The Essential Johnny Cash 1955-1983  (Audio CD) 
by Johnny Cash

The art of Johnny Cash is as traditional and innovative, as expansive, as the 20th century itself--so much so that The Man in Black now stands as an honest-to-God American icon, a living link to the Carter Family and the very origins of modern country music some 70 years ago. His own repertoire has touched upon just about every significant development in the field ever since, and this three-CD, 75-song box set gives an impressive overview of just about all of it: the rockabilly-boogie singles for Sun in the 1950s; his straight-country smashes from the '60s and '70s; the Americana sagas he recorded during the folk revival; the pro-Indian and antiwar protest songs; the legendary live prison sets; and so much more--all of it a compelling testament to the art of simple storytelling and to the expressive power of a unique human voice. While more is far better in this case, the single-CD Sun Years captures the best early Cash available. So while calling this The Essential Johnny Cash is certainly accurate, it's also a huge understatement. Call it, instead, an essential document of 20th-century America. --David Cantwell