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AMERICAN MILESTONES SERIES
Johnny Cash
(Columbia Legacy / Sony)
It was Johnny Cash's 70th birthday last month -- but we're the ones getting all the presents.
To celebrate the country legend's latest milestone, the folks at Sony have been throwing quite a party. A couple of greatest-hit collections are already out, a tribute disc is on the way, and this month, five of the Man in Black's albums from the '50s and '60s were reissued. In typical fashion, the discs -- The Fabulous Johnny Cash, Hymns by Johnny Cash, Ride This Train, Orange Blossom Special and Carryin' On With Johnny Cash and June Carter -- come with bonus tracks, copious liner notes and even anecdotes from Cash himself. Here's the lowdown:
THE FABULOUS JOHNNY CASH
Year: 1958.
Back Story: The beginning of the big time. The aptly titled Fabulous is the first album the deep-throated Cash recorded after leaving Sun Records for Columbia. Not surprisingly, it takes the familiar Sun sound -- rockabilly tunes, twangy guitars, slapback production, spare arrangements, backing vocals from the Jordanaires -- and polishes it up for mass consumption.
Hits: The sombre I Still Miss Someone and Don't Take Your Guns to Town are timeless Cash cuts; the bouncy Frankie's Man, Johnny is his version of another timeless tune.
Extras: A half-dozen standout rarities, including the very first take of Oh What a Dream from Cash's first Columbia session, and the previously unavailable loping love song I'll Remember You.
Final Verdict: The last word in first albums.
Rating: 5 out of 5
HYMNS BY JOHNNY CASH
Year: 1958.
Back Story: Like Elvis, Cash loved his gospel music. But unlike Sun Records, Columbia was only too happy to let him record it. He wasted no time, issuing this approachable, old-timey mix of rockabilly and reverence shortly after his first album.
Hits: His gently rocking arrangement of Swing Low, Sweet Chariot oughta get him to the Pearly Gates; the bopcat gospel of It Was Jesus oughta get him inside.
Extras: Just one -- a different mix of It Was Jesus.
Final Verdict: Pretty heavenly for a hell-raiser.
Rating: 4 out of 5
RIDE THIS TRAIN
Year: 1960.
Back Story: Always the artistic rebel, Cash pioneers the concept album with this ambitious travelogue of grassroots Americana tales, linked by folksy narratives and plaintive train whistles.
Hits: The chain-gang boogie of Going to Memphis is one of his coolest tracks, bar none; When Papa Played the Dobro is kin to Tennessee Flat Top Box.
Extras: Four dandies, including the snappy Fable of Willie Brown and Smiling Bill McCall, along with the previously unavailable weeper Ballad of the Harpweaver. No new stories, sadly.
Final Verdict: All aboard!
Rating: 4 out of 5
ORANGE BLOSSOM SPECIAL
Year: 1965.
Back Story: Forever on the cutting edge of cool, Johnny delivers countrified covers of three tunes -- It Ain't Me Babe, Don't Think Twice, It's Alright and Mama, You've Been on My Mind -- by some folkie upstart named Dylan. Then he tosses in a few originals, along with confident, rootsy versions of Orange Blossom Special, Long Black Veil, Wildwood Flower and Danny Boy just for good measure.
Hits: If all those tunes don't do it for you, there's a pretty duet with June Carter on When It's Springtime in Alaska (It's Forty Below).
Extras: Not that you need them, but there are three -- a dark reading of the Carter Family's Engine 143, the tinkly piano ballad (I'm Proud) The Baby is Mine and a second version of Dylan's Mama with toreador horns -- all previously unreleased in North America.
Final Verdict: The bridge between Cash's '50s and '60s sounds.
Rating: 5 out of 5
CARRYIN' ON WITH JOHNNY CASH AND JUNE CARTER
Year: 1967.
Back Story: One of country music's greatest couples make some beautiful music together on this fiery collection of duets, backed by crack Nashville pickers.
Hits: The megasmash Jackson (which later became this album's title) is the standout, but we're kinda partial to Long-Legged Guitar Pickin' Man, whose rockin' harmonies prefigure X by a full decade. Groovy takes on Ray Charles' I Got a Woman and What'd I Say don't hurt either.
Extras: The bouncing country track The Wind Changes and the patriotic anthem From Sea to Shining Sea.
Final Verdict: Listening to them play together, it's no wonder they've stayed together.
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 (More on: Johnny Cash).
Friday, March 29, 2002
The ultimate Johnny Cash collection
Winnipeg Sun