Customer Reviews

The Essential Johnny Cash 3.0

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The descriptor 'essential' has often been misused and exaggerated in the hopes of selling CDs. In the case of the original "Essential Johnny Cash," the term lives up to its name. It was the initial release that turned me onto the man who eventually became one of my heroes. 'The Essential' starts in the fifties, with Johnny's hits like 'Hey Porter,' 'Don't Take Your Guns To Town' and 'Ring Of Fire.' Playing 'Were You There (When They Crucified My Lord),' disc one finishes off with a splash of gospel. The second disc explores Johnny's music from the 70s and a tad of the 1980s. It features memorable collaborations with the likes of cats such as Bob Dylan, Marty Robbins and of course June Carter. There's an offering of some live songs like 'Folsom Prison Blues' and 'A Boy Named Sue.' The first disc is by far the strongest, but the second makes this collection more well rounded. Okay, so what's the 3.0 all about? The 3.0 version contains an additional disc. The million dollar question is, is it worth it? In short, no. 'Short' is the key descriptor in light of the twenty minute length. Aside from total playing time, it mostly offers B-list songs. 'I Got Stripes,' 'Understand Your Man' and 'Oney' are good tunes, but most will consider the others throwaways. Lyrically speaking, 'What is Truth' is one of Johnny's most important songs, but it's musically uninteresting. As a three disc retrospective of Johnny Cash, it lags behind Sony's "The Essential Johnny Cash 1955-1983." Both "Essential" discs lack any of Cash's American music from the 1990s. How wonderful it would have been for the 3.0 to be a true retrospective and include songs like 'Rowboat,' 'I Won't Back Down,' 'Country Boy' and 'Oh Bury Me Not.' This was a missed opportunity. "The Legend of Johnny Cash" is a true forty year compilation, but unlike the "Essentials" it's only a single disc. To finish things off, the eco-friendly packaging simply means that there's no jewel case. Do not buy the 3.0 if you already own the initial release. Even if you're starting from scratch, the 3.0 is not a good value. Save ten bucks and stick with version 1.0 of "Essential Johnny Cash."