Johnny Cash – Cash For Kenya: Live In Johnstown, PA
1991 (Universal Music DVD) + Christmas Special 1978 + 1979 (Shout!
Factory DVDs)
Picture: C+ Sound: B-/C/C+ Extras: C-/D/D Concert/Programs: B-
More of
the classic Johnny Cash archives are hitting DVD and two different types of
programs (from separate companies) are now available. One is a charity event for the Kenya in
Africa, where the AIDS crisis continues long after this 1991 concert stateside
and poverty (as well as world neglect) is the reason the crisis continues. The original man in black put his talent
where his calling was and stayed consistent and relentless in his convictions
until the end. From TV, two late 1970s
holiday Christmas specials have also been issued of Cash in great form as both
host and performer.
The whole
Carter Family joins him (in various ways) for most of the Kenya songs including:
1)
Ring Of Fire
2)
A Thing Called Love
3)
Peace In The Valley
4)
The Greatest Cowboy Of Them All
5)
Man In White
6)
Folsom Prison Blues
7)
Get Rhythm
8)
Five Feet High & Rising
9)
Pickin’ Time
10) Beautiful Life
11) Jackson
12) If I Were A Carpenter
13) The Wabash Cannonball
14) Keep On The Sunny Side
15) Lonesome Valley
16) Will The Circle Be Broken
17) Angel Band
18) Ring Of Fire (Reprise)
It is a
fine concert and for those non-fans, you will be surprised how much Cash still
had in him, which continued into his last albums before his passing. A dozen years earlier as a hit machine in
conjunction with Columbia Records, he taped some entertaining TV specials where
he shows his charm and has fun with the music, his audience and his guests.
The 1978 special includes Kris
Kristofferson, Rita Coolidge and sketches with Steve Martin, while the 1979 special includes Anne Murray, Tom
T. Hall and off the wall humor with Andy Kaufman. They are great nostalgia for fans and those
who may have enjoyed their original broadcasts, while they also hold up due to
the talent, effort and simple fact that unlike now, they are Christmas specials
that don’t try so hard.
All have 1.33
X 1 videotaped images from analog NTSC videotape and that has many limits, some
flaws and can be soft. However, color is
consistent in all cases and the source material is in good shape for its age
and the format. Kenya offers DTS 5.1 and PCM 16/48 2.0 Stereo options, sounding
fairly good for its age, but both mixes show the limits. The Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono on the TV specials
are not as good, as expected, with the 1978
audio having more trouble than expected in distortion and noise. There are no extras, except Kenya has a paper pullout with an essay
by Cash’s son John Carter Cash worth reading.
- Nicholas Sheffo