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The sixth volume of American Recordings from Johnny Cash – recorded in the months between June's & Johnny's passing – produced by an increasingly reverent Rick Rubin and put together with care and consideration. Cash sounds justifiably weary on these late recordings, with songs chosen from the work of great friends, admirers and the Man In Black himself. It's the second posthumous set in the series, but it's truly good stuff, and certainly respectful of Johnny's astounding legacy. Includes "Ain't No Grave", "Redemption Song", "For The Good Times", "Satisfied Mind", "I Corinthians 15:55", "I Don't Hurt Anymore", "Cool Water", "Last Night A Stranger Had A Dream" and "Aloha Oe". LP, Vinyl record album

The fantastic early sound of the great Johnny Cash – captured here by Sun Records, who really did a great job of bringing out the rhythmic pulse in Johnny's music! As with his best early singles, the style here is very raw – romping guitar riffs next to the man's incredible deep voice – set up perfectly on the sorts of tunes that just seem to get better and better the more you give them a listen! Titles include "Luther's Boogie", "I Just Thought You'd Like To Know", "I Forgot To Remember To Forget", "Katy Too", "You Tell Me", "Just About Time", "You Win Again", "Thanks A Lot", "Get Rhythm", and "I Could Never Be Ashamed Of You". LP, Vinyl record album

A stunning live prison performance from the Man In Black, recorded in conjunction with a television special. Titles include "Starkville County Jail", "I Walk The Line", "Folsom Prison Blues", an incredible version of "Wanted Man", and what became the single off the LP, "A Boy Named Sue". LP, Vinyl record album

Titles include "Jackson", "Ring Of Fire", "Walk The Line", "Five Feet High And Rising", and more. LP, Vinyl record album

Tracks include "My Old Faded Rose", "I Walk The Line", "Ring Of Fire", "The Greatest Cowboy Of Them All", "Redemption", "Why Me Lord", "Folsom Prison Blues", "Cocaine Blues", "The Long Black Veil", and more – 48 tracks total. CD

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Johnny first LP collaboration with his soon to be wife June Carter, and it's a nice one! Carryin' On has it's share of sweet, lovely moments shared by the two, but also has a lot more cool 60s oddball touches than one would expect. The couple cover Dylan's "It Ain't Me Babe" and two Ray Charles tunes, "I Got A Woman" and "What I Say". All three sound pretty strange coming out of hard-nosed Johnny, and prove to be quite fun and endearing, and very indicative of the freedom he had at Columbia to do whatever the heck he wanted. Other tracks include "Shantytown", "Pack Up Your Sorrows", "Jackson", "What A Good Thing We Had", and "No, No, No". Includes two bonus tracks from the sessions, and new liner notes by old pal Carl Perkins. CD

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One of the greatest live albums ever, and probably THE best album Johnny Cash ever recorded! In 1969 Cash had more angst than you could shake a stick at – he just kicked drugs, and he hadn't had a big hit in years, so his respectful and thoughtful empathy for the audience of inmates not only cemented his persona as the real deal, but carries an air of dizzying emotion throughout the set. Appropriately filled with his darkest tunes, Folsom is one of the few cases in which a live recording of a hitmakers catalog is stronger and more vital than the studio versions. Includes "Folsom Prison Blues", "Dark As A Dungeon", "Cocaine Blues", "25 Minutes To Go", "Orange Blossom Special", "The Long Black Veil", "Dirty Old Egg-Suckin' Dog", plus "Jackson" and "Give My Love To Rose" featuring June Carter. LP, Vinyl record album

