Cashing In
Johnny Cash & June Carter Cash
16 Biggest Hits
(Columbia/Legacy)
There is no escape. But among the more thoughtful Cash family reissues coinciding with Walk The Line is one featuring their duets.
The undisputed best part of the movie was Reese Witherspoon and Joaquin Phoenix’s chemistry together as June Carter and Johnny Cash. Not to take away from Johnny’s solo material — because it is undoubtedly superior — but the best cuts in the flick were “Jackson” and Bob Dylan’s “It Ain’t Me, Babe.” Both included here, they spark an otherwise so-so compilation of hits surpassed in country history by George & Tammy, Porter (or Kenny) & Dolly, and Conway & Loretta. But that doesn’t mean too much. Key tracks here include those by Johnny’s protégés Rodney Crowell (“One Way Rider”) and Kris Kristofferson (“Help Me Make It Through The Night,” “The Loving Gift”), and the always stunning, Tim Hardin’s “If I Were A Carpenter.”
— Steve Forstneger
