The unique sound and style that sets Johnny Cash apart from the rest, is transparent, addictive and always keeps you interested in hearing more. Lyrics are simple yet elegant with a catchy rhythm.

If you are a fan, get it, its that simple.

-Richie Etwaru

"The Man in Black"

Don't confuse this two cd set with other Johnny Cash releases of the same name. This is a solid collection of his better known songs. Anyone experiences Johnny Cash for the first time - this is where to start. I do recommend expanding your music library to include some of his later works as well, like some of his live performances which really showcase his charisma and vigor with an audience.

His Christmas and gospel works are legendary.

The compilation "Unearthed" is one of the best collections of Johnny Cash's lesser known works... but this two cd set "The Essential Johnny Cash" is a nice set of the more famous stuff.

This really is a wonderful double-cd! It's got all the great songs we know and love from Johnny Cash. Great to add to your music collection.

I got this for my husband, who recently developed an interest in Johnny Cash. This 2-disc set is great for those who want to have all his "greatest hits." I especially recommend it for someone's first Cash cd. It was a great buy and has a good selection of Cash's songs.

My purchase of this CD was sparked naturally enough by having seen Walk the Line. I went to see that based on my own childhood memories of hearing Johnny Cash on the radio growing up. He and June Carter were a staple of country music and he had a voice that was like the low rumble of thunder in a box canyon. His voice and his guitar playing were unmistakable.

So it was with quite a bit of glee that I picked up this collection and was transported back to a simpler, quieter time. It gave me an even greater appreciation for the job Joaquin Phoenix did playing Johnny Cash -- though their voices are distinct, somehow Joaquin managed to get that rumble into his voice that instantly was familiar.

While perhaps not the most complete catalog of Johnny's music, outside of a boxed set this would be the best treasure trove you could ask for. It gives you a broad spectrum of music, from the gospel to country to his collaborations with June, Waylon Jennings, Kris Kristofferson, Willian Neslon, and of course the funnier stuff he did ("One Piece at a Time", "Boy Named Sue"). Certainly a sampling of music worth listening to.

I've always been a Johnny Cash fan and have bought a few of his recordings over the years. BUT this set of CD's is absolutely fantastic and incorporates music from various stages of his career and life. Everyone, including my little kids, likes to listen to it.
Just buy it!

I know some people will hate me for this, but I really did not like this music. Oh, a couple of the songs were really great, but I do not like to own albums where I only want to hear a couple of songs.... so I gave it away to a friend... who then gave it away to a friend. Wish I had more to say, but that's it.

The volume was bought to accompany us on a month long road trip. The CD's got one play and were put away for the rest of the journey. The arrangements and instrumentation was repetitive and the voice shows little ability to work outside of a single approach to lyrics. I would have been better served to download the few well know items and forget the rest. Perhaps it will appeal to die hard JC fans but it is like a character actor who can only play one role.

The Essential Johnny Cash, while far from being the only Cash CD you'll ever need, is nonetheless a great collection of his biggest hits. Drawing mainly from his early years, this set features nearly all of my personal favorites, and even a few lesser-known hits that usually get lost in the cracks of other albums.

Like I said--this isn't the only Johnny Cash CD you'll ever need, but this, along with the Folsom and San Quentin concerts, is a good way to start your collection. Highly recommended.

This is a great 2-CD set if you are a Johnny Cash fan and want as many hits as you can get without buying the box set! I got the Essential Johnny Cash for my Dad at Christmas last year and listened to it on a trip with him. I loved the movie Walk the Line and this CD made me go out and buy the box set for myself. I admit I like this CD better thna the box set as I find myself switching CD's too much with the box set. There are 4 CD's with the box set where this one has two. the boxed set also has a lot of gospel song by Johnny Cash, which I didn't like as much. But the Essential Johnny Cash did have a couple of the gospel songs that I did like. So if you are a Johnny Cash fan, or think you are becoming one, I highly recommend The Essential Johnny Cash 2-CD set. It has all the songs you'll need and love! Like me, you may even discover some you never knew you'd love.

