Sings The Ballads Of The True West –JOHNNY CASH**

Hiawatha’s Vision/The Road To Kaintuck/The Shifting Whispering Sands Part 1/The Ballad Of Boot Hill/I Ride An Old Paint/Hardin Wouldn’t Run/Mister Garfield/Streets Of Laredo/Johnny Reb/A Letter From Home/Bury Me Not On The Lone Prairie/Mean As Hell/Sam Hall/25 Minutes To Go/The Blizzard/Sweet Betsy From Pike/Green Grow The Lilacs/Stampede/The Shifting Whispering Sands Part 2/Reflections

The double LP Sings The Ballads Of The True West emphasises the western side of the Johnny Cash repertoire. This uneven concept album had rather too much narration for some tastes.

“This is the definition of a mixed bag. The good - there are some great songs on here and a killer banjo pops up every once in a while. The bad - it's way too long, there are too many mediocre songs and the spoken word intros that accompany every other song are the worst things Johnny Cash ever recorded.”

“More than most of Cash's concept albums, this one maintains a focus on the underlying theme quite rigorously. But the quality of the tracks vary, and some probably won't care for the in between track narrations at all. This still ranks as a solid second-tier Cash album, with the caveat that the pronounced old-west themes might make this less amenable to repeated plays - you have to be in the mood.”

“Easily the worst Johnny Cash album I have heard. Some songs feature glaringly flubbed lyrics, and all tracks feature poor-to-mediocre vocals by the ordinarily robust and full-throated Cash. It is telling that Cash re-recorded many of the songs on this album to greater acclaim.”

“For all Johnny Cash fans the Ballads Of The True West album is a must have. It was never a top seller that I know of, but for those who like genuine traditional western music, nobody does it better than Johnny.”

“His records were like no one else, a reflection of his gigantic personal vision. It doesn't seem to matter whether the song is spoken or sung in the unique Cash low vocal style, they all sound like an epic story you want to hear. So pull your wagon to the side of the trail, make sure the horses have water and feed, set up camp and campfire, and enjoy this trip back to the true (or maybe not) West.”

“Actually, this would be an awesome album if it weren't a double. There's a lot of filler in between the good stuff. If you don't own many Cash albums, don't get this one yet."