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Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
Every home should have a Johnny Cash compilation. Cash is a genuine titan of popular music, whose finest work should be as venerated as anything by Elvis Presley, Bob Dylan, Bob Marley, David Bowie or Brian Wilson, and this collection does as good a job of beginning to explain why as any. The virtue of Cash's music is its simplicity. His brutally reductive take on country, set to his distinctive boom-chicka-boom backbeat, directs all of the listener's attention to his supernaturally world-weary voice (even as a teenager, Cash sounded about a thousand years old). This collection is a judicious mix of covers (Hank Williams' "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry", Bob Dylan's "It Ain't Me Babe" among them) and original Cash standards. That the producers of this record have a genuine empathy with their subject is confirmed by their inclusion of a live version of the triumphantly nihilist "Folsom Prison Blues" (once identified by Ice-T, no less, as a progenitor of gangsta rap) taped at one of Cash's famous prison concerts . The cheers that greet the line "I shot a man in Reno, just to watch him die" are the eeriest confirmation of credibility by an audience upon a performer ever recorded. --Andrew Mueller
Product Description
1-Ring Of Fire 2-I Walk The Line 3-A Thing Called Love 4-Sunday Morning Coming Down 5-Folsom Prison Blues 6-Home Of The Blues 7-Guess Things Happen That Way 8-The Way Of A Woman In Love 9-The Ballad Of Ira Hayes 10-Tennessee Flat Top Box 11-I Got Stripes 12-Get Rhythm 13-Cry Cry Cry 14-Hey Porter 15-Ballad Of A Teenage Queen (& EVERLY/R.CASH) 16-Five Feet High And Rising 17-Long Black Veil 18-I Still Miss Someone 19-Blue Train 20-Peace In The Valley 21-Family Bible 22-The Night Hank Williams Came To Town (1998/SPECTRUM UK) 22 tracks Polygram/Mercury 1988-90 last copies !
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
39 of 39 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
Most, if not all, of the four reviews already on this page, and the Amazon review itself, are mislocated or confuse this album (Spectrum 554 383-2) with another similar one (notice how the reviewers refer to tracks that are not, in fact, in this listing!). This particular album is not the original recordings, but one of those studio remakes from decades later, probably 1998 so far as can be told from the cover notes. Johnny sounds tired (how many times must he have sung 'Ring of Fire' before he came to make this?).
Of course, you get digital quality with a remake, but I'd much rather have the raw and passionate originals. Caveat emptor.
Of course, you get digital quality with a remake, but I'd much rather have the raw and passionate originals. Caveat emptor.
14 of 15 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
This single CD contains the best of Johnny Cash prior to his resurgence in the late 90s in collaboration with producer Rick Rubin and is difficult to fault with regards to content. All of the absolutely essential classics are included such a I Walk The Line, Ring Of Fire and a duet of Jackson with his enduring soulmate and second wife June Carter.
Cash was one of the few artists who was successfully considered a "man of the people" throughout his career. Tellingly for such a blue-collar hero, his two most famous and critically acclaimed albums were recorded live in American prisons and this compilation features Folsom Prison Blues from the At Folsom Prison LP and the funny A Boy Name Sue from At San Quentin.
The Cash sound stays similar throughout this Best Of with Johnny's deep vocals and fast country-ish acoustic supported by sparing rock'n'roll influenced lead guitar licks, simple root note bass and tight snare-heavy drumming. Female backing vocals and other instruments, such as the brass on Ring Of Fire, are used on occasions to embellish the arrangements with the superb train-like harmonica on Orange Blossom Special being particularly well played and effective.
Having said all this, I'm not a particularly massive fan of Johnny Cash's music though it shows something of the almost universal esteem with which he's held that I have gone firmly on the defensive here. Nevertheless, it's still good to have one JC LP with all the classics and for this purposes, The Best Of Johnny Cash does a very good job indeed.
Cash was one of the few artists who was successfully considered a "man of the people" throughout his career. Tellingly for such a blue-collar hero, his two most famous and critically acclaimed albums were recorded live in American prisons and this compilation features Folsom Prison Blues from the At Folsom Prison LP and the funny A Boy Name Sue from At San Quentin.
The Cash sound stays similar throughout this Best Of with Johnny's deep vocals and fast country-ish acoustic supported by sparing rock'n'roll influenced lead guitar licks, simple root note bass and tight snare-heavy drumming. Female backing vocals and other instruments, such as the brass on Ring Of Fire, are used on occasions to embellish the arrangements with the superb train-like harmonica on Orange Blossom Special being particularly well played and effective.
Having said all this, I'm not a particularly massive fan of Johnny Cash's music though it shows something of the almost universal esteem with which he's held that I have gone firmly on the defensive here. Nevertheless, it's still good to have one JC LP with all the classics and for this purposes, The Best Of Johnny Cash does a very good job indeed.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
This is a re-record from 1998-ish. I own it - I was on holiday and in desperate need of some Johnny when I bought it. Unfortunately this is rubbish. Spend your money elsewhere. There are much better albums out there with the original recordings!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Johney Cash Review
The CD was purchased for a ladies birthday to remember the great Johney Cash's music. It was exactly as wanted.
Published 2 months ago by DAJ Stevens"Stevo"
Enjoyable
This was an inexpensive CD which enabled me to be able to judge the range of song types that JC was able to execute. Read more
Published 5 months ago by Simj
Johnny Cash CD review
This is a very good CD with a bargain price. I particularly like the first 6 songs on this CD. I highly recommend you to buy this CD if you have liked the Walk the Line movie.
Published 20 months ago by JOE
Definitive and (i think) genuine
I think of myself as a country music fan, but as someone who has come to the genre via expansive 'alt-country' bands like Wilco and Uncle Tupelo, albums of country standards like... Read more
Published on 2 Dec 2009 by J. Jenkins
If you like Cash then you'll love this.
All of Johnny Cash's best songs (minus his cover of NIN's Hurt). A must-buy for the Cash-fanatic!
Published on 24 Aug 2009 by J. Staniford
Hits From The Man In Black.
This is a good solid collection of hits from Johnny Cash. It's obviously not all of them but a nice selection anyway. Read more
Published on 9 Mar 2009 by Thorny Bush
Does whats asked of it
If you're like myself and have specific musical genre to call your own and prefer to have a plethora of different styles and sounds this is a great album to purchase. Read more
Published on 7 Jan 2009 by S. Clarke
I'm a beginner!
Having just seen the new Johnny Cash biopic, Walk The Line, and marvelled at Joaquin Phoenix's wonderful performances as the man in black, I just had to check out the real... Read more
Published on 26 Jan 2006 by Mr. J. WARE
Beginner to Cash? Then start here...!
I'd say this is my fourth year as a serious fan of the big JC. This 'Best Of' here, being my first purchase. Read more
Published on 14 Sep 2004 by Paul Browne
Great American Classic
I love Cash he is the best.Every household must have one.Expessicaly Rig of Fire my all time favorie.I think kids who like rock should be introuduced to this great cd. Read more
Published on 18 Oct 2001
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