Johnny CashMusic 

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TurboSmoke

TurboSmoke

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Browsing my local music shop on Saturday i came across a new CD by the late Johnny Cash.

Its the 1969 recording Live at San Quentin. When i was a boy my father was a big country music fan everything from Dolly Parton to the less well known stuff. San Quentin was his favourite and he played it every day.

Country was very popular among the working classes of Scotland in the 60s and 70s and still is today to an extent. I was brought up on country music and thats is one of the reasons i dislike country but i have to admit, i know all the songs off by heart.

So the Cash CD was there in the shop and i bought it for my dad since his original record is long gone and there are 9 bonus tracks all remastered. I took a copy on minidisk and listend to it in the car on the way to work this morning.

I was blown away from the boyhood memories that came flooding back and also by the greatness of this album. Its amazingly striking and emotional and a powerful recording from such a great singer....i have a new found admiration for this guy...what a star he was.
 
Yes, he was a huge loss to music and culture. Quite possibly the most open, honest, and un-self-sparing man in music history.

Check out his American recording series, which were made in the last few years of his life. He was trying to get everything in his head out onto record, both originals and covers of other people's songs.
 
He was an asset to the music world. My father had quite a few of his songs and I would even have myself a listen now and then.

His last song "Hurt" was a very sad song, and I'm sure if it was actually written by him would have won some awards.
 
I can't be the only person who can't stand Johnny Cash. His music is just awful. Maybe he's an honest songwriter. Maybe he's got an interesting and unique style. Maybe he influenced other musicians, or had interesting lyrics. But that doesn't make up for the fact that his music was so bad.

Seriously, someone chime in here and let me know I'm not alone on this one. I'd prefer that this not turn out to be like the babe thread, otherwise I'll start thinking I'm in some sort of twilight zone universe where everyone likes Johnny Cash, Fat Girls, Napoleon Dynamite, and Socialism. :)
 
Danoff
Johnny Cash, Fat Girls, Napoleon Dynamite, and Socialism. :)
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Not a fan, most assuredly not a fan, my wife bought it and I've watched it once and don't plan on repeating that mistake as it sucked and definitely not a fan.

To me, it's not so much that his music is bad as it is not my type of music. If forced to listen to Ring of Fire, I gladly pick Social D's cover any day. I would imagine that it's because as a poor black child I was forced to listen to this day in a day out with both parents - late '70's to early '80's in Georgia.
 
Danoff
I can't be the only person who can't stand Johnny Cash. His music is just awful. Maybe he's an honest songwriter. Maybe he's got an interesting and unique style. Maybe he influenced other musicians, or had interesting lyrics. But that doesn't make up for the fact that his music was so bad.

Seriously, someone chime in here and let me know I'm not alone on this one. I'd prefer that this not turn out to be like the babe thread, otherwise I'll start thinking I'm in some sort of twilight zone universe where everyone likes Johnny Cash, Fat Girls, Napoleon Dynamite, and Socialism. :)
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Not much of a fan of Johnny Cash myself, but much like Bob Dylan, I think he is an acquired taste... I wouldn't dismiss his entire musical legacy as "awful", though, not by a long way... but there really is no accounting for taste ;). I challenge anyone to listen to the whole of "Live at Folsom Prison" and tell me they didn't enjoy any of it. I can't say I have heard much of Cash's studio output, and admittedly I can't say I particularly want to either. But Cash's strength was in performance, and the Folsom Prison gig is full of energy, wit and pathos - not to mention a backing group that could "turn goat piss into gasoline".
 
Cash is much less of an acquired taste than Dylan. With Dylan you have kilotons of pretentious '60s twaddle to dig under for the few nuggets of worthwhile lyric.

I can't say I love everything that Cash ever performed, but I can't agree with Dan that his songs are bad. And Live at Folsom Prison is an amazing album (as is the namesake song, Folsom Prison Blues).
 
danoff
Johnny Cash, Fat Girls, Napoleon Dynamite, and Socialism.
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1) Disagree, regardless of amount of alcohol
2) Tolerable in an imperfect world with lots of alcohol
3) Intolerably crap-tastic even with alcohol
4) Intolerable, but requires Victory Gin, supposedly works in perfect world.

Also, the shut-yer-eyes-factor improves both 2) and 3).
 
Danoff
I'm in some sort of twilight zone universe where everyone likes Johnny Cash, Fat Girls, Napoleon Dynamite, and Socialism. :)
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When you say 'Fat Girls' you really mean 'girls who don't look like they've just come back from an extended holiday in Belsen'

the Interceptor
Make sure you get #4: The Man Comes Around

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Double 👍
 
I stumbled upon "Cash Back", a Johnny Cash impersonator, last night in Glasgow. He was pretty good! I think it takes more skill to sound like someone who can't really sing than to sing properly... he had Cash's vocal style and nuances down to a tee, and I certainly didn't mind the 85p "voluntary donation" I handed over at the door to get in! I certainly wasn't demanding my "cash back" by the end of the evening. He did a great rendition of "Hurt", even if he was blatantly not playing the guitar!
 
Hurt is a fantastic song, my favorite of his, and my team, Liverpool FC sing a version of 'ring of fire'
 
Alex.
Hurt is a fantastic song, my favorite of his...
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You're aware, of course, that Hurt is a Trent Reznor song. John Frusciante plays the guitar on the When the Man Comes Around version of it. In fact, Johnny Cash doesn't play any of the guitar on that entire album; he just sings.
 
Duke
You're aware, of course, that Hurt is a Trent Reznor song. John Frusciante plays the guitar on the When the Man Comes Around version of it. In fact, Johnny Cash doesn't play any of the guitar on that entire album; he just sings.
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Yes I saw on the youtube video info it wasn't his, but as before, it's one of if not my favorite of his songs (although not technically his) but the songs he sings.

Sorted.
 
as an avid rap fan, i get more than a few raised eyebrows and odd looks when most pople find out i listen to a large extent of Johnny cash. Love the stuff.
 

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