PopSyndicate.com

While he was alive, Johnny Cash was one of the more celebrated musicians inside and outside of country music. His voice wasn’t operatic and didn’t have Andrea Bocelli-like power, but there was something about the man that people from every walk of life embraced, maybe because he just seemed so genuine.

The celebration of Cash reached a highpoint in 2006 with the release of the biopic Walk the Line. With it came a host of CD and DVD sets, among them the great Johnny Cash at San Quentin, a re-released documentary. Coming late to the party in 2007 is Johnny Cash: The Man, His World, His Music, a DVD preservation of a documentary of the same name.

Although it’s never stated, the documentary was originally filmed circa December 1968, judging by references in the film to the death of guitarist Luther Perkins (of the Tennessee Three, Cash’s band) and the appearance of decorated trees in a prison yard. It also takes place during that hallowed period of Cash’s career, between the famous Folsom Prison concert and the aforementioned San Quentin visit, when Cash toured across America with the Carter Family and Carl Perkins in a Dodge RV.

The documentary shows various tour stops. It intersperses footage of Cash at home with his family, hunting, recording, and mentoring a young singer. Among the most moving footage is of Johnny driving the RV, retracing his route back home to Dyess, Arkansas to visit his parents and sister. As he’s describing to wife June Carter buildings that used to exist in Dyess’ town square, the camera zooms in and you can see the pain on his face as he remembers the struggles the family faced. The documentary is well cut, if a bit too long. It presents pieces of all that Cash was as a man. Look for appearances in the footage from Carl Perkins, Roy Rogers, Tammy Wynette, Dale Evans and a non-mushmouth Bob Dylan.

While the documentary is great, the bare bones DVD is low-rent. The only bonus feature is the ability to skip to different performances, unless you count links to the production company’s website and highlights of their other titles. The footage itself feels like you’re watching a reel to reel with all of its scratches, which is fine, considering that it would take thousands of dollars (if not more) to clean up. The bonus here is the audio quality. It’s absolutely pristine compared to good bits of Johnny Cash at San Quentin.

Johnny Cash: The Man, His World, His Music is a must-own for Cash die-hards, but even if you’re not among that crowd, it’s still worth a watch. 

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