A Great American Hero: Johnny Cash

The soundtrack album of the 20th Fox Johnny Cash biopic "Walk The Line," (Sony/WindUp Records) is great! If you're a Cash fan (I am!) you've seen the movie and probably thought a lot about this true American Legend. His music is timeless, his originality and genuineness the stuff of real Americana, and he's even rubbed musical noses with Bono (U2). I guess that should come as no surprise.

Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon (and others) do a marvelous job with 16 Cash and Carter songs. I'd never listen to anyone else even attempt to do a cover of my favorite "Get Rhythm" from a late 1950s Sun Session (see my previous blog) but this is one magnificent waxing of an old standby. The rest of the disc works equally well and it's worth your money. See the movie if you haven't already and pick up the Authorized Biography by Steve Turner ("The Man Called Cash: The Life, love, and Faith of an American Legend") foreword by Kris Kristofferson. This is one great American Hero. In these recordings and Turner's book you'll see why!

Thanks, Steve H., for putting the bug in my ear about this CD!