With 6 bonus tracks. CD

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One of the greatest live albums ever, and probably THE best album Johnny Cash ever recorded, properly reissued with the original sequence restored and uncensored! In 1969 Cash had more angst than you could shake a stick at – he just kicked drugs, and he hadn't had a big hit in years, so his respectful and thoughtful empathy for the audience of inmates not only cemented his persona as the real deal, but carries an air of dizzying emotion throughout the set. Appropriately filled with his darkest tunes, Folsom is one of the few cases in which a live recording of a hitmakers catalog is stronger and more vital than the studio versions. Includes "Folsom Prison Blues", "Dark As A Dungeon", "Cocaine Blues", "25 Minutes To Go", "Orange Blossom Special", "The Long Black Veil", "Dirty Old Egg-Suckin' Dog", "Joe Bean", plus "Jackson" and "Give My Love To Rose" featuring June Carter. 2 previously unissued songs – "Joe Bean" and "The Legend Of John Henry's Hammer". CD

18 track compilation and a full length documentary on DVD. CD

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Cash's fourth volume of stark, sparely-arranged studio recordings for producer/set list provider Rick Rubin. As Johnny gets on in the years his always haunting voice, like Bob Dylan's, is weighted by age, but the heavily-breathed delivery only adds to the ghostly quality of the increasingly dark tunes. With this fourth set in the series we're far past being surprised by the choices of material – this time Cash conjures up spiritual takes on Depeche Mode's "Personal Jesus", Trent Reznor's "Hurt", Lennon/McCartney's "In My Life", and more traditional material like Hank Williams' "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry" and the eternally underrated Marty Robbins' "Big Iron". You can't forget that Cash's pen is still pretty sharp, too, as the really spooky imagery in the title track and others testify. The accompaniment includes the great Randy Scruggs, Beck/Tom Waits guitarist Smokey Hormel, Marty Stuart, Glen Campell, and backing vocals by Nick Cave and Fiona Apple. Another great one from the greatest! LP, Vinyl record album

Johnny Cash's first record for Rick Rubin's American Recordings label – and a late career reviving masterpiece for the great, distinctly American legend. Rubin's genius idea for Johnny Cash was to strip the sound to it's barest essence, and let Cash's deep, bass-vibrating baritone voice bring genuine, authoritative soul to a great batch of handpicked songs. Recorded for the most part in Cash's own Tennessee cabin, and backed by just acoustic guitar, Cash brings a soulful depth to seeming oddball covers and his own great songs alike. Titles include "The Man Who Couldn't Cry", "The Beast In Me", "Oh, Bury Me Not", "Bird On A Wire", "Tennessee Stud", "Like A Soldier", "Redemption", and "Delia's Gone". (Cassettes, Folk/Country) Cassette

The 6th volume of American Recordings from Johnny Cash – recorded in the months between June's & Johnny's passing – produced by an increasingly reverent Rick Rubin and put together with care and consideration. Cash sounds justifiably weary on these late recordings, with songs chosen from the work of great friends, admirers and the Man In Black himself. Includes "Ain't No Grave", "Redemption Song", "For The Good Times", "Satisfied Mind", "I Corinthians 15:55", "I Don't Hurt Anymore", "Cool Water", "Last Night A Stranger Had A Dream" and "Aloha Oe". CD

Dylan's wonderful foray into country rock – the great Nashville Skyline! He takes his voice into a strangely crooning arena that we hadn't heard from him before or since, kinda adding the mysterious vibe of the whole thing. Titles include a duet with Johnny Cash on "Girl From The North Country", plus "Lay Lady Lay", "Country Pie", "To Be Alone With You", and "One More Night". (Rock, Folk/Country) CD

Music from the Fisk University Jubilee Singers, Tupper Saussy, Connie Smith, Johnny Cash, Sleepy John Estes, The Prisonaires, Buddy & Julie Miller And The McCrary Sisters, Rosanne Cash, Dolly Parton, Brandy Clark, Carl Perkins, The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, and much more. CD

A heavy dose of rare TV performances – pulled from a Cali program that focused strongly on hillbilly sounds of the 50s, but also took time to feature some up-and-coming rockabilly acts too! The quality's about what you'd expect from 1950s TV, but the performances are great – and there's not much footage out there from some of these giant acts at the time! The DVD features 42 performances in all – great work from The Collins Kids, who were on the show all the time – plus more from Skeets McDonald, Jim Reeves, Merle Travis, Joe Maphis, Wanda Jackson, Johnny Bond, Mac Wiseman, Tex Carman, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins, Patsy Cline, and others! (DVDs & Videos, Folk/Country) DVD

