There was a time in my life when I detested country music. That was when I was about 12-15 and the top acts of the moment were the likes of Billy Ray Cyrus and Garth Brooks*. Most of the music coming out of Nashville at that time seemed like a lot of the adult contemporary poo that I was beginning to loathe at the time. It wasn't until later on that I started listening to some of the classic country artists such as Merle Haggard and Willie Nelson. Then I started to develop an appreciation for the art form.
One artist who led me to appreciate country music more was Johnny Cash. The first song of his I heard was Ring of Fire. Heard it in 1993 right around the time I hit the big 1-5. Here was a song about love that actually had an edge to it. This wasn't some "Achy Breaky" shit, this was a song full of danger. The following year, Cash released the first of his four part "American Recordings" series. Hearing that album made me a fan for life (as well as making fans of a few other people I know who continue to loathe country music but love Johnny Cash).
Now Cash put out a great deal of music in his lifetime on this earth and acquiring it can be a tricky proposition. From his early rockabilly records for Sun in the late 1950s to his straightforward country songs in the 60s to his revitalization in the 1990s (after the Garth lovers in Nashville gave the man the boot) the Man in Black produced a ton of albums. The 2-CD Essential Johnny Cash (not to be confused with the earlier 3-disc box set of the same name) does a good job of covering most of Cash's career and offering up a summary of all sides of everyone's favorite black wearing troubadour. All sides aside from the American recordings and since those albums should be listened to in their entirety their absence isn't a big deal.
The Sun sides are represented by early singles like "Hey Porter", "Get Rhythm" and of course "I Walk the Line". On those songs, we have Cash and the famous Tennessee Two (guitarist Luther Perkins and bassist Marshall Grant) offering up their distinctive rockabilly complete with that "boom chicka boom" sound. "I Walk the Line" in particular stands out with it declarations of fidelity in the face of danger.
Later on we get into the more straightforward country side of Cash following his departure from Sun for Columbia Records (after Sun label head Sam Phillips refused to let Cash record a gospel album). At first we hear him experimenting with more of a pop style on songs like "Ballad of a Teenage Queen", songs that would sound like a cliche coming from most artists. But Cash succeeds in making them tolerable. However it was here that the outlaw we would know and grow to love would emerge.
This becomes apparent on "Ring of Fire". A classic ode to the dangers of falling in love with an outlaw, this song portrays romance as the Faustian bargain it too often is. The southwestern backing mixes with Cash's deep baritone voice and brings the song to life.
Yet if Cash was an outlaw he was a compassionate one. He showed this on numerous songs throughout his career most notably 1972's "Man in Black". The song features Cash pledging his devotion to the poor and downtrodden as well as the thousands of Americans being scorched by napalm in Vietnam at the time (it was sadly ironic that Cash died around the same time the situation in Iraq started heating up). Cash also shows compassion for America's fighting men on "The Ballad Of Ira Hayes", which tells the story of a Pema Indian who in spite of suffering horrible abuses, went on to serve his country in World War II (Hayes is one of the men you see raising the flag on Iwo Jima) only to have his country turn its back on him and leave him to die as a drunk. Then we have the eager young cowboy of "Don't Take Your Guns to Town" who fails to heed the titular advice of his mother and winds up paying the price.
Of course, there are plenty of other Cash classics on here as well as some forgotten ones. We get Cash dueting with Bob Dylan on a beautiful rendition of Dylan's "Girl from the North Country". We have duets between Johnny and June Carter Cash on Dylan's "It Ain't Me Babe" (I actually like this version better than the original), Tim Hardin's "If I Were a Carpenter" (the only version of that song that doesn't make me want to puke) and "Jackson". And of course there is the famous version of "Folsom Prison Blues" recorded live at Folsom Prison and the simultaneously hilarious and touching "A Boy Named Sue" which I admit to doing a killer karaoke rendition of not too long ago. Other classics include "Daddy Sang Bass", "Flesh and Blood" and "Sunday Morning Coming Down". As for the closing track on this set, the U2 collaboration "The Wanderer" I find myself thinking it would have been appropriate if it had been played over the closing credits of The Constant Gardener (although this may simply be due to a comment Redsox75 left on my review of that movie).
Full track listing for this album:
DISC 1:
1. Hey Porter
2. Cry, Cry, Cry
3. I Walk The Line
4. Get Rhythm
5. There You Go
6. Ballad Of A Teenage Queen
7. Big River
8. Guess Things Happen That Way
9. All Over Again
10. Don't Take Your Guns To Town
11. Five Feet High And Rising
12. Rebel Johnny Yuma, The
13. Tennessee Flat Top Box
14. I Still Miss Someone
15. Ring Of Fire
16. Ballad Of Ira Hayes, The
17. Orange Blossom Special - (with Charlie McCoy/Boots Randolph/The Carter Family)
18. Were You There (When They Crucified My Lord) - (with The Carter Family)
DISC 2:
1. It Ain't Me, Babe - (with June Carter Cash)
2. One On The Right Is On The Left, The
3. Jackson - (with June Carter Cash)
4. Folsom Prison Blues - (live)
5. Daddy Sang Bass
6. Girl From The North Country - (with Bob Dylan)
7. A Boy Named Sue - (live)
8. If I Were A Carpenter - (with June Carter Cash)
9. Sunday Morning Coming Down
10. Flesh And Blood
11. Man In Black
12. Ragged Old Flag
13. One Piece At A Time
14. Ghost Riders In The Sky
15. Song Of The Patriot - (with Marty Robbins)
16. Highwayman - (with Willie Nelson/Waylon Jennings/Kris Kristofferson)
17. Night Hank Williams Came To Town, The - (with Waylon Jennings)
18. Wanderer, The - (with U2)
Hardcore Cash fans I direct to the aforementioned box set. But those who discovered the Man In Black through his 1990s albums and want to get acquainted with his early classics or those seeking an introduction should definitely pick up The Essential Johnny Cash. The title isn't just empty hyperbole. It's truly essential music. Even for those who hate country music.
*I've long maintained that songs like "Achy Breaky Heart" are the reason the genre has such a bad rap these days.
"Don't tell my aorta
My racky cracky aorta!"
This review is part of
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