Faith was central to Johnny Cash's music and life. On this 1959 album, his fifth, we see a humble man looking back to the faith of his childhood. Cash's faith is deeply sentimental, rooted in the folksy Christianity of the cottonfields. Musically, there is no other Cash album quite like this one. The core of this album is the boom-chicka-boom sound of Cash and the Tennessee Two; bassist Marshall Grant and electric guitarist Luther Perkins. The songs are a mix of traditionals, contemporary tunes and four Cash originals. “Lead Me Father” is a comforting ballad with beautiful backing vocals by the Jordanaires and “I Call Him” is a bouncy number co-written with his father, Roy Cash. This is Cash’s first and most popular gospel album.
Originally released in 1964, produced by fellow Country Music Hall of Fame inductee Don Law, and featuring note-for-note rerecordings of several staples Johnny Cash made for Sun Records— including the title track, “Hey Porter,” and “Big River”—as well as several new originals, I Walk the Line cemented the singer’s place as the leading country artist of the era. As the original liner notes state, “I Walk the Line offers Johnny Cash, renowned storytellerin- song, at his creative and performing best.” Indeed, the music remains infallible. The inspired performances of the Sun material equal those of the originals and in some cases, improve upon them. And that says nothing of the new songs, most notably, “Understand Your Man,” a humorous takedown that references soon-to-be Cash collaborator Bob Dylan and his “Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright.”
Now, for the first time in more than five decades, you can experience it in true-to-the-source mono courtesy of Mobile Fidelity. Mastered from the original mono master tapes and strictly limited, the audiophile label’s reissues broadcast the inimitable sonics of the Man in Black’s cut-from-bedrock baritone, earnest acoustic strumming, and hand-in-glove band with utmost clarity, directness, and realism. Much has been rightly made about the sparse, deceivingly simple boom-chicka-boom sound of Cash’s righthand men, otherwise known as the Tennessee Three. On these collectible editions, the trio’s steady, fundamental rhythms and fresh, driving beats resonate with a presence, solidity, and immediacy unavailable on any other recording. Everything here epitomizes the classic Cash approach, through and through.
Like the title says, this is the Johnny Cash children's album. It is a fun album, with a lot of cute songs for kids. "Nasty Dan" is the funniest song on the album. "I Got A Boy And His Name Is John" is a good duet between Johnny and June, and is about their boy John Carter Cash. "Dinosaur Song" is a cute song about the obvious. "Call Of The Wild" is a nice song sung from the point of view of a migrating goose. There is a great song about a girl or young woman (“Miss Tara”), "Why Is A Fire Engine Red" is just plain silly but enjoyable. And the rest of the songs are also enjoyable. This album contains two previously unreleased bonus tracks. Cash fans will enjoy this.