Dylan's wonderful foray into country rock – the great Nashville Skyline! He takes his voice into a strangely crooning arena that we hadn't heard from him before or since, kinda adding a mysterious vibe of the whole thing. Titles include a duet with Johnny Cash on "Girl From The North Country", plus "Lay Lady Lay", "Country Pie", "To Be Alone With You", and "One More Night". (Rock, Folk/Country) LP, Vinyl record album

Lovely work from one of the sweetest voices in the Carter Family – sister Anita Carter – nice stuff recorded for RCA in the 60s & 70s! Anita was fairly overlooked as a solo singer throughout her career, at least as far as breakout success goes (she likely didn't lack for the admiration and respect of her peers) – and the material on this excellent compilation by Omni is actually far more engaging than we expected, even as longtime fans of the Carters. The sound is probably a bit too quiet and folksy to have gotten over in the honky tonk scene of the time, and likewise a bit too modern, lean and crisp for fans of the uber old school Carter Family of earlier decades, but it holds up beautifully all of these years later. A discovery we're happy to have finally caught up with! Includes some duets with Waylon Jennings, Hank Snow, Johnny Cash, and the Carter Family. 28 tracks in all: "2001 (Ballad Of The Future)", "I Won't Change For You", "Poison Red Berries", "Hang A Little Sign", "Twelve O'Clock High", "Carmel By The Sea", "I'm Counting On You", "Sweet Memories" and lots more! CD

Southern hillbilly soul from Fern Jones – a minister, church singer and songwriter with a real feel for the secular shake of 50s Sun Records, honky tonk, and shout blues – a pure evangelical with a worldly groove! Fern worked the gospel circuit of tent and church shows for many, many years – but only recorded two albums, this one for Dot/Paramount. Fern sings in the torch country style of Patsy Cline, often with spare rockabilly-styled guitar and drums backbeat. This album is probably most noteworthy for the classic song "I Was There When It Happened" – co-written by Fern Jones and made famous by Johnny Cash. It's especially legendary because it was the only gospel number Sam Phillips allowed Cash to include on his first LP. But Fern's album is more than worthy of a late discovery – she's a true pioneer, fearlessly blending the Lord's work with the Devil's music – at a time when such poles were anathema for most artists, fans, and record labels alike! Original album tracks include "You Ain't Got Nuthin'", "I Do Believe", "Be Thankful You're You", "I Ain't Got Time", "Let Tomorrow Be" – plus the bonus tracks "When I Meet You", "By And By", "I Don't Care What The World May Do" and "This World Is Not My Home". CD

Dylan's wonderful foray into country rock – the great Nashville Skyline! He takes his voice into a strangely crooning arena that we hadn't heard from him before or since, kinda adding the mysterious vibe of the whole thing. Titles include a duet with Johnny Cash on "Girl From The North Country", plus "Lay Lady Lay", "Country Pie", "To Be Alone With You", and "One More Night". (Rock, Folk/Country) CD

The legendary debut of Dwight Yoakam – a honky tonk classic delivered with inimitable swagger! It's not only one of the finest country albums of its decade, we'd honestly rank Guitars Cadillacs Etc Etc up there with best country albums ever. Really! The mid 80s isn't one of the best remembered eras in country music – even hardscrabble heroes like Johnny Cash, Merle Haggard and Willie Nelson were fumbling around for the right balance of traditionalism and modernism at the dawn of the CD era – so there's no overstating what a huge breath of fresh air Yoakam was at time. He pays heartfelt homage to roots rock and honky tonk tradition, but he honed his craft in the LA club scene of the early 80s, giving his way with a classic sound an edge like no others at the time. A masterpiece. Titles include "South Of Cincinnati", "Bury Me", "Guitars Cadillacs", his killer version of Cash's "Ring Of Fire", "I'll Be Gone", "Miner's Prayer" and more. LP, Vinyl record album

