Murder

The journey back from Oxfordshire was made all the more enjoyable with another Johnny Cash disc, this time the 2000 compilation, Murder.
Murder was originally part of a three disc box set, although they were also sold seperately, the other discs were God, Love and later one was also released called Life. Effectively they were themed discs that picked out the best Johnny Cash songs that fitted loosely in to those categories, this one Murder, fits the bill on the whole, sometimes its just death though.
So what of it, with Cash, regardless of the album you never get anything less than perfect, this is not the exception.
This collects tracks across a career spanning selection, be it Folsom Prison Blues or Cocaine Blues, the latter was originally recorded by Cash under the name of Transfusion Blues on his 1960 album, Now There Was A Song, as well as being performed at the Folsom prison concert, it appears here as Cocaine Blues.
The eeriest song outside of the gorgeous When it's Springtime in Alaska, is the song Joe Bean. The song closes with Cash and Carter Cash singing Happy Birthday to Joe Bean only for the sound of the gallows floor opening and the rope creaking. Eerie stuff.
Finally amongst the other great songs on this disc are two of Johnny Cash's late career highlights, Delia's Gone, certainly one of my all time top ten Cash tracks and his take on Bruce Springsteen's Highway Patrolman. A great version.
The song closes with The Wall, a song also on At San Quentin, like most on Murder, not only very sad, but it you see the futility of the situation from the off.

All in all Murder is a fantastic compilation, unsure if I have God on CD, but I know God is the better of the three, that doesnt detract from this disc though, a perfect 10 out of 10.



Joe Bean by Johnny Cash