One of the most interesting things about
Johnny Cash
's much heralded "comeback" as a recording artist at the close of his career was the degree to which his musical approach remained the same as it had always been. He ended things as he began, with a populist fusion of
folk
,
country
, and
gospel
done up in an unhurried, plain-spoken eloquence. That he covered songs written by young
alternative rockers
in his autumn years doesn't change the fact that they became vintage
as soon as he stepped to the microphone. This collection, drawn from
Cash
's earliest singles from the legendary
Sun Studios
in Memphis, finds all his influences intact from the very beginning. While more comprehensive compilations of the
Sun
years are available, budget-conscious listeners will find that this brief anthology has an uncanny cohesiveness.
recorded hundreds of albums. It all starts with these songs. ~ Steve Leggett