Johnny Cash-Good place to start?

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by SirAngus, Oct 25, 2014.

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  1. SirAngus

    SirAngus Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Virginia
    I just bought the Johnny Cash album American II: Unchained and think it's fantastic. The only other JC I have is a VH1 Storyteller JC and Willie Nelson that I think is very good. Doing a little SH music corner research I have decided to buy Johnny Cash The Legend 4 cd box set. Is this a good place to start? I may look at more of the American recordings as well. I welcome suggestions.
     
  2. BradOlson

    BradOlson Country/Christian Music Maven

    Buy whatever you come across and for the most part you won't be disappointed
     
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  3. JoeF.

    JoeF. Forum Resident

    Location:
    New Jersey, USA
    The Legend is a great set, but you should check out his work on Sun Records. There are plenty of anthologies from single-disc to multi disc box sets. This is where "the legend" begins....
     
  4. If you love that American Records album, buy the entire series in order. That would be a good beginning. While great stuff, it sounds almost nothing like Cash's prior work.

    Most will then recommend diving into Cash's Sun output, which can be easily had in one collection.
     
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  5. Keith V

    Keith V Forum Resident

    Location:
    Secaucus, NJ
    The 4 cd box.
    Live at Folsom.
    Live at San Quentin.
    That should get you started.
     
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  6. czeskleba

    czeskleba Senior Member

    Location:
    Seattle
    Some sort of compilation is the best way to go. That will give you an idea whether you like his earlier stuff or not. The 4-disc Legend box is all right. There's also the 3-disc The Essential Johnny Cash 1955-83, the 3-disc Love, God, Murder box, or the 2-disc Essential Johnny Cash. Any of these should provide a decent cross-section of material, depending on how much you want to spend.
     
  7. SirAngus

    SirAngus Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Virginia
    Thanks for the input. There is so much great stuff out there that I have overlooked for years. It can be overwhelming.
     
  8. mBen989

    mBen989 Senior Member

    Location:
    Scranton, PA
    Live at Folsom Prison and Live at San Quentin.
     
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  9. MEMPHISSUN

    MEMPHISSUN Forum Resident

    Location:
    UK
    Start at SUN ... http://www.amazon.com/Through-Years...ef=dp_tracks_all_1/175-5182695-4714063#disc_1

    Columbia ...
    1. The Fabulous Johnny Cash
    2. Hymns by Johnny Cash
    3. Songs of Our Soil
    4. Now, There Was a Song!
    5. Ride This Train
    6. Hymns from the Heart
    7. The Sound of Johnny Cash
    8. Blood, Sweat and Tears
    9. Ring of Fire: The Best of Johnny Cash
    10. The Christmas Spirit
    11. Keep on the Sunny Side - The Carter Family with special guest Johnny Cash
    12. I Walk the Line
    13. Bitter Tears: Ballads of the American Indian
    14. Orange Blossom Special
    15. Sings the Ballads of the True West
    16. Everybody Loves a Nut
    17. Happiness Is You
    18. Carryin' On with Johnny Cash and June Carter
    19. From Sea to Shining Sea
    20. Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison
    21. The Holy Land
    22. Johnny Cash at San Quentin
    23. Hello, I'm Johnny Cash
    24. The Johnny Cash Show
    25. I Walk the Line (soundtrack)
    26. Little Fauss and Big Halsy (soundtrack)
    27. Man in Black
    28. A Thing Called Love
    29. America: A 200-Year Salute in Story and Song
    30. The Johnny Cash Family Christmas
    31. Any Old Wind That Blows
    32. The Gospel Road (disc 1)
    33. The Gospel Road (disc 2)
    34. Johnny Cash and His Woman
    35. På Österåker
    36. Ragged Old Flag
    37. Junkie and the Juicehead Minus Me
    38. The Johnny Cash Children's Album
    39. Sings Precious Memories
    40. John R. Cash
    41. Look at Them Beans
    42. Strawberry Cake
    43. One Piece at a Time
    44. The Last Gunfighter Ballad
    45. The Rambler
    46. I Would Like to See You Again
    47. Gone Girl
    48. Silver
    49. Rockabilly Blues
    50. Classic Christmas
    51. The Baron
    52. The Survivors Live - Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins
    53. The Adventures of Johnny Cash
    54. Johnny 99
    55. Koncert V Praze (In Prague–Live)
    56. Rainbow
    57. Highwayman - Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash, Kris Kristofferson
    58. Heroes - Johnny Cash & Waylon Jennings
    59. Highwayman 2 - Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash, Kris Kristofferson
    60. At Madison Square Garden
    Mercury ... and beyond.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnny_Cash_albums_discography


    http://www.johnnycashstore.com/cds.htm
     
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  10. Izozeles

    Izozeles Pushing my limits

    Start with the Legend set. Then move to American Recordings I. Then considered what you have liked the most and move either to Folsom Prision or to American Recordings III.
    If you love both branches then you'll want the full picture. JR's career just mirrored his personal life. You'll just have to join the dots.
     
