With His Hot And Blue Guitar

“I Walk The Line” and “Folsom Prison Blues” were already part of Johnny Cash’s world when this debut LP gathered his early Sun recordings. His voice sits plainly in front of the spare accompaniment, leaving the stories easy to follow.

The album also includes “Cry! Cry! Cry!” and “(I Heard That) Lonesome Whistle”. Familiar as these songs have become, hearing them together brings their different kinds of loneliness into focus. The arrangements give Cash very little to hide behind.