Johnny Cash Album: “Love, God, Murder [Box]”

Unlike the rest of his greatest hits packages, this trio of discs (16 tracks each and themed neatly as Love, Murder and God) were hand-picked by Cash from across the spectrum of his all-encompassing career - from early Sun recordings in the `50s to Rick Rubin-produced comeback discs in the middle of the new country `90s. But familiarity is not an issue: no kidding, one listen to this bunch and poof! you're an instant Cash fan. There's something undeniably magical about his formula for story-telling. It's not country, it's not honky tonk, it's not rock and roll, it's something more primal, like twisted campfire songs sung/spoken by a black-clad bullfrog sitting on the fence between heaven and hell. Themes aside, the imagery of love, God and murder float through all three discs, though Murder was the first stop (don't ask why) and it's the best; packed with black-humoured tales from the Old West (Don't Take Your Guns To Town, Mister Garfield), of hangings, gun fights, prisons (Folsom Prison Blues, Austin Prison), luckless outlaws (Cocaine Blues) and merciless sheriffs, all brought to vibrant life and stamped indelibly with Cash's echoed and haunting baritone, token sound effects and spartan acoustics. The spirit of the Murder set is epitomized in Joe Bean, the tale of an ill-fated bandit who, despite his mother's best efforts at the Governor's office, is hanged on his birthday. Mid-song, Cash and a chorus break in to `Happy Birthday Joe Bean' only to be interrupted by the sound of the gallows creaking open and the audible - gack! - of a freshly hung Bean. Try to stifle the chuckles when the bunch resume singing the birthday refrain. It's dark, twisted - and damn funny, tongue-in-cheek violence that makes Uzi-blasting gangsta rappers sound like the Muppets. From Murder to Love, if only because it has a bevy of familiar tracks (I Walk the Line, Flesh and Blood, Ring of Fire, Oh What a Dream). While not quite as captivating a listen as Murder, it boasts the same brilliant storytelling - bittersweet, gruesome and genuine - and unencumbered acoustic pluck, a steely guitar style so evocative of the Old West the backbeat sounds as if it's been stapled to the front end of a coal-fired express train. No surprise - in Cash's world of Love the roses are faded, the hearts are broken and commitment is more likely to end in fiery destruction than a silver anniversary. Forget chocolates and candles. The love celebrated here is the real goods - the pain, desperation, the doom, the jealousy - not the simpleton sonnets of undying amour espoused in new country aggrandizement. Finally, there's God. With its age-old imagery of fire, brimstone and anticipated salvation, it's a closer companion piece to Murder, a fact played out as Cash's big authoritative baritone resonates like a tent revival preacher, transforming the subject matter - this time a black and white hymn book packed with Old West spirituals - into hypnotically colourful illustrations of heavenly affirmation and Holy fire (It Was Jesus, My God Is Real, Redemption, Belshazzar, The Kneeling Drunkard's Plea). Yes, there may be more to life than love, murder and God. But in dashing his world of outlaws, heartbreak and faith with impossibly human fallibilities, contradictions and twisted consequences, Cash makes it real, so real you'll ultimately feel like celebrating the fact you're alive.

Obviously, the material is totally essential. If you don't own many Cash CD's, stop reading and go buy this right now. If you already own an armload of Cash discs, you might need more convincing as to why you should part with 30 more of your hard earned dollars... first off, there's a handful of unissued tracks, but the real attraction is the sound... pristine, clear as a bell, warm, detailed and featuring an expansive soundstage (on the stereo recordings)... it's considerably better than even the columbia remasters. If you have a high-end stereo, this is worth owning for the sound alone.

Look, if you are like me, you have a couple of Johnny Cash CD's kicking around in your collection. I have both the Prison Cd's, and they are just super. However, I really didn't feel like buying 7 million of his releases to get a broad picture of JC's recordings (lets face it, JC had his first 'best of' in 1965!) so, I bought this set. This set has great packaging and the songs are just incredible and span most of his career.

I highly recommend this release if you have some JC but want more, but don't want to take a small loan out to try and get everything.

The songs are powerful, they are deep and some will make you laugh although most will make you cry.

JC is missed and I must tell you this lessens the longing.

This isn't a bad CD collection for the Cash enthusiast, but for someone just starting out, I'd recommend the Essential Johhny Cash. Yes, it's about $7 more, but you get 75 songs and an amazing booklet that includes tons of awesome photos, three incisive articles, and words from the Man in Black himself. By my count, Love God and Murder has about 12 songs from the Essential Johnny Cash, so if you're looking to add to your CD collection or you're intrigued by the liner notes, this ain't a bad purchase.

A rare thing: every track is important. You listen to the three albums through and just want to start over again. If you are unfamiliar with Cash except as the "man in black" this is a fantastic way to get to know the depth and the breadth of his career.