What can you say? It's Johnny Cash and he's great. What I like most about this CD is that it introduced me to songs of his that I had never heard of such as 'Hey Porter'. You can hear Cash's personality and humor in his music. Buy it, you'll like it.

If you are going to have 1 Johnny Cash CD Set.. this is it. Period..

The cd The Essential Johnny Cash is based on his songs and music like Ring of Fire and A Boy Named Sue. The instrument that plays in Ring Of Fire is a trumphet that is high brass and for A Boy Named Sue is a giutar that is loud. The thing that brings out the songs is that he`s a musician and talented. His attidude was bad sometimes because of drugs he was taking. Like always Johnny Cash will always be sensation as a true good, sensation singer known as the Man in Black and for his music.

The A-side has a fine selection of tunes that bring back classic moments from Johnny Cash. However, on the flip, songs like "If I Were a Carpenter" and "It Ain't Me Babe" (there are others) make this comp less than completely "essential." Of course, there's a dozen compilations of various size, and everybody has their favorites. But in terms of presenting the essential tracks by Johnny Cash, this record goes only two-thirds of the way.

The good news is that listeners have abundant choices - and who know, maybe for a sizable plurallity, this selection might indeed be essential enough. Having been through a few comps, I've found that you have to pick and choose to find the perfect record.

Bought 2 cds, one for me and one as a gift. Great selection of music.

Others have written more complete and complex reviews of this cd. This is a great set of songs sung by Johnny Cash in only the way that he could sign. There are some classics and favorites and some not so often heard songs on here. It is a well rounded set. My children and I listen to this in the car and enjoy it.

Not having grown up around country music, I am very much a novice Johnny Cash fan. While I have greatly enjoyed the several Cash CDs I now own, I must single out this collection for special mention as a particularly useful and enjoyable overview. All the big hits on Columbia are here, as are many of the rarer early recordings on Sun Records. All that is missing are the magnificent late recordings on American, which are not included here for copyright reasons, since they are not on a Columbia-affiliated label. Still, this is a fine foundation for any Cash collection. I would suggest buying it together with American IV: The Man Comes Around.

I love it. I listen to it almost every day. It has all the songs that only Johnny Cash can sing. It is Fabulous plus

I hear a lot of country music. Johnny Cash has never been among my favorites. By coincidence, I saw a video clip on the Internet (Man in black). It convinced me to search for other songs from Johnny Cash and I found a lot.
So, I decided to buy a collection of his greatest hits. They are among my favorites now and I hear them all the time.

Knowing that this would be the first Johnny Cash album I have ever owned, I was careful to look for one that would include his most recognizable hits, but also hoped to find an album that may have some of his later material. I can tell you for a fact that "The Essential Johnny Cash" includes both, and does NOT dissapoint!
I received this CD about three weeks ago, and it has become a part of my daily listening! This CD is PERFECT for anyone new to a classic such as Cash, and an awesome collection of his works all in one place, for anyone who already is a fan. With over 30 tracks, this CD is a great buy!

Great CD and well worth the money. Everyone should enjoy it. I even gave one to my brother in law, and he loved it.

This CD has captured the soul and heart of Johnny Cash. It is a significant tribute to the man and his music. The best of his musical legacy is captured and joined with his life partner, June Carter. Listening to their duets brings into focus the bond and love that they shared.

Look, I am a classical musician. I am not deeply into popular music, but I did grow up in America in the 1960s and the music of that time saturated our lives. Besides the Beatles and Elvis, I was quite attracted to the music of The Who. Johnny Cash was someone not only I didn't listen to, but someone I actively avoided. His style of half-singing - half-talking always seemed kind of odd to me. I simply did not appreciate his originality or his charismatic power. Frankly, it wasn't until I saw the video for "Hurt" that I was blown away. Still, I didn't buy the CD.

