Johnny Cash

And that's the Johnny Cash we hear on his Christmas albums. He made four of them, none of which hold a candle to classics like "Folsom Prison Blues," "Ring Of Fire," and "Jackson." His very first holiday effort, however, was a single, the charmingly minimalist "Little Drummer Boy" (1959), recorded for Columbia Records shortly after he departed from legendary Memphis label Sun. The record prominently features Indian tom-tom, presaging Cash's fascination with all things native American - which ultimately begat his 1964 album, Bitter Tears. "Little Drummer Boy" actually brushed the charts in 1959 (#63 pop) and again in 1960 (#24 country), and it later showed up on The Christmas Spirit (1963), Johnny's first full-length holiday LP. In some ways, The Christmas Spirit is fine - a humble little record imbued with Cash's homespun populism - and it boasts a high quotient of original material. Two charming recitations set the tone: the nostalgic "Christmas As I Knew It," written by June Carter Cash and Jan Howard, and Johnny's solemn, self-penned title track.

The originality of The Christmas Spirit is its most striking quality. On the whole, it sounds like nothing else in the history of country Christmas music. But mostly, it's just dull. Cash overcompensates for his infamous image, squeezing the life out of the music in an effort to set a properly reverential tone. Christmas kicks the life right out of Cash's usually irrepressible muse, leaving us with a set of tunes far beneath his usual, firebrand standard.

That makes his next seasonal effort, Christmas With The Johnny Cash Family (1972), also known as Family Christmas, better in certain ways. It is looser, lighter, and more convivial - and palpably familial. It was produced deliberately to sound like a family sing-along and was, quite literally, a family affair. Johnny is joined by his wife June, mother-in-law Maybelle, and brother Tommy, as well as longtime associates Carl Perkins and the Statler Brothers. On that level, it succeeds, conveying a warm, traditional, wholly unpretentious portrait of Christmas with the Cash family. But, while songs like "Christmas With You" (a duet with June) and "That Christmasy Feeling" (sung with Tommy) are pleasant enough, but any hint of tension is long gone. That tension - embodied as fear, lust, or despair - powers Johnny Cash's greatest records, and it is sorely missed.

Even compared to such lackluster fare, Cash's third holiday album, Classic Christmas (1980), is awful. The term "classic" is used literally, meaning heavily orchestrated arrangements awash in choral niceties, unidentifiable as country music. While Christmas Spirit and Family Christmas were low-key records, they retained a healthy measure of originality and country flavor. In contrast, Classic Christmas is comprised almost completely of traditional songs like "O Come All Ye Faithful," and it sounds more appropriate for Radio City Music Hall than the Grand Ole Opry. "The Christmas Guest," originally recorded by Grandpa Jones in 1969, provides the only relief from this stifling program of carols. In the end, Classic Christmas is regrettable, forgettable, and occasionally ridiculous (cf. "The Little Gray Donkey").

In 1986, Johnny Cash - now roundly out-of-fashion - was booted by Columbia, his label for nearly 30 years. Eventually, he hooked up with alternative rock producer Rick Rubin, and in the 1990's they recorded Cash's landmark American Recordings series of albums that refurbished and transformed his legacy. The intervening years, however, were bumpy, but they produced yet another Christmas album, Country Christmas (1991, reissued in a limited edition in 2006). Featuring June Carter and the Carter Family, Country Christmas is otherwise unremarkable, recommended only for true devotees of "The Man In Black."

Much the same, in fact, can be said for Johnny Cash's entire Christmas catalog. It is more valuable as history - for what it tells us about the man - than as music to enjoy. Christmas Spirit and Family Christmas, at least, bring a measure of Cash's brusque egalitarianism and country charm to the table. But mainly, these relatively mediocre records speak volumes about Cash's values (God, family), needs (acceptance, approval), and fears (condemnation, isolation). In saying these things, Johnny Cash's Christmas records reveal him as one of us - a legend incarnate - but that doesn't make them fun to listen to.

Sadly, even as historical artifacts, Cash's Columbia Christmas recording have been sorely abused. Each of them have been reissued on compact disc - some in multiple versions - although shabbily packaged and budget-priced, though Christmas Spirit and Family Christmas have been reissued relatively intact for download and streaming. The second and third are also sold in tandem as Ultimate Christmas Collection (2005) by Madacy Records.

If you love The Man In Black (which I do), but buying cheaply produced reissues of three less-than-great records sounds less-than appealing, there are some good collections on the market. The first was Personal Christmas Collection (1994), culled from the three Columbia albums, and it provides some much needed perspective. But, it runs a miniscule 12 tracks - five of which are drawn from the snoozer Classic Christmas - and Al Quaglieri's liner notes are wholly unrevealing. The second, Christmas With Johnny Cash (2003, repackaged 2004), is little more than an updated version of the same - still just 12 tracks, marginally improved packaging, and an unreleased 1970 version of "Christmas As I Knew It" replacing the 1963 original.

If you can find it, an inexpensive Sony import called The Christmas Collection (2003) is an interesting alternative. On the plus side, its 20 tracks include nearly all of Christmas Spirit plus a rarely collected version of "Peace In The Valley" (from Ring of Fire: The Best of Johnny Cash, 1963). On the minus tip, it collects a paltry one track from the quaint Family Christmas ("That Christmasy Feeling") while weighting itself down with five from the ponderous Classic Christmas.

A decade later, Sony's Classic Christmas Album (2013) largely rectified the situation. While it stretches only to a middlin' 16 tracks, those tracks were wisely selected. Classic Christmas includes every song I've deemed "essential" (see below), which makes it the best CD on the market. With the demise of recorded media all but certain, it's likely to be the best one ever released. [top of page]