Search - Johnny Cash :: Orange Blossom Special

Six stars--no, seven...

Michael Crowley | Albany, CA USA | 12/07/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Besides the excellent Dylan covers, the cool thing about this CD is that, without being self-conscious about it, it includes an example of just about everything Cash was famous for. You got your old-timey country (Orange Blossom Special and Wildwood Flower), your contemporary country (Long Black Veil, which sounds old-timey but was written in 1959, and I'm Proud the Baby is Mine, which is very contemporary), a prison song (The Wall, a classic), a train song (Engine 143--actually, Orange Blossom Special is kind of a train song too), a protest song (All God's Children Ain't Free), one of those funny country songs that ends in a kind of punch line based on the catchphrase in the chorus (When It's Springtime in Alaska), a gospel song (Amen, that song from the Sidney Portier movie Lilies of the Field), an unusual choice for a cover song (the old Irish chestnut Danny Boy, which he sings with so much soul you forget how many times you've heard it before), and, foreshadowing the American Recordings that revived his career in the 80s, You Wild Colorado, just Cash and his guitar (actually there are two like that- Engine 143 is also Cash and his guitar, in that case a 12-string). There are two duets with June Carter (It Ain't Me Babe and When It's Springtime in Alaska) and even some spoken word (Danny Boy has a two minute intro where Cash talks about his dad being in the First World War, coming back to Arkansas to be a sharecropper, courting him mom, and the Irish immigrant he worked with who sang the song). It's true what the Amazon guy says, the female choruses are a little dated, and the occasional bit of mariachi horns don't always seem entirely appropriate, but generally the arrangements are tasteful and, at times, beautiful. And once Cash starts singing you can't really hear anything else. What a presence."

Too Big For Country Music to Contain!

T. Thompson | Wales, ME | 07/01/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I've said it before... and I'll have to say it again... Johnny Cash is bigger than country music. He is the type of artist who transcends his genre. He's really a musical icon. A living icon that represents what American Music is all about!
I had the great fortune of growing up in a home where country music was appreciated. I know this would have been a curse to many of you, and believe me at times I felt like it was... but I say it was fortunate now because of the fact that I was exposed to the work of Johnny Cash early. From that early exposure onward I have always felt a connection to his music, even when I didn't really care for country I still felt like I was a Johnny Cash fan. The one album I remember listening to over and over was Orange Blossom Special. My Mom and Dad had the big scratchy record album which I played over and over. I loved it!
Johnny Cash defies being labled, he is a category buster! This 1965 recording, Orange Blossom Special does just that. This particular recording has a distinct folk feel to it.
As a kid I loved the songs, "It Ain't Me Babe" and "Don't Think Twice, It's Alright" it wasn't until I had grown up to be a teenager that I heard the Bob Dylan versions of these songs. I really like the fact that Johnny was open to all types of music and was so impacted by the work of Dylan that he chose to record some of his tunes.
Johnny has never been afraid to push the edge of the envelope! I bet there were a few country radio stations afraid to play some of these songs back in the '60's. Just like today... I hear most country stations won't play songs from his latest album.
It's a shame that they won't... Johnny Cash is brilliant and it's too bad the closed minded radio industry won't play his work. But as fans of the Man in Black we keep his music going. And I hope Johnny has the strength and years to keep on going a little longer. We love you Johnny Cash!"

Three Dylan covers and many other great songs

Peter Durward Harris | Leicester England | 04/28/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"In the sixties, when this album was recorded, Johnny was at his most commercially successful. Fans will always argue over which period was his best, but he certainly recorded some great albums back then, of which this was one.

The set opens with Orange blossom special, a song about a train journey, utilising harmonica to produce a sort of train whistle effect - it works really well, even if doesn't sound much like an old steam train whistle.



Among the other songs are three Dylan covers - It ain't me babe, Don't think twice it's all right and Mama, you've been on my mind. It was around this time that Bob Dylan began gaining widespread recognition and maybe these covers helped. It ain't me babe was a huge American pop hit for Johnny.



There are many other wonderful songs, too numerous to go into detail, on this classic album, which is essential for all of Johnny's fans."