Johnny Cash Album: “16 Biggest Hits”

This is as good as any single disc out there for people wanting only one Johnny Cash hits collection. ( Sorry, you can't put almost fifty years of recordings on one album or box set. ) This cd covers his early period, the live prison songs and the rest of the best. Much has been said about "The Man In Black", for me my favorite part of his music is how well he does train songs, which are found on "Get Rhythm/Story Of Trains And Rivers". He's also one of the best concert performers I've ever seen. Every fan of music needs one Cash album. So, start here and follow up after hearing the various tracks.

The recent success of the film Walk The Line has spawned numerous - mostly redundant - Johnny Cash solo collections. Surprisingly, this is the first attempt at compiling Johnny and June's best duet recordings and only their second fully collaborative cd (the first, a reissue of their 1967 album Carryin' On, collects the first four tracks included here).

16 Biggest Hits captures most of Johnny and June's duet singles, with their top 30 rendition of "If I Were A Hammer" strangely omitted. Their early recordings were characterized by playful banter, be it humorous ("It Ain't Me Babe," "Long-Legged Guitar Pickin' Man") or flirtatious ("Jackson"). With their marriage in 1968, there was a shift toward songs of devotion to each other ("If I Were A Carpenter," "The Loving Gift," "The Pine Tree"), and later on, God ("No Need To Worry," "Far Side Banks Of Jordan").

Eleven of these tracks were recorded between 1969 and 1977, when duets between two established solo artists were the rage (think Conway and Loretta, Porter and Dolly, George and Tammy). This collection shows that Johnny and June at their best were the equal of any of those other more prolific country tandems, ultimately creating a harmonious bond on and off record.

Its funny, in all the years that I have been a fan of Johnny Cash I never considered a "greatest hits" of John and June duets. Interesting. Actually, to tell you the truth I never knew there were that many to fill an album. While Junes appearances lighten up a few CASH tunes, I never really considered that she was responsible for much of his sixties chart success.. (not to be mentioned the fact that SHE wrote the song RING OF FIRE..)

Well, here it is. I guess no one else considered this idea until now.. (the hit movie inspired this collection, duh_) and this is perfect for the peeps who liked the film. The WALK THE LINE soundtrack was good, I'll give you that, with fresh renditions of the JOHN/JUNE duets by JOUQUIN/REESE. But if you wanna hear what these songs REALLY sounded like, and feel what that magic was between the REAL Johnny Cash and June Carter, this collection is pretty darned intrestin'.

JACKSON, DARLIN COMPANION, LONG LEGGED GUITAR PICKIN MAN.... June Carter adds much playfulness to Johnny Cash's style. Cash's music is mainly stuff to cry to when you're drinkin', but Cash/Carter duets are stuff to clap your hands and smile to... when you're drinkin'.

Although I'm missing the Live stuff (and really I will probably mention the FOLSOM and SAN QUENTIN albums in EVERY review I write for anything CASH related... you get June Carter sass in those too, and they rock the most) but this is the meatiest collection of the two together, spanning the years 1964-1983. Theres something good about those two, they inspire good energy, you may like...

However, that has got to be the WORST picture of the two of them on the front of the CD. Whats up with that? Oh well 5 stars.

Dont' get me wrong. I respect and admire Johnny Cash and his music, but this collection was disappointing. I guess the Folsom Prison effort spoiled me too much which features Cash at his rawest and best. Some of these songs are good, but most of it left me hanging dry. Besides, you can't just nail down a legend with just 16 songs.

Overall this is a really good CD made very accessible by the $3.99 daily deal yesterday. I like every track on it. But I'm very upset the live version of A Boy Named Sue was edited. Had I known the edited out something Johnny said or sang due to language I would have bought a different one of his CDs. This ruins the experience of the man's music for me. I like to experience things as they were meant to be or in the moment. The sound of an "edit beep" is more harsh to my ears then any word in the English language. Aside from the cheapened experience the rest of the music is very good!