JOHNNY CASH
The Essential Johnny Cash
(Columbia/Legacy)
To kick off a celebration of Johnny Cash's upcoming 70th birthday, Columbia/Legacy is releasing a two-CD compilation that consists primarily of his material from the Sun and Columbia labels. Over the course of the year they'll follow up with remaster/re-release jobs on ten classic Cash albums.

A variety of Cash compilations and box sets already exists, including 1993's The Essential Johnny Cash (1955-1983) and last year's Love God Murder. But Cash's Columbia archive includes over 80 albums, so there's a bulk of material to utilize for compilations themed just about any way imaginable. Keep in mind that there were years when Cash's albums alone accounted for a staggering five percent of Columbia's total sales.

What we learn from listening to four decades' worth of Cash material is that the man didn't conform to the times, he made the times conform to him. Whether backed by slap bass and twangy guitar, as on 1955's "Hey Porter," or a full complement of keyboards and band atmospherics such as on 1985's "Highwayman," he rarely sounded like he didn't have a firm command of his sound. The exception is the final track, "The Wanderer" from U2's 1993 Zooropa CD, which sounds like karaoke from the Wal-Mart toy keyboard department; blame U2 for that debacle.

We know the hits, and they're here in abundance. "Ring of Fire," with its dream-inspired mariachi horns, is a cornerstone of popular culture. "Folsom Prison Blues" captures Cash connecting with a captive audience of the toughest kind. Shel Silverstein's "A Boy named Sue," which unfortunately bleeps out the phrase "son of a bitch" on this compilation (what gives?), finds him charming the toughs at San Quentin.

Some of the lesser-known songs, and there aren't many, are worth the price of admission alone. "The Ballad of Ira Hayes" weeps for an American Indian who fought as a Marine and died a drunk. "The One On the Right is On the Left," which humorously warns against mixing politics with "the folks songs of our land," is an odd sentiment considering how many political songs Cash recorded. The sparse, solemn "Were You There (When They Crucified My Lord)?" is utterly haunting and gorgeous. "Girl from the North Country," from Bob Dylan's Nashville Skyline, should have been bigger than "Lay Lady Lay," that album's hit.

Cash has made a career of being cool, Christian and occasionally quite comical. Since Cash underwent a creative rebirth on American Records, Columbia probably misses him dearly*. Still, they can't go wrong with a set such as,The Essential Johnny Cash, and neither can you. Brian Briscoe [buy it]

For fans of: early Kris Kristofferson, Shaver, Merle Haggard

* Ironically, American Recordings is now being distributed by Columbia, so Sony has Cash back in the fold, in a sense. (back)