Disco de Johnny Cash: “Greatest Hits & Now Here's Johnny Cash”

Long after Johnny Cash left Sun Records for Columbia, Sun owner Sam Phillips continued reissuing the seminal sides he'd recorded before the jump. This 1961 collection collected a dozen singles sides (some A-sides, some B-sides), ranging from his first Sun single, the beautifully stark and emotional "Cry! Cry! Cry!" b/w "Hey, Porter!" to tracks later overdubbed (by producer Jack Clement, no doubt) with a vocal chorus ("Sugartime" "Down the Street to 301").

Also included are several classic Cash tic-tac sides, including "Life Goes On" and "So Doggone Lonesome," and four of the bonus tracks present original undubbed versions of Jack Clement's constructions. Stripping away even the subtle overdubbing work of "My Treasure" reveals Cash the singer-songwriter, picking his acoustic guitar as accompaniment. Similarly, the undubbed master of Don Gibson's "Oh Lonesome Me" shows off the beautiful simplicity of Cash with the Tennessee Two. The fifth bonus track is a 1955 take of Marty Robbins' "I Couldn't Keep From Crying," shelved at the time.

This is a good overview of the arc Cash traversed at Sun. It includes the rawness of his earliest sides, as well as the manicured overdubs with which Sun tried to crack the pop charts. The songlist intersects many other Sun-era releases, but the collection of titles here makes a really nice album spin.

What were you doing back in the mid '50s and early '60s? Well, like most of us were listening to Johnny Cash and the music that changed the recording industry. Creating one of the most important bodies of work in Country and Rock embelished music history. As you listen to each track there is a variety of American musical traditions ~ such as gospel, folk, blues and country spreading the infectious style Cash was noted for. The Sun releases was reminiscent of the days when I was growing up in the '50s, enjoying every record he recorded. Even if you don't care for country music, you can respect Cash for his one-of-a-kind musicianship who came from humble beginnings.

Cash started composing at a very young age about the railroad (trains) as we hear "HEY, PORTER!" ~ the pure enjoyment of writing a song and recording comes through with flying colors "CRY, CRY, CRY!", "MY TREASURE", "SO DOGGONE LONESOME", "YOU'RE THE NEAREST THING TO HEAVEN", "HOME OF THE BLUES" and "PORT OF LONELY HEARTS" sheds some light on the inner feelings of this great human being and entertainer.

Hats off to Varese Records, Cary E. Mansfield and Bill Dahl for this wonderful trip back into the past. This release is just the way we like 'em. Now we can relive those early years when we enjoyed "The Man in Black" ~ aka Mr. Johnny Cash...gotta love it!

Total Time: 38:50 on 17 Tracks ~ Varese 64682 ~ (7/29/2003)