cry cry, Folsom prison blues, I walk the line, Rock island line and Big river.

Within the Columbia years (which occupy the remainder of this set), the early years are strongly represented and include such classics as I still miss someone, Tennessee flat top box, Five feet high and rising, Don't take your guns to town, The ballad of Ira Hayes and I got stripes.

The mid sixties onwards are generally less well represented and some notable songs have been omitted, including It ain't me babe, The one on the right is on the left, Long legged guitar picking man, A thing called love and I would like to see you again. Many people (including Johnny himself) regard this period as patchy, but Johnny recorded plenty of good music during those years. Of course, these songs and others missing from this set can be found elsewhere, but anybody hoping that this CD would include all his famous songs will be disappointed.

The omission of some obvious songs leaves more room for some superb but very obscure songs. I particularly like Cisco Clifton's filling station - a very sad song about a business that collapsed following the building of a new road that diverted nearly all the traffic away.

Unquestionably, this is a very strong collection of Johnny Cash's music, but if you are sufficiently keen on JC to buy this, you will certainly want more than this to get some of the missing songs. If you only want his famous songs (and you want all the obvious ones), you may find one of the single or double CD's will suit you better.

Johnny Cash's 3 disc Essentials exemplifies what makes this man a great musician and a fascinating man. The great songs this man sings, in his flat deep voice, hold the smile on your face the entire time. The songs that aren't so good are amusing because you can imagine Johnny playing them and turning to the crowd to say, "well that one wasn't so good, but I got another one" with a smile on his face. For those interested in obtaining a collection with his classics you get them all here. And for those who want to hear some of the more obscure tune, you've got those as well. Check out this collection, kick back and watch the day roll by, you will enjoy it all.

I have never listened to country music in my life, except when driving through the South on vacation (and then reluctantly because nothing else was on the dial). But on a whim I bought this after seeing Johnny Cash do a live version of "Fulsom Prison Blues." I was blown away by the presentation of the song and Johnny's obvious sincerity.

Well, the music on this three-disc blew me away. I don't regard this as country music, though. Johnny Cash is more in the tradition of Springsteen and Dylan.

I still hate country music, but I am a big fan of Johnny Cash, who was more innovative, talented and versatile than I had ever dreamed. One of the greatest tracks here is "25 Minutes To Go," about a man counting down the minutes to his own hanging. A great concept and a great compilation.

This is the only Johnny Cash CD that I have, but I don't feel as if I need to buy many others. All of his classics are here, such as "Walk the Line," "Boy Named Sue," "Folsom Prison Blues," and "Ring of Fire." One will also find lesser-known, though no less exciting tracks, such as "25 Minutes to Go" (about a man on death row sweating out his last moments on earth). Cash, as we all know by now, was an American original. He was a commercial success, but never sold out; he had an edge, but was never offensive (except perhaps to the unfortunate guards at the Folsom and San Quentin concerts). Cash was a rebel that your mom would like to have over for dinner. And unlike Elvis, he never descended into self-parody. His voice was not great, but it was distinctive. The music was simple, but energetic. Cash's boom-chicka-boom sound seems like anyone could have done it. But no one else did, and it gets stuck in your head. In short, everybody should own a Johnny Cash CD, and this one is excellent. The early-80s tracks are not up to the standard of Cash's 50s-60s work, but they are not bad at all. Unfortunately, this CD collection, which came out in the 1980s, doesn't have any of the work that Cash did with Rick Rubin. Rubin spurred Cash's comeback in the 1990s, which introduced him to a new generation of fans. Cash collections abound, but this is a good place to start if one wants to listen to one of the few musicians who appeals widely to rock and country fans.

His songs included in Quentin Tarentino films, covered and feted by country, rock, and rap stars, even his Grammy win for the new "American III" shows that Johnny Cash yet again brought country music's message to a young rock audience without diluting or patronizing his near 50-year musical legacy.

That legacy's first, most fruitful 30 years are on "Essential," covering most of his Sun Records hits and subsequent quarter-century with Columbia ("or CBS, or Sony, or whatever the company chooses to be called now," Cash, still miffed over his unceremonious 1986 departure from the label, grumbles in the liner notes.).

Later, Cash states that "There isn't one of these 75 songs that don't belong, that don't fit." That truth salutes the music's comprehensive quality (nearly always rooted in big bass rhythm guitar, the Tennessee Three's chicka-boom rhythm and Cash's deep, conversational vocals) but also to CD sequencing. The four prison live tracks opening Disc III show the barely contained fury of a literal captive audience, sliding into topical 1969-70 songs like "What Is Truth?" "Man In Black," and "Singin' In Vietnam Talkin' Blues." (missing "The Preacher Said ('Jesus Said')." Autobiographical sketches like "Pickin' Time" and "Five Feet High And Rising" guide into the reverent gospel songs (with clean, intricate Carter Family harmony) that close Disc One. It's as if Cash's deeply lived and sung personal faith allowed him strength and wit to endure the lean years between.

This pattern continues, highlighting the contradictions making Cash country's most analyzed singer since Hank Williams. (Unlike Williams, Cash did not devise an altar ego like Luke The Drifter to present his religious story songs. Again, his liner notes state, "...Here is my flesh and blood. Here is my spirit.") One 1963 hit describes the helplessness and danger in falling in love ("Ring of Fire" written by June Carter, his wife of 33 years and herself a legend.) The next, recorded later that year, cruelly relishes love's bitter end ("Understand Your Man," which Cash acknowledges writing for his first wife). Sequencing again equates WWII hero Ira Hayes with mythical railroad spike-driver John Henry, larger-than-life men destroyed by inner demons and changing, ungrateful society. Even hilarious story songs like "Boy Named Sue," "Orey," and "One Piece At A Time," concern resourcefulness and resilience. Few, especially among musicians, understood like Johnny Cash the need to rebel and be forgiven.

You also get his best-known hits: "Folsom Prison Blues," "I Walk The Line," "Hey Porter," "I Still Miss Someone," "Don't Take Your Guns To Town," with Vic Anesini's remastering making them sound better than ever 45 years after many of them first hit. This approach plays up the singers and musicians Cash worked with; collectively Marshall Grant, Luther Perkins, the Carter Family, Statler Brothers, Marty Stuart, Jo-El Sonnier, and others form a country music historical timeline stretched into rock by Bob Dylan, Nick Lowe and, recently, by Tom Petty, Sheryl Crow, and Soundgarden's Chris Cornell.

Those unable or unwilling to purchase this box set should know that nearly any vintage Cash Sun or Columbia LP present the same integrity and humanity heard here. Purchasing "Essential" allows you the most, best, and best-sounding renditions, with booklet and liner notes which at last begin treat Cash's legacy more respectfully. "Call it 'The Essential Johnny Cash' if you will," he writes, "but understand this: Here is my heart." Indeed, this is the heart of any Johnny Cash collection, required for fans of country, folk, or rock music and students of Americana.