What is the measure of a great artist? Is it the enduring power of their songs? Check. Is it their notoriety? Check. Is it the size of their catalog? Big ol’ check…
Or is it the number of songs you can recognize on an album labeled “Greatest Hits?” In this case, one.
And it bears repeating: I am a Johnny Cash fan. I am pretty familiar with his work, and have been for over a decade. And yet, I recognize only one song on this compilation of “greatest hits” (One Piece at a Time).
And sure, it’s worth mentioning that Cash’s career was dominated by the shadow of his early works (Folsom Prison Blues, I Walk the Line, Cry Cry Cry, etc). But his career was solid through much of his life. So much so that’s it’s easy to fill a record with forgotten hit singles.
And it bears repeating: I am a Johnny Cash fan. I am pretty familiar with his work, and have been for over a decade. And yet, I recognize only one song on this compilation of “greatest hits” (One Piece at a Time).
And sure, it’s worth mentioning that Cash’s career was dominated by the shadow of his early works (Folsom Prison Blues, I Walk the Line, Cry Cry Cry, etc). But his career was solid through much of his life. So much so that’s it’s easy to fill a record with forgotten hit singles.