It's sad how many fans have been - and will be - cheated the glory of Johnny Cash, simply because they immediately think "country" and turn a deaf ear. This is not country music! If you're at all attracted to the songwriting prowess of (Cash disciples) like Dylan, Springsteen, Petty or Mellencamp, or the dark imagery of the Doors or the Stones, this you must check out. Cash's rhythms & styles may sound country, but his spirit is all Rock N' Roll.

The first disc is composed mostly of his Sun Studio rockabilly tunes, which is as close to actual Rock N' Roll as he stepped (he wrote "Get Rhythm" for Elvis, who never recorded it). The second disc draws its strength mostly on gospel and traditional country ballads; sad, somber, sober, and melancholy. It has an overall folk feel to it. The third disc is more eclectic and gives evidence towards Cash's experimental tendencies of the 70's; it really features a little bit of everything, including some choice cuts from his two "prison" live albums.

One VERY important element to consider is Cash's homestate of Arkansas. The people & places documented in his songs are really rooted in Midwestern folklore, not Southern culture (Cash is also the first artist to defiantly speak out about the plight of the American Indians). The influence of blues & folk music on Cash are much more evident than that of other artists who are considered "country". Cash's connection to Springsteen, Dylan and the Stones are all confirmed here with convincing covers of their songs. Believe me, this is essential work for some of you non-believers - because I hate country music, but I love the Man In Black.

I've known a few Johnny Cash songs throughout the years but I've not been familiar with his entire body of work. I found my way to this box set in a circuitous fashion: It started last year with a Junior Brown concert in West Sacramento. That was my first "country/western" music experience and it blew me away. From Junior I somehow took a step over to Hank Williams. At that point I developed a serious interest in this "type" of music. I've since discovered: Buck Owens, Ernest Tubbs, Roy Clark, Chet Atkins, Willie Nelson, and several others that have become immediate favorites. I figured I better pick up some Johnny Cash and learn about his body of work. I decided to go for this set.

Suffice it to say that I listened to this about an hour a day, as I only have one good hour in the evening to listen to music without interuption. It took me about four days to finish all three CD's. I listened to several songs twice to confirm my initial impression. My initial impression grew song by song into my ultimate impression.

Ultimate Impression: This is just simply superb music. I'm amazed at the extremely high quality of virtually every song. The songs have a similar authentic feel to them, but they are still quite diverse in sentiment and subject matter. This is emotionally rich music, epic in scope, non-religious but virtually evangelical in words of wisdom and experience. This is self-improvement music; you become a better person by absorbing the insights poignantly presented. Life-prisoners and Billy Grahams seem to fuse into one common human venture and manifest both their conflicting and common sentiments in an at-peace-with-one's-self musical odyssey. But don't let me imply that Cash's music takes itself seriously or that there is some preachy undertone. Instead, humor is found frequently either in traces or full dosages. The final feel is almost Buddhist: acceptance, of life and circumstance. That is, at least, my interpretation; yours indeed may be quite different.

This is perhaps the only box set I've ever purchased where I felt a little depressed by the end. It was like a nice vacation was ending. Sure, I can always listen to the CD's again, but that first go-through was really a transforming episode. Bear in mind, these views are coming from a guy who has never much appreciated country-type music. My proclivities have always been more toward hard rock. But I certainly have the good sense to recognize brilliance when I hear it. This set goes right up on the same sacred shelf as Abbey Road and Back in Black and Let It Bleed.

In my view, a box set should be an overall look at an artist's career that encompasses the cream of their "hit" material plus the best album sides and a little bit of material that examines the breadth of their experimentalism. This box set has a lot of great songs, but that's more because Cash is a phenomenal artist than that this makes the best case for his work.

First off, this set is at least a disc short...period. Cash hit the Top 40 country charts 104 times between 1955-1988. This set wasn't released until 1992 so there's no reason they couldn't have included material from all the way across this span. We'll be charitable though...after all many of those are songs that might not be remembered by the Cash faithful...so we'll cut that number back to top 20 songs only. That leaves 49 Top 20 hits of which 21 are missing.

The most egregious omissions are the #1 "Highwayman" (with Willie Nelson, Kris Kristofferson, and Waylon Jennings) and several hit duets with June Carter Cash ("It Ain't Me Babe","Long-legged Guitar Pickin' Man","If I Were a Carpenter") and Waylon Jennings (#2 1978 hit "There Ain't No Good Chain Gang"). Any song that hit the Top 10 is likely to be remembered by any big fan of an artist and should have made this box.

Outside of that, there are some artistic highpoints that probably should have made the set, too: his duet with George Jones on "I'll Say It's True" from the SILVER album, his historic duet with Mother Maybelle Carter on 1973's "Pick the Wildwood Flower", "Bury me Not on the Lone Prairie" from his Old West concept album, patriotic recitation "Ragged Old Flag", the eerie acappella "Another Man Done Gone" (with June from folk album BLOOD, SWEAT AND TEARS) and late period environmental anthem "Don't Go Near the Water" (from BOOM-CHICKABOOM).

BOTTOM LINE:
This is still a must buy for any Cash fan. But I'm hopeful that in the next decade, they'll update with a 5 CD set that adds in material from the Mercury and Def American years as well as more concept album material and the missing hits from this set. Until then, buy this and cherish what we DO have here.

4 1/2 stars

I'm a year younger than Johnny Cash, so as I heard one after another of his songs through my life, I could relate in one sense or another to the stage he was going through. And so many of these songs bring back memories of where I was when I first heard them. Others I am hearing for the first time, and these only reinforce my realization of how much he has become part of our culture.

One great advantage of this set is how these songs have been grouped. The first CD consists primarily the singer's rockabilly songs; the second features story telling ballads; and the final one gives us his later work from the two prison albums on through 1980.

I am sharing my listening and my enjoyment of this set with an older friend who was raised in Canada, and this person's enjoyment and appreciation and desire to hear the records over illustrates the universality and agelessness of Cash's appeal. This set is a worthwhile investment for your pleasure.

The man was truly amazing. He had an incredible 50-year musical journey, he redefined country music, and he made some of his best music at the end of his career. There'll never be another like Johnny Cash.

And there's not a better introduction for those new to Cash than this boxed set. If all you've ever heard from Cash is "A Boy Named Sue," "Folsom Prison Blues," and "Jackson," you're in for some serious studies at the University of Cash.

Newcomers will learn quickly that Johnny Cash played country his own way: no steel guitars, no fiddles, no twangy vocals. Just guitars, a bass, and a voice that you just can't forget. Cash had a way of telling it like it is, whether he was singing about country life, Vietnam, the American Indian, love, hate, or God. This is uncomplicated, brutally honest music sung by a legend. Highly recommended.

3 DISCS, 75 CLASSIC SONGS