What is a good Johnny Cash album/song?

[wacki]

I've been listening to "When the man comes around" (from Dawn of the Dead Soundtrack) and I really really like that song. A really good song to listen to while playing poker. What other songs of his are good? Albums?

[jakethebake]

A Boy Named Sue...

My Daddy left home when I was three.
He didn't leave much for Ma & Me,
`Cept this ol' guitar and a empty bottle of booze.
I don't blame him 'cause he run and hid,
But the meanest thing that he ever did,
was before he left he went and named me sue.

Yes, I do know the whole song. /images/graemlins/grin.gif

[jakethebake]

Oh yea. And Johnny Cash at San Quentin is my favorite. /images/graemlins/cool.gif

[razor]

this is a decent start...

albums:

American Recordings
Unchained
Solitary Man
The Man Comes Around
Love God Murder
At Folsom Prison

[MelchyBeau]

Folsom Prison Blues, very good song.



Melch

[Benjamin]

His 1996 album Unchained is pretty great, with a great cover of Soundgarden's 'Rusty Cage'. His cover of NIN's 'Hurt' that came out last year (or 2002?) gives me chills: find the video on the web. Awesome.

The box set 'Love, God, Murder' is an awesome retrospective that came out in 2000, with a disc on each of those themes. 'Murder' rules. /images/graemlins/smile.gif

B.

[ThaSaltCracka]

duh

"The Man in Black"

go buy a greatest hits cd, Johnny is the man! He has some really funny songs, such as "One piece at a time" and then he has some real sad and serious ones, "Ballad of Ira Hayes" "sunday morning coming down"

and of course, the best one "(Ghost) riders in the sky"

[nothumb]

Well, there's old JC and there's new JC. I like 'em both. Almost everyone on earth should like old JC, if they don't they need a swift kick in the nuts. I can see why some people didn't like the stuff he did with Rubin, but I do.

Best old Johnny Cash IMHO are the live albums at Folsom Prison and San Quentin. I think side B of the San Quentin album, with him playing Wanted Man right after he and Dylan wrote it, and Carl Perkins sitting in on Boy Named Sue and Peace in the Valley, and great versions of "He Turned the Water into Wine" and "Daddy Sang Bass," might be the best live country/rock/folk side ever recorded.

There are a number of Cash best-of compilations that are pretty good introductions to the old stuff as well.

The new stuff (like When the Man Comes Around) are from American Recordings. The best stuff he did on American is all on the last disc of 'Unearthed,' a five-disc set of unreleased material, outtakes, and the best-of disc. If you're not a huge fan already, though, you might not be that interested in the other four discs. Of his 4 releases on American there are good songs on all of them as well as some weak ones. I've taken my favorites and made my own CDs of his newer stuff, or I listen to Disc 5 of Unearthed a lot.

NT

[jakethebake]

The Highwaymen albums that he made with Willie, Waylon 7 Kris are o.k. too, but not the best from any of them.

[ThaSaltCracka]

"Daddy Sang Bass" seems very gay upon the first listen, then you hear it again and you are hooked, makes you wanna clap your hands and sign along. Johnny Cash might very well be the best modern American musician. His songs are timeless man.

[ThaSaltCracka]

select songs are good off that album.

[Boris]

best songs...
Folson Prison Blues (his best ever)
25 Minutes to Go
Understand Your Man.

[nothumb]

Hey Boris --

Good ones. I would also nominate:

Cry, Cry, Cry
Don't Take Your Guns to Town
Sunday Morning Coming Down

His best covers, IMHO, are:

Father and Son
Hung My Head
Wayfaring Stranger
I Won't Back Down

NT

[ThaSaltCracka]

this thread made me put my Johnny Cash cd on at work, thank you, I really enjoy this CD

[Boris]

Yea I like all those songs. My only gripe with Cash is that I tend to listen to one song over and over until I get totally sick of it.

Dwight Yoakam does a good cover of Understand Your Man on his latest CD.

[nothumb]

Yeah, I'll do that too. Because you hear a song, and go 'fock, that's good,' and listen to it a ton, and then can't hear it anymore. I try to only listen to albums or put several songs on a mix.

At least with Cash there are a ton of songs, so if you get sick of one you don't have to stop listening to him. I have the same problem with Biggie Smalls, and he only put out two albums. /images/graemlins/mad.gif

NT

[Rooster71]

[ QUOTE ]
Sunday Morning Coming Down

[/ QUOTE ]

The absolute best.

[wacki]

[ QUOTE ]
this thread made me put my Johnny Cash cd on at work, thank you, I really enjoy this CD

[/ QUOTE ]

Thank you, and everyone else for posting in this thread. I have a feeling by the end of the week I'm going to own a half a dozen Johnny Cash CD's. "Boy named Sue", "When the Man comes around", and "25 minutes to go" are my favorite right now.

[jaeon]

[ QUOTE ]
His 1996 album Unchained is pretty great, with a great cover of Soundgarden's 'Rusty Cage'. His cover of NIN's 'Hurt' that came out last year (or 2002?) gives me chills: find the video on the web. Awesome.

The box set 'Love, God, Murder' is an awesome retrospective that came out in 2000, with a disc on each of those themes. 'Murder' rules. /images/graemlins/smile.gif

B.

[/ QUOTE ]

oh yeah! i have to agree 100% here. but, really, is there a BAD johnny cash song?

[IggyWH]

[ QUOTE ]
His cover of NIN's 'Hurt' that came out last year (or 2002?) gives me chills: find the video on the web. Awesome.

[/ QUOTE ]

It's hard to beat a great NIN's song but him doing Hurt just had a certain ring to it.

[Benjamin]

[ QUOTE ]
It's hard to beat a great NIN's song but him doing Hurt just had a certain ring to it.

[/ QUOTE ]

Yeah. And the video, with the footage of him as a young man looking over his abandoned childhood home, and then at his modern day home with June Carter looking over him kind of sadly (shortly before she died I guess) ... I'd have to say it's the most emotionally affecting video I've ever seen.

I saw him play in Knoxville back in 1997, just before he announced that he had Parkinson's and quit touring. Great show ...

B.

[Victor]

johnny cash is the man.

hes great to listen to and play poker (and get shitty).


I walk the Line (classic)
Folsum County Blues (classic)
Man in Black
Big River
Ira Hayes
Ive Been Everywhere (great song)
Tear Stained Letter (best break up song ever)
Sunday Morning Coming Down (Great depressing song)
Ring of Fire (obviously)