The story is that Sun Records owner Sam Phillips wouldn't let Cash record religious material, so Johnny up and split for a more lucrative contract at Columbia. I bet if Phillips knew how good the album gospel album would turn out, he wouldn't have been so stubborn about it. A really nice record -- one of Cash's best and most heartfelt early albums on the Columbia label. Defintely check it out, if you're not overly troubled by the Christian proseltyizing.

Columbia's year-long reissue program, celebrating Cash's seventieth birthday, began in February with the release of "The Essential Johnny Cash," and continues with enhanced releases of several crucial original LPs. Each album is remastered, and expanded with new essays, bonus tracks and a newly penned introduction from Cash.

1959's "Hymns By Johnny Cash" is considered the album for which Cash "came to Columbia" (or "left Sun," depending on who's talking). Sun's owner, Sam Phillips, didn't see a market for an album of sacred songs, but Columbia had no such misgivings, and sold a half-million copies. Cash invested himself deeply in these declarations of faith, his baritone praise (set against stark accompaniment) displayed a growing maturity and distance from the pop orientation of his Sun days. The mix of originals and standards became mainstays of his repertoire, providing a moral focal point for his shows and an oft-needed lifeline for his soul.

Over the decades, Cash's sound, forged on his very first single at Sun, has proven a remarkably spacious and fertile ground in which to develop his genre-bounding songbook. Given the depth and breadth of his catalog, a compilation, such as "The Essential Johnny Cash" serves as a Cliff's Notes introduction, while the original LPs provide richly detailed chapters in the story of an American musical icon.

This was Johnny Cash's second Columbia album. He specifically went to Columbia Records because they promised that he would be allowed to record an occasional gospel album, which Sun Records wouldn't allow him to do. The album contains Johnny's originals and his take on his favorite gospel songs. It is a very good example of "country gospel". There is one bonus track, which is the mono EP version of "It Was Jesus". It is the same recording as the album version of "It Was Jesus", but the chorus that sings backup is missing.

When I first heard this CD, I was a little disappointed. I was expecting Gospel songs as catchy and influential as Johnny's biggest non-religious hits. But this album is best listened to in a different way. I think it is great for lazy Sunday afternoons at home.

This CD came out in 2002 with its fresh re-mastering, one bonus alternate song version, a nice b/w CD booklet with many photos and lots of insightful text about the recording of this album. This is the second Johnny Cash album for Columbia, but his first Gospel album for any record company, period.

If you saw the Cash biography movie, WALK THE LINE, you may recall his nearly disasterous audition for Sam Phillips, who berates Johnny for sounding too generic and unoriginal. Well, this HYMNS BY JOHNNY CASH sounds like the album Sam Phillips would not let him record in the first place! It has the blander, more conventional musical arrangements of the era immediately prior to Johnny's debut hits which caught everybody's ear with his innovative boom-chicka-boom train rhythms, troubled lyrics, and memorable song hooks.

But this album is very sweet and sincere to listen to anyway, as long as you are not expecting the trailblazing Johnny Cash. This is more of a tribute to the Gospel music that he loved before he was a professional musician and big, famous star.

Actually, I can recommend that you consider purchasing Johnny Cash/THE GOSPEL COLLECTION, for the same price as this re-mastered HYMNS BY JOHNNY CASH. Though it came out in 1992, from the same record company, THE GOSPEL COLLECTION includes the entire HYMNS album (except for the alternate version bonus), but even better, it also includes the entire second Gospel album by Johnny Cash, HYMNS FROM THE HEART, which I don't see for sale and I assume is otherwise out of print at this time.

The CD booklet of THE GOSPEL COLLECTION admits that with hindsight, his Gospel albums didn't click with the audience the way Cash would have preferred, while the CD booklet of this re-mastered HYMNS BY JOHNNY CASH only hypes the importance and intents in mind during the recording of this CD.

If you get THE GOSPEL COLLECTION, you will get two albums for the price of one, nearly an hour of songs, though this re-mastered version does sound better, but I could not tell a difference unless I listened back-to-back to both CDs. If I could only buy one CD, I would get THE GOSPEL COLLECTION first, since it is twice the quantity, and equal performance quality. If you like THE GOSPEL COLLECTION, then you might upgrade the first half of that CD by purchasing this re-mastered HYMNS BY JOHNNY CASH. It sounds a little cleaner, louder, you get a bonus alternate song version, and lots of b/w photos and informative text in the CD booklet.

Also, I can highly recommend Johnny's 1973 movie, THE GOSPEL ROAD, now on DVD, which he narrates and appears in, telling the story of Jesus. It is a low budget masterpiece, if you are a Christian and/or enjoy Johnny Cash's religious projects. June Carter has brief appearances portraying Mary Magdalene, which are really powerfully acted. The whole movie is very sincere, with great photography and the eternal story of Jesus Christ walking the Earth. You can tell that Johnny is having the time of his life, shooting this movie in Israel, and doing a Gospel project which he truly believes in!

My all-time favorite Johnny Cash religious project is his awesome spoken word reading of the entire NEW TESTAMENT on CD! It is very reasonably priced, considering that you get 16 CDs for around $30!

I bought this CD because it includes the song "I Saw a Man" which is not
in Johnny's newer recordings. I am delighted with the CD.
Excellent quality and arrive in good shape.