Among Cashophiles there's no little debate over the quality of his recordings for Mercury/Polygram, the label he turned to after his long stint with Columbia Records. Some detect a falling-off during this period, and perhaps there was: Once hit the peaks of Cash at Folsom and At San Quentin, and then where do you go? Still, Cash kept recording, expanding in difrerent directions, revisiting old songs with new takes. And subpar Cash--if this be--is superior to most of whatever else is available, even thirty years later. This is a reasonably priced, two-album compilation disc. I enjoy listening to it, and repeatedly so.

A friend recently offered me a Cash album someone gave him that had been laying around for several years.Lo and Behold it had never been opened.I didn't recall seeing it and when I looked at the songs on the back,most were not familar to me.This album was published in 1987 by PolyGram after Cash had left Columbia and was in a hiatus of his popularity,and before he teamed up with Rubin when it took off again.I have to admit,as much as I've followed Cash there were only two songs here that were familar;the title song and 'Sixteen Tons'.As for the rest,what a pleasant surprise.My favorite is "Let Him Roll',written by that great Texas Songwriter ,Guy Clark.In my opinion ,as great a song as ,and somewhat along the linesof 'The Ballad of Ira Hayes",one of Cash's all time best ballads.Clark filled this ballad with insightful and picturesque lines which get spoken like nobody but Cash can do.
Here are just a couple from it;
"He always thought that Heaven was a Dallas whore."
"He was an elevator man in a cheap hotel,in exchange for rent
in a one room cell."
"She turned his last proposal down in favor of being a girl
about town."
"Old One-eyed John said her name was Alice,she used to be whore
in Dallas."
"When they went through his personal affects,among the stubs
from the Welfare cheques....
"I'll bet he's gone to Dallas--Bless his Soul."

When do the words in a Country Song get better than that!!
This recording is a big departure from his earlier which were recorded in the Nashville studios.This was recorded in "The Cowboy Arms & Recording Spa with Jack "Cowboy" Clement ,the performer-writer-producer-publisher and proprietor in his home turned office/recording studio/salon.Here we also get the great harmony of The Carter Sisters(Helen,Anita and June),Carlene Carter,Waylon Jennings and Cindy Cash-Stuart;along with that are Cash,s band including Marty Stuart.The album liner notes include Cash's accomplishments of 32 years at that time.The are two very different and excellent,and to me not seen before,portraits of Cash from that period.
I would be remiss in not saying that on several of the songs ,the music tended to drown out Cash's voice,making it difficult to understand his words at times.On a couple of ballads it even sounded like he was standing too far from the mike.
In spite of this I am very thrilled to add this album to my collection of Johnny's work.
By the way,it seems this album has been reissued as a CD and it appears from the sound sample,that my concerns have been corrected.
Any Cash fan should enjoy this;even though sometimes he's not the man in black.

If you're curious as to what Johnny Cash did between Columbia Records dropping him in 1986, and hooking up with Rick Rubin in 1994, then this two-fer of albums released in 1987 and 1989 will satisfy you. Although, Coming To Town got the most attention, I've always been partial to the latter, with its Sun Rockabilly sound. These aren't essential releases for Cash newbies. But for die-hards they're a good addition to your Cash library.

I loved the album and the music is so real sounding with out all the studio garb in the music tracks. You can here the words and feel the story. I've been on Monteagle Mountain and That is a real Trucker song if ever there was one! I first heard this on the radio and was so glad to find that the album is that good with all the other songs.

This CD reissues two lesser-known Johnny Cash albums, both from an era when his work wasn't given much respect. Still, anyone who gives this disc a spin will probably be pleasantly surprised.

"JOHNNY CASH IS COMING TO TOWN" (1987): Anybody wowed and mystified by Johnny Cash's "big change" in the 1990s, when he started covering edgy rock tunes must notta been paying attention during the '60s when he avidly championed Bob Dylan... Or here, when he tackled Elvis Costello's "Big Light." He also includes not one, but two songs by Texas singer-songwriter Guy Clark -- "Let Him Roll" and Clark's ode to construction machinery, "Heavy Metal." Admittedly, this isn't the high point of Cash's career, and the sometimes misguided production frequently falls flat, but it's still an interesting album, and worth checking out. A high point is his tribute to the founders of western swing, "W. Lee O'Daniel (And The Light Crust Dough Boys)" which thematically is a great country song, even if the horn arrangements and melodies are all wrong.

"BOOM CHICKA BOOM" (1989): Yeah, he's got that same old "boom chicka boom" rhythm going on behind him, but the songs sure veer off in some interesting directions. The opening track, "Backstage Pass To A Willie Nelson Show," affectionately makes fun of Willie and Waylon and their whole "outlaw" crew while "Farmer's Almanac," "Harley" and "Don't Go Near The Water" pursue political and environmental themes that are as pointed and on-the-nose as anything Johnny recorded in the Vietnam War era. The production is pretty simplified and stripped down, and it suits Johnny well. Good record... definitely worth checking out!