highlights extend from the pop innocence of "Ballad of a Teenage Queen" by Rodney Crowell (formerly married to Johnny's daughter Rosanne) to the folkier strains and husband-and-wife harmonies of "Pack Up Your Sorrows" by Bruce Robison and Kelly Willis to the honky-tonk majesty of "I Still Miss Someone" by pianist Earl Poole Ball. Some of the more familiar touchstones don't fare quite as well, with Billy Burnette turning in a tepid "Ring of Fire" and Dale Watson singing in a lower than comfortable register on "I Walk the Line," though James Intveld rises to the challenge of "Folsom Prison Blues." The house band and the largely acoustic arrangements give the 18-cut album more unity than many such projects, as the collection shows why one of the most influential and commercially successful artists in country's history remains an icon of alt-country as well. --Don McLeese  (less)

and more.  (less)

to skateboard over the line than to walk it, only that given his mesmerizing voice and his gift for storytelling, he had an enviable way of relating to kids. Thirty years on, parents who pick up this disc will find not a lot has changed: In 15 songs never before released on CD--four of which are bonus tracks not included on the 1975 classic--the Man in Black melds the silly with the sweet, the madcap with the meaningful, and emerges as a country-folk Pied Piper any kid would kill to have for an uncle. "Nasty Dan," the opener, will be familiar not only to those who grew up singing along to the original LP, but also to subsequent generations of "Sesame Street" watchers (Oscar duets on a later version). But for most, the rest will arrive as pure revelation. "Old Shep," a dog song, deserves placement on a disc of classic pet tributes, if such a thing exists; "Tiger Whitehead" treads fearlessly through wild bear territory; "Ah Bos Cee Dah" is nonsensical noodling with the language at its most brilliant; and "I Got a Boy and His Name Is John," a duet with the great June Carter Cash, steers the modern listener to a long-lost place where love of family was enough for a kid to get by on. --Tammy La Gorce  (less)

To Know Me, Track: 1: It Ain't Me Babe, Track: 2: Jackson, Track: 3: Long Legged Guitar Pickin' Man, Track: 4: Oh What A Good Thing We Had, Track: 5: Darlin' Companion, Track: 6: If I Were A Carpenter, Track: 7: Cause I Love You, Track: 8: Loving Gift, Track: 9: Help Me Make It Through The Night Media Type: CD Artist: CASH,JOHNNY & JUNE CARTER CASH Title: DUETS Street Release Date: 01/31/2006 Import Genre: COUNTRY  (less)

God, Murder trilogy. Cash's final act as an artist gathers 18 tracks from his incomparable, four-decade-deep Columbia catalog, reflecting a life as deeply conflicted by the ways of the flesh ("I Can't Go On That Way," "Wanted Man," "I Wish I Was Crazy Again," his duet with Waylon Jennings) as it was rooted in love of God ("I Talk to Jesus Everyday"), family ("Suppertime"), his country ("Ragged Old Flag"), and its music ("The Night Hank Williams Came to Town"). But Cash's deeply patriotic conscience was the kind that also demanded better of his nation and its leaders ("Ballad of Ira Hayes," "Man in Black") while his love for his late wife June illuminates "You're the Nearest Thing to Heaven" and their bittersweet duet, "Where Did We Go Right." There are Cash compilations galore, but none with the touching personal insights offered here. --Jerry McCulley  (less)

(1965). Sony/BMG.  (less)