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Johnny Cash...Sounding Better Than Ever?

I've been cuing up a lot of Johnny Cash tunes of late (~200 on my music server) and have been very impressed recently with the overall sound quality of many of his better known recordings.

One reason I suppose this has caught my attention is that the first record I ever purchased as a kid (mail order in response to a cable TV advertisement about 40 years ago) was a double vinyl set of Johnny's Sun Records recordings, and I had always been under the impression (probably due to low-fi gear I had at the time) that these were not very good recordings.

Well, at least with digital remastering and all, I must say that most of Johnny's recordings (Sun years and later COlumbia and American Records) are very good indeed!

I also have a 3 disk Sun Records 50th Anniversary set that I picked up this past summer when my family and I visited MEmphis and the Sun Studios. I have been most impressed with the sound quality these days on many of these old mostly mono recordings. The dynamics in particular of many are some of the sharpest and snappiest I have heard.
128x128mapman
mapman's avatar
mapman OP
22,198 posts
 
I can also recommend the sound on "The Legend", a very comprehensive box set, "Personal File", which is just Johnny and his guitar in his recording studio back in his prime vocal years singing and telling stories about various songs that meant something to him that he could recall from over the years. It is like he is there in the room delivering a personal concert just for you!

"Folsum Prison" is an involving live recording also.
thechair
20 posts
 
I love all five of the American Recordings, but also the 5-cd set, "Unearthed" that came from the same sessions. Great, great stuff. Mapman's recommendation about "Legend" (a four disc set) and Personal File (2 discs) is also spot on.
betamax
9 posts
 
American 1 - 4 are all awesome, post-humous 5 is good but not quite up to the same standard.
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