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Personnel: Johnny Cash, Roy Cash Jr., Ray Liberto Jr. (vocals, guitar); Anita Carter, Lorne Greene (vocals); Bob Johnson (guitar, 12-string guitar, banjo, lute, mand-lute); Gordon N. Terry (guitar, fiddle, background vocals); Johnny Western (guitar, bass, background vocals); Luther Perkins, Billy Strange, Ray Edenton, Tompall Glaser, Roy Nichols (guitar); "Shot" Jackson (steel guitar, dobro); Don Helms, Dick Stubbs, Jr. (steel guitar); Billy R. Lathum (banjo); Elliot Fisher, Anthony F. Olson, Frank Green, Olcott Vail, Joseph Livotti, Bobby Bruce (violin); Gary A. White, Myron K. Sander (viola); Maybelle Carter (autoharp); Floyd Cramer (piano, vibraphone, marimba); Bill Pursell (piano, organ); Marvin Hughes, James Carter Wilson, Harold Ray Bradley, Jim Pierce, James Carter (piano); Hubert A. Anderson, Ralph Hansell (vibraphone); Marshall Grant, Buddy Clark (bass); Buddy Harman Jr., "Fury" Kazak, "Fluke" Holland, Irving Kluger (drums); Anita Kerr Singers, Glaser Brothers, Jordanaires, B.J. Baker Group, Jack Halloran Singers, Carter Family (background vocals). Reissue producer: Richard Weize. Recorded at Bradley Film & Recording Studio, Nashville, Tennessee; Radio Recorders, Hollywood, California; Columbia Studio, Hollywood, California, and Columbia Recording Studio, Nashville, Tennessee between January 23, 1959 and August 22, 1962. This 5 disc set comes in a 12" x 12" box. Also included is a 40-page booklet with photos, session notes, and an essay by Colin Escott. This five-disc set includes almost every single and album track Johnny Cash released between 1959 and 1962 (Bear Family has omitted Cash's concept albums from this period, collecting them instead on the 4-disc COME ALONG AND RIDE THIS TRAIN). These were transitional years for Cash, as his sound evolved from the spare, electric style he perfected at Sun Records to a more acoustic-based folk style. These were also troubled years for the star, during which Cash became addicted to amphetamines (partially in response to his work schedule, which included not only recording but also acting and 300 live performances a year). The effects of the drugs are evident on the later tracks, where a hoarseness and quavering is detectable in Cash's vocals. THE MAN IN BLACK 1959-1962 also contains more than a dozen previously unreleased tracks and an entire disc devoted to a 1960 recording session. This beautifully packaged and extensively annotated box set is a must for Johnny Cash completists and for hard-core fans of classic country.