Then I saw the DVD of "Walk the Line" and became even more interested in Cash. My wife and kids bought me this double CD for Christmas. As I listen to it with fresh ears and being consciously open to what Cash is offering, I have to say I am quite impressed. As well as the actors did in the movie, you will want to hear the real thing to appreciate what was so special about this guy.

Cash has a very expressive way of delivering his material. The musical elements are very simple, but the arrangements have some elements that are quite surprising if you listen very closely. The way he keeps things fresh rhythmically and the way some of the sounds are made are interesting. But the star is always Cash's voice. It is not a beautiful musical instrument, but it is a resonant and charismatic medium for his own commitment to the material. It has a beautiful timbre, but his finding a way between pitches can be exasperating until you realize that this is part of what Johnny Cash is. It is his unique style.

The words are always clear and delivered with commitment. The vocalizations draw one in unless you actively resist them. This collection offers selections from the very beginning of Cash's career in 1955 (in mono) through the early nineties. Each disk has 18 tracks. A few of them have Cash singing with June Carter and the Carter family. A couple of the tracks are live and a few are duets with Marty Robbins, Willie Nelson, and even Bono!

In the end, I enjoy Cash as a wonderfully expressive vocalist who conveys his convictions with a kind of minimalism that works successfully for the musical art he is making. This is a nice collection. And while I don't think I will listen to his music every day, I will certainly get other CDs from Cash over time. Too bad I had to wait until he was gone to develop an appreciation for him.

best of the old cash stuff - a good complement to the recent cash movie, "walk the line". i.e. hear what they really sound like.

i got a copy and enjoyed it so much that i got a copy for friends in oklahoma who are long-time cash fans. they were most appreciative.

some of the oldie cds are of poor quality but this cd was just fine.

In addition to the greats, there were many hidden gems I hadn't heard before that are fantastic. "The one on the left" is a great jab at political folk bands, and the U2 feature, "The wanderer" is touching. Just make sure you don't stop here. "Unchained" and "American Recordings" are brilliant albums that are after this collection's chronology.

Great Disc specially if you do not own any Johnny Cash
Material yet.

I originally shopped for the sound track to the movie, but came across this 2 cd collection. This includes all the songs that you heard in the movie, plus many more sung by the original man in black.

This is one of those very "rare" occasions where you actually buy a cd (in this case 2) where ALL of the songs are good.

Highly recommended. So, what are you waiting for? If you don't have this one I suggest you buy it now!

This is the best Johnny Cash collection I've found. Great song selection -- it's got everyone. And, the live songs have good recording quality.

Great album and I reccomend this album,,, It will bring the country out in you.

These days I listen mostly to Arvo Part and Jovino Santos Neto, but forty years ago I enjoyed Johnny Cash for his story-telling art and his plain-singing music. Now my 15-year-old son has "discovered" Cash (he listens to a lot of different kinds of music, not including most of what I like) and often does his homework to this album. There must be something about Johnny Cash that transcends the "country music" genre and speaks to people living very diverse lives.

Overall, this would have been a pretty good Johnny Cash compilation.

Unfortunately, Sony chose to censor a line from "Boy Named Sue" with a loud bleep. It ruins the song, and in my opinion taints the entire release. I bought this CD to hear Cash, not a butchered hack-job by Sony's lawyers.

I have always loved Johnny Cash. He is defitnetly the best country music singer there ever was. This CD is an absoulutely perfectly done collection in honor of the artist's 70th birthday. It has all of his best songs,(but where's rusty cage?) From I Walk The Line to The Wanderer with U2. A great reprersentation of Cash's career. Buy this CD, you won't regret it.

This is what country music should sound like. Most "so called" country music today all sounds the same. There is no mistaking the sound of johnny cash. This is a very good CD.

After watching the movie walk the line, I wanted to hear more of Johnny Cash. All these years(35 of them) I always thought he was just a slow folk singer. His music is non-stop foot tapping soul grabbing stuff. He toured with Elvis Presely and Jerry Lee Lewis. He inspired musicians like Bob Dylan. I am so glad I bought this CD. It's the best purchase I made all year.