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  11. melstapler

    melstapler Reissue Activist

    The natural choice is to start with the first 3 Bear Family box sets and then work your way through the rest. That important decision has allowed me to live a rather happy life.
     
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  12. Mr. H

    Mr. H Forum Resident

    All recommendations here are great suggestions. If you like the American Recordings albums don't overlook Unearthed. It may be outtakes, but a lot of these tracks are up there with the best of the stuff that was on the actual albums.

    Like melstapler said, the Bear Family boxes are more than worth having and if you look around you can find good deals on them if you're patient.

    I envy anybody just discovering Johnny Cash and wish I could explore his music for the first time all over again. Johnny Cash has a large and enriching catalog. You have many hours of great listening to look forward to.
     
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  13. davenav

    davenav High Plains Grifter

    Location:
    Louisville, KY USA
    I think it's a good idea to follow an artists career in chronological order. Start with the Sun stuff and work your way back up to the American recordings. You can't go wrong, and you'll get a clearer picture of his trajectory.
     
  14. czeskleba

    czeskleba Senior Member

    Location:
    Seattle
    The Bear Family boxes would be a pretty big investment for someone who's not familiar with any of Cash's pre-American work. You're making the assumption that he will end up wanting absolutely everything, but that may not be the case. He may not even like the pre-American stuff.

    Another thing about the Bear releases is that their sequencing by date of recording isn't really the best way to hear most of Cash's work. Some artists work really well when heard chronologically... Elvis being a notable example. Elvis' albums are often random collections of tracks, whereas each of his recording sessions had a distinct feel and vibe. So I find that listening to Elvis' work in chronological order by the session is the most rewarding way to hear it. By contrast, Johnny Cash gave a lot of thought to the sequencing of his albums, with many of them being concept albums. He also often recorded more than one album at a time. I find that listening in chronological order (as on the Bear sets) makes for a disjointed listen. The original albums are the way to go.
     
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  15. Mr. H

    Mr. H Forum Resident

    Very good points, but I would say the first Bear Family box is a great way to hear his Sun material. At the very least it is great to hear his development at the early stages.

    But I digress, as you suggest that is assuming the original poster will be into that kind of thing.
     
  16. czeskleba

    czeskleba Senior Member

    Location:
    Seattle
    I do agree that the Sun material works very well heard in chronological order as on the first three discs of the first Bear box. But starting with the Columbia material, original album sequence is the way to go. And the Bear boxes also have a lot of outtakes, some of which are not essential to anyone but the hardcore completeist.

    Sometimes people go overboard (understandably, due to enthusiasm) when someone asks for tips on where to start with an artist. Some of the recommendations here might be overwhelming for a newbie. It makes sense to either start with a compilation or one of the prison albums, and if you like that, then branch out.
     
  17. Exile On My Street

    Exile On My Street Senior Member

    Location:
    Long Island, NY
    About a year ago I picked up a Sun Sessions box by JC and I was hooked. I immediately purchased a box set that contained 20 of his original albums and I'm still collecting. You have been warned! : )
     
  18. moops

    moops Senior Member

    Location:
    Geebung, Australia
    The Love, God, Murder box now seems to have a fourth disc - Life.

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  19. Robin L

    Robin L Musical Omnivore

    Location:
    Fresno, California
    I know this is strange, seemingly off-topic, but you should hear the album Johnny Cash's daughter, Rosanne Cash, made in the wake of losing her father, mother, stepmother and half-sister—"Black Cadillac." Deeply moving stuff. Their duet on Rosanne's previous album—"September When It Comes"—is hard to listen to without shedding a tear or two.

     
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  20. SirAngus

    SirAngus Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Virginia
    That's a good one along with "The List"
     
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  21. MEMPHISSUN

    MEMPHISSUN Forum Resident

    Location:
    UK
    I thought the BEAR box sets might be over kill,hence the single SUN disc on BEAR.

    But if they come up for a good price???.
     
  22. Evan L

    Evan L Beatologist

    Location:
    Vermont
    Anything for Sun Records IMO.
     
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  23. Reader

    Reader Senior Member

    Location:
    e.s.t. tenn.
    These are a good start. They all sound great and have a good selection of songs that do work together. If you start to really want lots of his work you might want to get the big 62 cd set that was released a couple years ago. I think it's still available and is worth the cost if you want much more. Good luck, you've got some great listening ahead of you.
     
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  24. couchdave

    couchdave Founding member of Mystik Spiral

    Location:
    Boston, MA, USA
    Personally, I prefer the Legend 4-disc set to the Love/God/Murder/Life compilations. The thematic organization of the latter is interesting, but for a beginner who wants the big hits as well as a more general overview of his career I think The Legend is more comprehensive (since L/G/M does miss some "essential" stuff like Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down, Big River, I Got Stripes, Hey Porter, etc.). However, The Legend doesn't include any of the American Recordings material. In any case, if you like what you hear you'll want to explore further.
     
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  25. jeatleboe

    jeatleboe Forum Resident

    Location:
    NY
    I've just started getting into Johnny Cash and I am loving the early stuff I'm hearing. But I don't think I'm a fan of the "narration" albums he does.
     
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