Johnny 99

Johnny Cash | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (January 19, 1999)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Koch Records
• ASIN: B00000G4SC
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #31,367 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars a great artist near the peak of his powers, March 13, 1999

By 

Jerome Clark (Canby, Minnesota) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Johnny 99 (Audio CD)

This undeservedly obscure album -- as accomplished as the acclaimed American Recordings Johnny Cash would do more than a decade later -- appears at last on CD. Cash has always been as much a folk singer as a country singer, and Johnny 99 has little to do with the cookie-cutter product, with its numbingly predictable lyrics and arrangements, ordinarily issuing from Nashville studios. Its high point is a stunning rendition of Eric von Schmidt's calypso-inflected "Joshua Gone Barbados," a true story of a failed strike on the West Indian island of St. Vincent in the 1960s. It's often been covered but never better than here. Cash also executes sensitive readings of two especially fine Bruce Springsteen compositions, the title tune and "Highway Patrolman." Other standouts include Guy Clark's "New Cut Road" and Vickery/Borches's "God Bless Robert E. Lee." Though some cuts are less satisfying than these, nothing on Johnny 99 is likely to make you lunge for the stereo in search of the "stop" button. The production, by the always reliable Brian Ahern, is spare and uncluttered. Cash has delivered his share of dreck over the years, but Johnny 99 shows us a great artist near the peak of his powers.

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars It's about time., January 29, 1999

By 

Gogmagog "fan of all things music, movies and... (United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Johnny 99 (Audio CD)

Thankful for any Johnny Cash release, new or old, I was happy to see particular title come along.

A consistent, quality album from an otherwise largely disgusting period in country music (which, save for Johnny, Willie, Billy Joe, Dale Watson and a few others, continues through the 90s), the Springsteen covers are definitely the highlight, but all of the tracks are worthwhile, especially "Joshua Gone Barbados."

KOCH continues to provide the finest re-releases in country music and this is no exception. Definitely worth the low price.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Don't overlook this effort, it has several gems..., January 19, 2006

By 

William E. Adams (Midland, Texas USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Johnny 99 (Audio CD)

I am starting my 50th year as a Cash fan, but back in 1983 when "Johnny 99" came out, I wasn't even aware of it. This was toward the end of his stint at Columbia, and JC had not had a hit in seven years. He would go to Mercury, producing only one good album ("Water From the Wells of Home") and then end up seven years after "Johnny 99" making that huge comeback with "American Recordings." Knowing the past and the future of this legendary artist makes listening to "Johnny 99" much more fascinating than it must have been back in '83. Some of the cuts have backing vocals like his mid-'50's rockabilly stuff, but more of them are kind of stark and solemn, predicting the "American Recordings" phase to come. Two songs are by Springsteen, one by Guy Clark, and one by Eric Von Schmidt, an old folky pal of the early Dylan. That one, "Joshua Gone Barbados" was done well in the '60's by Tom Rush, but Johnny gives an equally fine rendition. I also like "Girl From the Canyon" and "Brand New Dance" (a duet with June) and of course, the one track which has been anthologized in later CD issues, "I'm Ragged But I'm Right." Overall, this is a nice effort that got lost in the ton of material that Johnny released, and it is worth owning.