With selections by Johnny Cash, Roy Clark, Anne Murray, Glen Campbell, Patsy Cline, Wanda Jackson, Loretta Lynn, and others. LP, Vinyl record album

Maybe one of the coolest country Christmas collections we've ever heard – but then again, we'd expect no less from the folks at Bear Family! There's a lot of great original tunes here – which are mixed with country-fied takes on more popular Holiday songs from the midcentury years – often served up here by singers that were the bigger names of their generation, caught in a very special setting for the month of December! As usual with Bear Family, the presentation is great – vivid images inside and out – and notes on every single track – supporting a selection of 27 titles that include "I'll Be Walking The Floor This Christmas" by Ernest Tubb, "Senor Santa Claus" by Jim Reeves, "Christmas Dinner" by Tennessee Ernie Ford, "Snowdeer" by Carl Smith, "They Shined Up Rudolph's Nose" by Johnny Horton, "Santa Claus Jr" by Eddi Cletro, "It's Christmas Every Day In Alaska" by Hank Thompson, "It Was Jesus (undubbed)" by Johnny Cash, "Reindeer Boogie" by Hank Snow, "The Christmas Boogie" by Davis Sisters, "I'm Your Private Santa Claus" by Eddie Arnold, "I'm Gonna Tell Santa Claus On You" by Faron Young, "Captain Santa Claus" by Bobby Helms, "Santa's Big Parade" by The Louvin Brothers, and "Christmas In My Hometown" by Sonny James. (Holiday Music, Folk/Country) CD

With selections by Eddy Arnold, Lefty Frizell, Ray Price, Hank Snow, Kitty Wells, Ernest Tubb, Patsy Cline, Chet Atkins, Elvis Presley, Jim Reeves, Marty Robbins, Loretta Lynn, Johnny Cash, Buck Owens, Roger Miller, Merle Haggard, Dolly Parton, and Kris Kristofferson. LP, Vinyl record album

Bear Family does it again – coming up with a sublime selection of vocal tunes from 50s and 60s westerns – mostly films, but with a few TV tunes thrown in for good measure! We're surprised at how much we like this stuff – and it segues nicely not only with our love of soundtracks, but also our appreciation of classic American singers – because when you see who's on the set, you'll be surprised at the voices they get! Titles include "The Hanging Tree" by Marty Robbins, "I'm A Runaway" by Tab Hunter, "Ballad Of Paladin" by Johnny Western, "The Searchers" by Sons Of The Pioneers, "The Legend Of Shenandoah" by Jimmy Stewart, "My Rifle My Pony & Me" by Dean Martin & Ricky Nelson, "North To Alaska" by Johnny Horton, "Bonanza" by Lorne Greene, "Cowboy" by Dickson Hall, "Roll On Texas Moon" by Roy Rogers, "The Rebel Johnny Yuma" by Johnny Cash, and "Nevada Smith" by Merle Kilgore. (Soundtracks, Folk/Country) CD

Music from Johnny Cash, Kelly Willis, Richard Buckner, R. B. Morris, Freedy Johnston, Jonny Polonsky, Ron Sexsmith, Iris DeMent, Calexico, Syd Straw & The Skeletons, Joel R. L. Phelps, Joe Henry, and more. CD

A fantastic collection from that great Charly/Sun Records run of reissues in the 80s – and a set that looks at all aspects of the label – including country, rockabilly, blues, and more! Includes cuts by Joe Hill Louis, Warren Smith, Billy Riley, Sonny Burgess, Malcolm Yelvington, Ernie Chaffin, Charlie Feathers, Johnny Cash, Harmonica Frank, Carl Perkins, James Cotton, Doctor Ross, Charlie Rich, Carl Mann, and many others! (Rock, Folk/Country) LP, Vinyl record album