Producers include: Sam Phillips, Jack Clement, Don Law, Frank Jones, Bob Johnston.

Compilation producers: Nick Shaffran, Nedra Olds-Neal.

Recorded between May 1955 and May 1993.

All tracks have been digitally remastered.

Recording information: Dublin, Ireland (05/??/1955-03/05/1993); Folsom Prison, Sacramento, CA (05/??/1955-03/05/1993); Hendersonville, TN (05/??/1955-03/05/1993); Hollywood, CA (05/??/1955-03/05/1993); Los Angeles, CA (05/??/1955-03/05/1993); Memphis, TN (05/??/1955-03/05/1993); Nashville, TN (05/??/1955-03/05/1993); San Quentin Prison, CA (05/??/1955-03/05/1993).

Photographers: Don Hunstein; Urve Kuusik; Sandy Speiser; Marvin Koner.

Arranger: Johnny Cash.

Issued in commemoration of Cash's 70th birthday, this double CD is a good survey of 1955-1993 career highlights (and a different release than the similarly titled three-CD The Essential Johnny Cash 1955-1983). Is it a good place to start? That depends on what you have or don't have already, considering that so many greatest-hits compilations containing some or much of this material appeared prior to this, yet another repackage. All of his very biggest hits are here, and it leans very heavily on his first 15 years of recordings, with just eight of the 36 tracks postdating 1970 (and only one of them, his 1993 U2 collaboration "The Wanderer," postdating 1986). For that reason some may complain that it doesn't give some phases of his career proper weight, and certainly not evenly distributed weight. But let's be cold about this: Cash's best records were between 1955 and 1970, and focusing on his early work, as this compilation does, means higher overall quality. It's too bad nothing is included from his acclaimed, unadorned 1994 album, American Recordings, but otherwise this will serve as a quite satisfactory best-of for those who want both the familiar hits and a few good, not-so-overplayed ones, like his versions of "It Ain't Me Babe," "Jackson," and "If I Were a Carpenter." ~ Richie Unterberger

In the past, if you wanted a Johnny Cash compilation, you were basically confined by licensing issues, as Cash's seminal Sun recordings weren't generally available in the same place as his more eclectic Columbia output. THE ESSENTIAL JOHNNY CASH solves that problem, tying together the various eras of Cash's career on a generous 35-track, two-disc set. Accordingly, this anthology is damn near definitive. From the raw, sparse rockabilly flavor of "Hey Porter" and "Get Rhythm" to the gospel roots of "Where You There (When They Crucified My Lord," the first disc moves neatly through Cash's early career.

Disc two documents Cash's expansion into ever more varied stylistic avenues. Countrified covers of Bob Dylan ("It Ain't Me Babe") and Tim Hardin ("If I Were a Carpenter") exemplify his fascination with folk-rock. The socially conscious "Man in Black" and the patriotic "Ragged Old Flag" perfectly display the ostensibly conflicting sides of this complex artist's sensibilities. Album-closer "The Wanderer" finds Cash collaborating with U2, filling his role as icon to a whole new generation of artists.