| The Essential Johnny Cash - Johnny Cash | |
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Columbia/Legacy has released another album in celebration of the 70th birthday of the legendary Johnny Cash. The double CD Essential edition is the first time that four decades of recording are included in one package. There are Sun, Columbia and Mercury songs in this 36 hit package. This is one of the most comprehensive collections of Cash Classics in one spot that I have seen. It has all kinds of old favorites and it comes to a close with "The Wanderer," which features his lead vocals backed by U2. It includes several duets with June Carter Cash as well.
"Hey Porter" is an upbeat song about the train taking him to his love. It has a great rhythm to it. This was Johnny's first hit on Sun Records in 1955.
"I Walk The Line" is probably one of Johnny Cash's best- known "signature" songs. His distinctive boom-chicka-boom style is featured prominently in this song.
"Get Rhythm" is a long-time favorite of mine. It has a neat sound to it and tells you that if you have the blues, nothing will fix them better than music. Terrific instrumentals help make this a very distinctive song.
"Ballad of a Teenage Queen" is one of the first Johnny Cash songs I can remember hearing. It is a ballad, but not your typical slow one. It has the distinctive sound of Johnny. It talks of a small town girl who leaves her boy next door for the life in Hollywood. When all is said and done, she leaves the bright lights and stardom and goes back to the boy next door. This is a really great song.
"Five Feet High and Rising" is the story of the hard life that the farmers have. There is a flood and all is lost. Throughout the song he asks how high the water is and talks about the effect it is having on the farm.
"Tennessee Flat-Top Box" is another favorite of mine. I first heard it sung by Roseanne Cash. I loved it then, and I was thrilled to find out that she had covered one of her dad's hits. It has a steady rhythm and talks of a young boy who wants to do nothing but play the Tennessee Flat-Top Box. He has women from Nine to Ninety gathered round him while he plays.
"Ring of Fire" is another classic Johnny Cash song. It is another song that immediately comes to mind when you think of Johnny. It was co-written by June Carter. It features some horns along with the steady guitar rhythm. It talks about the strong effect love can have on people.
"The Ballad of Ira Hayes" is a song that really makes you search your soul. It talks about a forgotten war hero who is pushed to the side and looked on with scorn. The song says, "Call him drunken Ira Hayes. He won't answer, not the drunken Indian or the Marine who went to war." He fought for his country in the battle of Iwo Jima and was one of the few people that walked away from that battle. He returned a hero, but soon the people forgot that and he was tossed to the wayside. You can hear the distinctive voice of June singing in the background.
The incredibly powerful "Were You There (When They Crucified My Lord)" brings the first CD to a close. This has to be one of my favorite inspirational songs as done by Johnny with help from the Carter Family. It is sung with deep feeling and I believe it is Anita Carter that comes in with some really powerful background vocals.
The second CD features a few duets with June Carter Cash. "It Ain't Me Babe" starts off this CD with a bang. I've always enjoyed the two of them singing together. In this particular song, the horns give it almost a mariachi feel.
"Jackson" is a long-time favorite duet for me. It has an upbeat tempo and talks about their love. They got "married in a fever hotter than a pepper sprout." They have a fun time going back and forth with what each of them are going to do in Jackson. It is an all around fun song to listen to. It is hard not to tap the toes along with it.
"Folsum Prison Blues" starts out with, "Hello, I'm Johnny Cash." I'd have to say that this is probably another song that comes to mind right away when you mention Johnny Cash. He is stuck in prison listening to the trains go by and thinking what he would do if he could just jump on one and go. He spends his mind imagining the people on the train and the freedom they have to just keep moving. He knows he did wrong, but just keeps daydreaming. The boom-chicka-boom guitar is very prominent in this song.
"Daddy Sang Bass" is another (yes I have a lot of favorites) favorite of mine. I have listened to this song from the time I was very small and have always loved it. It just has a beat that I really like. It is about the unbroken circle of life. You may miss people here on earth, but will see them again one day in Heaven. The family circle will remain unbroken.
Johnny has sung with a very diverse group of people. Many of his duet partners are not people you would expect to hear on a country song. Bob Dylan joins Johnny for "Girl From The North Country." This song is a ballad about a girl they both love.
One of the fun songs that Johnny recorded was "A Boy Named Sue." It was recorded live and is a really funny song. His dad named him Sue before taking off and leaving him and his mom on their own. With a name like that you either get tough or die. He spent the next years trying to hunt down the man that gave him that name. He found him and said, "how do you do? My name is Sue! Now you're gonna die!!" It is a must listen to song.
"Man In Black" is a song Johnny wrote to explain his traditionally black attire. He wears it for the people who are oppressed and for the people who are wrongfully imprisoned. As long as this world continues to wrong her people, he will continue to wear black. It is a thought provoking song.
"Ragged Old Flag" has been played often in recent months, but Johnny has been patriotic all his life. This song was released in the early 70's. It is the story of the "ragged old flag" that is flying in the courtyard in a small town. They talk about the different battles our flag has been through during our fight to remain a free country. And it is still flying proud. It is a very good song done in more of a narrative style.
"One Piece At a Time" is another fun Johnny Cash song. He decides that if he takes a part a day from the car plant in which he works, no one will miss them. One piece at a time he builds a car. And what a car he ends up with. This is a great song to put a smile on your face.
"The Wanderer" closes out this 36-song treasure chest of Johnny Cash greats. It is one of his later collaborations and features the band U2. It has a little different sound to it. It doesn't have his signature guitar style, but it is unmistakable Johnny Cash. It is a really great finish to a great project. I love the albums that close with an inspirational song, and miss that tendency with a lot of the newer artists that don't do it.
Bottom line for this album, there are no bad songs on the whole thing. They have chosen all of the great Johnny Cash songs and put them in one place for your listening pleasure. I will be enjoying this double CD set for many years to come.
Song List:
- Hey Porter
- Cry, Cry, Cry
- ">I Walk the Line
- Get Rhythm
- >There You Go
- Ballad of a Teenage Queen
- Big River
- Guess Things Happen That Way
- All Over Again
- Don't Take Your Guns to Town
- Five Feet High and Rising
- Rebel-Johnny Yuma
- Tennessee Flat-Top Box
- I Still Miss Someone
- Ring of Fire
- Ballad of Ira Hayes
- range Blossom Special
- Where Were You (When They Crucified My Lord)
- It Ain't Me, Babe
- One on the Right Is on the Left
- Jackson
- Folsom Prison Blues
- Daddy Sang Bass
- Girl from the North Country
- Boy Named Sue
- If I Were a Carpenter
- Sunday Morning Coming Down
- Flesh and Blood
- Man in Black
- Ragged Old Flag
- One Piece at a Time
- (Ghost) Riders in the Sky
- Song of the Patriot
- Highwayman
- Night Hank Williams Came to Town
- Wanderer
Album cover, used with permission of Legacy Recordings.
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