I Walk The Line – JOHNNY CASH***

I Walk The Line/Bad News/Folsom Prison Blues/Give My Love To Rose/Hey Porter/I Still Miss Someone/ Understand Your Man/Wreck Of The Old 97/Still In Town/Big River/Goodbye Little Darlin’ Goodbye/Troublesome Waters

On this LP country legend Johnny Cash re-recorded for Columbia several of his earlier songs released by Sun Records, including his No. 17 hit from 1956, I Walk The Line. However, the remaining half is formed of new songs. (US:53)

"The album was a ploy by Columbia to record successful songs from Cash's Sun Records period as part of the Columbia catalogue. Half of its tracks were new performances by Cash, two of which, Bad News and Understand Your Man would go on to become top ten singles on the country & western chart."

"I admit it I grew up listening to Johnny Cash in my parents’ car. This was probably the first one I can remember hearing. It's chock full of good stuff like the title track, Big River, a different, but just as good a version of I Still Miss Someone."

"Back before country music became dumbed-down, there was a very eclectic mix of musical styles which melded to form what was known as 'bad [boy] outlaw country blues', of which Johnny Cash was the exemplar. I Walk The Line is an appropriate intro to the man who carefully crafted his 'man in black' identity. That identity always brought together the two seemingly opposite sides of Cash's personality: The 'Folsom Prison' outlaw and the gospel-singing, deeply-religious man. No matter, Cash's intelligent, complex tunes are a slap in the face at the kind of facile 'I'm just a simple country person, and proud of it' stuff that the media puts out today."

"Today's aspiring country stars would do well to listen to Cash, who deftly mixes Nashville country, gospel and blues." "The voice of The Man in Black is the voice of America. Together with Louis Armstrong, Frank Sinatra and Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash embodies the American spirit and sublimates it through his songs."

"Johnny's voice is cool and calm. He is the only singer I listen to who can be tough yet gentle at the same time. Here is a man that judging only by the sound of his voice you'd know not to mess with, yet his lyrics show a man with a genuine heart."