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The Best of The Johnny Cash Show

I was really looking forward to this one, in fact I went out and bought it (gasp!) which is why it pains me to say that this collection is not what I expected.

The Johnny Cash Show (1968-1971) on DVD is encased in a heavy handed documentary format with numerous interviews with show participants like the show's hairdresser, a member of the Tennessee Three, and Hank Williams, Jr. Kris Kristofferson hosts and it's narrated by that guy who does all those PBS documentaries (Peter Coyote).

The production overall expends way too much time burnishing Johnny Cash's image, as is done when a superstar dies. Like making it a point to declare that the legendary singer was not conservative or liberal, he was apolitical. With endless platitudes like, "the man for whom family was everything," they could easily be talking about Walt Disney or Abraham Lincoln. While there's no questioning his impact on American music, his extramarital affairs and drug use in the 1970s & 1980s makes statements like that ring somewhat false.

The interviews and show history are interesting enough but, except when musical director Bill Walker is on screen, the documentary is (I assume) deliberately vague on details. For instance, Johnny Cash looks buzzed in some of the clips but that is completely ignored. Everything was roses and lollipops on the Johnny Cash Show, if this production is taken at face value.

And too much time is given over to lionizing John Carter Cash, Johnny and June's only child who is seen as an infant on the show and featured prominently in the commentaries. No surprise he's one of the producers of the DVD.

That said, aside from the commentaries, this is one of my favorite DVD collections of all time. There are many phenomenal musical performances to be found on these 2 discs, they just aren't as easy to access as they should be. There's no 'Play All Music' feature so tunes must be selected one at a time. The second disc has fewer commentaries (until the end), just wall to wall music, as it should be.

Besides electrifying performances by Johnny Cash there are musical numbers from seminal artists like Bob Dylan (who appeared on Cash's first episode), Conway Twitty, Mother Maybelle Carter, George Jones, Pete Seeger, Bill Monroe And His Blue Grass Boys, Jerry Lee Lewis, Loretta Lynn and so many more.

Here's the line-up of songs:

DISC 1: Johnny Cash - Ring Of Fire
Bob Dylan - I Threw It All Away
Bob Dylan and Johnny Cash - Girl From The North Country
Kris Kristofferson - Loving Her Was Easier (Than Anything I'll Ever Do Again)
Louis Armstrong and Johnny Cash - Blue Yodel #9
Stevie Wonder - Heaven Help Us All
Creedence Clearwater Revival - Bad Moon Rising
Linda Ronstadt and Johnny Cash - I Will Never Marry
George Jones - Medley (White Lightning with Johnny Cash, She Thinks I Still Care, Love Bug, The Race Is On)
Johnny Cash - Hey Porter
Waylon Jennings - Only Daddy That'll Walk The Line
Waylon Jennings and Johnny Cash - The Singing Star's Queen
Waylon Jennings - Brown Eyed Handsome Man
Tammy Wynette - Stand By Your Man
Marty Robbins - Medley (Big Iron, Running Gun, El Paso)
Johnny Cash - Come Along And Ride This Train
Johnny Cash - As Long As The Grass Shall Grow
Johnny Cash - Man In Black
James Taylor - Sweet Baby James
Pete Seeger and Johnny Cash - Cripple Creek, Worried Man Blues
Johnny Cash - Sunday Morning Coming Down
Johnny Cash - Old Time Religion
Johnny Cash, The Carter Family, The Statler Brothers, Carl Perkins and The TennesseeThree - Daddy Sang Bass
Mother Maybelle and The Carter Sisters - Wildwood Flower
Neil Young - The Needle And The Damage Done
Johnny Cash and The Tennessee Three - Tennessee Flat Top Box
Joni Mitchell and Johnny Cash - The Long Black Veil
Johnny Cash and The Tennessee Three with Carl Perkins - Big River

