Send "Johnny Cash " Ringtones to your Cell 
| Pitchfork |
 Although he had already signed with Sun Records, Johnny Cash was still struggling as a musician in 1955, taking gigs around Memphis with the Tennessee Two but not yet landing a strong hit single. To make ends meet, he worked at the Home Equipment Company selling venetian blinds, and it was his employer that sponsored his first radio show on KWEM. In May 1955, he played his first show live in the studio, and those 15 minutes are the centerpiece of the latest Johnny Cash reissue, the second in what will hopefully be a long bootleg series. Besides the fact that he sings only three songs and Luther Perkins plays a short instrumental, what's surprising about this short set is how awkward Cash comes across: As a musician, he's confident and clever with that booming voice and careful phrasing, and the Tennessee Two are just as energetic and tight as ever. Reading the ad copy for the Home Equipment Company's inventory of blinds and fencing, however, Cash speaks haltingly and stumbles a bit over his words, peppering his commendations with odd pauses and rhythms. He comes off as the exact opposite of the cool, smooth-talking peddler, and maybe that made him a much more trustworthy spokesman.That radio program is an intriguing time capsule from an era when radio was much more localized when Cash was young and unschooled, and it's almost a winking punchline that it's followed by an announcement for a concert in which Cash gets seventh billing. It's an intriguing glimpse of the artist at his most human, before he became an industry. As such it's the heart of From Memphis to Hollywood, the second volume in Columbia's bootleg series-- a reminder that Cash started out humbly before he became legendary (the radio show was also included on a bonus disc in The Legend box set in 2005). Nearly eight years after his death, it's difficult to get any critical distance on Cash, as his music is so wrapped up in his larger-than-life persona. So hearing him in this radio setting is a good reminder that there is much about him that remains unexamined and unconsidered....full text |
| Clatl |
| As sales of new music plummet to all-time lows, record companies struggle to find alternative revenue. Finding and releasing rare archival work has proven to be rather lucrative. During his final years spent working with Rick Rubin, and definitely since his passing in 2003, the music of Johnny Cash has become a cornerstone of any hipster's collection. Happy to build on that foundation, Columbia/Legacy is now releasing the second edition of Cash's Bootleg recordings. Culled from his personal collection in the House of Cash vaults, From Memphis to Hollywood covers the time from 1954 to 1970. Included are his earliest recorded live radio performances, tons of previously unreleased demos from Sun Studio, and a hodgepodge of completed songs that were never released. While a mixed bag both sonically and qualitatively, each track is a unique piece of the Man in Black, and a proper addition to the completist's collection. (3 out of 5 stars)...full text |
| Atruersound |
| Do you like Johnny Cash? Hell I love Johnny Cash, and I was still not aware that this was coming out. It’s another collection from those promised Johnny Cash archives that started with Personal File (which they now call Bootleg Vol. 1). Personal File featured 2 discs of demos from the 70’s, and is well worth getting if you are a Johnny Cash fanatic like I am. This one however really starts to get into the proverbial meat and potatoes of Johnny Cash rarities. What we have here is disc one featuring a live show, demos and rarities from the 50’s Sun era, and disc two featuring rarities from the 60s Columbia era. Some of these demos are pretty stark, featuring just Johnny and a guitar evoking the stipped down American Recordings from late in his career. The sun demos are particulary worthwhile...full text |
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