Search - Johnny Cash :: Man in Black 1954-58

The definitive survey of Johnny Cash's early years.

07/02/1998

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This is the first of three large (up to 6 discs) Bear Family Box sets of hits, sleepers, non-single album cuts and VERY interesting outtakes and demos which cover the years 1954 through 1969 in the career of Johnny Cash (please note: the Amazon title has an error -- the date of this box is 1954-58, NOT 1951-58). I would also argue that this is the best of the three, both in terms of the quality of the songs (most of the outtakes/alternate takes are GREAT) as well as the depth and breadth of the presentation. The box includes mostly Sun material with early Columbia represented at the end (Cash went to Columbia in 1958). The style is sparse, stripped down and raw, Johnny Cash straight-up. It is intriguing, though, that the earliest cut, "Wide Open Road," with which the box opens, would have been right at home on AMERICAN RECORDINGS forty years later. This box captures the essence of Johnny Cash moreso than his roots -- it studies the part of the artist that has NOT changed, will never change; the part that somehow lived within the speed freak Johnny Cash, the born again Johnny Cash and the 90's, living legend, hall-of-famer Johnny Cash. Adding to the box's appeal is an extremely well done booklet that includes a biopic covering the years in question, photos, discography, session lists, etc. As a bonus, the fifth disc is an uninterrupted recording session from August, 1958 that the label describes as "a unique fly-on-the-wall perspective on Johnny Cash in the studio." Very true indeed! So why not 5 stars? First of all, I probably would have preferred 4 1/2, but that was not a choice! Nevertheless, this box is really mainly for hardcore Cash fans who are already familiar with his music and want to learn more. If you are such a fan, though, I would consider this box a must-have. If you can only afford one Bear Family box, pick this one!"

A must have for Johnny Cash fans!

G. Hollis | Jefferson City, MO United States | 06/14/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"If you truly consider yourself to be a Johnny Cash fan, you owe it to yourself to buy this box set. I had searched in vain for years to find a complete collection of his recordings at Sun and finally this is it. It also includes recordings from the early Columbia years. The very first disc includes some demo cuts Johnny made for Sun and words can't express the absolute delight I felt when first hearing these wonderful tracks. There is a version of Folsom Prison Blues that has a very different sound than what we're used to hearing from Johnny. You won't believe your ears, but you'll love it."

The real Johnny Cash

G. Hollis | 07/29/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is the real Johnny Cash. Before he got into drugs and got Nashville-ized. The multiple versions of several cuts are very interesting and fun -- first the actual session; then the final released version with echo and chorus added. Both very good, but like two different records. Sensibly, the multiple versions are spread apart by intervening cuts so that you can enjoy them as two different pieces. The last CD has lots of false starts and sometimes some frustration from Cash toward Luther Perkins. Perkins learned a lot and became very good -- which you can see over the course of the sessions in this set.Excellent booklet.My Sony changer allows me to automatically skip cuts on CDs (such as many of the false starts and some of the alternative versions) -- makes these CDs some of my favorites."