DISC 2: Johnny Cash - I Walk The Line
June Carter Cash - A Good Man
Derek And The Dominos - It's Too Late Derek And The Dominos with Johnny Cash and Carl Perkins - Matchbox
Charley Pride - Able Bodied Man
Bill Monroe And His Blue Grass Boys - Blue Moon Of Kentucky
Loretta Lynn - I Know How
Jerry Lee Lewis - Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On
Johnny Cash - Ride This Train (America The Beautiful, This Land Is Your Land)
The Everly Brothers with Ike Everly and Johnny and Tommy Cash - That Silver Haired Daddy Of Mine
Ray Charles - Ring Of Fire
Johnny Cash - A Boy Named Sue
Conway Twitty - Hello Darlin'
Mother Maybelle Carter - Black Mountain Rag
Tony Joe White and Johnny Cash - Polk Salad Annie
Glen Campbell - Wichita Lineman
Neil Diamond - Cracklin' Rosie
Ray Price - For The Good Times
Roy Orbison - Crying
Roy Orbison and Johnny Cash - Oh, Pretty Woman
Johnny Cash - Wanted Man
Chet Atkins and Johnny Cash - Recuerdo De La Alhambra
Chet Atkins - Medley (Country Gentleman, Mister Sandman, Wildwood Flower, Freight Train)
June Carter Cash with Homer And Jethro - Baby, It's Cold Outside
Merle Haggard - No Hard Times
Merle Haggard and Johnny Cash - Sing Me Back Home
Carl Perkins - Blue Suede Shoes
Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins, The Carter Family and The Statler Brothers - The Old Account Was Settled Long Ago
Roy Clark - Medley (In The Summertime, 12th Street Rag)
The Statler Brothers - Flowers On The Wall
Johnny Cash - Working Man Blues
Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash - Jackson, Turn Around, I Love You Because
Hank Williams Jr. - Medley (You Win Again, Cold Cold Heart, I Can't Help It If I'm Still In Love With You, Half As Much)
Johnny Cash - A Wonderful Time Up There

I really shouldn't complain given the outstanding musical numbers contained between these covers, this program captured luminaries like Neil Young, James Taylor, Derek And The Dominos, (and just about everybody else featured here) at their peak.

Don't miss this highly entertaining if flawed DVD collection from The Johnny Cash Show, there's also a single-disc CD version available.

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Reviews by Billy Ingram, as seen on VH1, Trio and Bravo. Watch for Billy Ingram on BRAVO this month!

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The Best of The
Johnny Cash Show

Actors: Johnny Cash
Directors: Michael B Borofsky
Producers: Lou Robbin, John Carter Cash
Format: Best of, DVD-Video, NTSC
Language: English
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Number of discs: 2

Studio: Sony Columbia Legacy / Reverse Angle Productions
DVD Release Date: September 18, 2007
Run Time: 230 minutes

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There's also a less expensive 1 disc version with these songs:

Johnny Cash - I Walk The Line
Johnny Cash - Hey Porter
Bob Dylan - I Threw It All Away
George Jones - Medley (White Lightning with Johnny Cash, She Thinks I Still Care, Love Bug, The Race Is On)
Neil Young - The Needle And The Damage Done
Creedence Clearwater Revival - Bad Moon Rising
Loretta Lynn - I Know How
Kris Kristofferson - Loving Her Was Easier (Than Anything I'll Ever Do Again)
Johnny Cash, The Carter Family, The Statler Brothers, Carl Perkins and The Tennessee Three - Daddy Sang Bass
Ray Charles - Ring Of Fire
Johnny Cash - Sunday Morning Coming Down
Carl Perkins - Blue Suede Shoes
Joni Mitchell and Johnny Cash - The Long Black Veil
Waylon Jennings - Brown Eyed Handsome Man
Tammy Wynette - Stand By Your Man
Roy Orbison - Crying

Region: All Regions
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Number of discs: 1
Studio: Sony Legacy
DVD Release Date: September 18, 2007
Run Time: 83 minutes

 

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