Writings illuminate original MIB

When Johnny Cash played Seattle in 1995 at the Fifth Avenue Theater, the audience he drew said much about how his place in the music world had changed since his beginnings at Sun Records in 1955. There were so many black-clad kids present that you wondered at first if they'd come for a different concert. Mark Lanegan of the Screaming Trees opened up and spent half his set talking about what an honor it was to appear with Cash. And when Cash finally came onstage, (saying "Hi, I'm Johnny Cash," which was hardly necessary), the crowd gave him a standing ovation before he sang a note.

Cash doesn't tour anymore due to health problems, but his position as one of the greatest country singers of all time seems assured. Though now 70 years old, he seems forever distilled with a rebel hipness that keeps younger generations interested in his old-time music.

And whether you're a fan of Cash's music or not, "Ring of Fire," a new collection of writings about Cash, is a fascinating read. This is an extraordinary man who has had a remarkable life.

Editor Michael Streissguth has pulled together 32 different articles on Cash, everything from early record reviews to lengthy candid interviews. Using so many writers and sources helps paint a full and divergent picture of Cash and the many contradictions of his life.

His past includes seven jail stints, mostly for drugs, but also an incredible redemption through religious faith. These contradictions allowed him to be both a hero to the traditional country music fans of middle America, but also appeal to the counterculture through his outspoken political views and willingness to challenge institutions. As is recounted here, Cash actually broke the floodlights at the Grand Ole Opry in a fit of anger. Many Seattle fans will remember he also once covered Soundgarden's "Rusty Cage" on a record that won him many alternative rock fans.

Streissguth knows his Cash, and his insightful introductions help explain the context of the collected articles. The contributors include such notable writers as Nick Tosches, Alanna Nash, Patrick Carr, and Ralph J. Gleason. Several articles outline the tale of Cash's infamous prison appearances, two of which were eventually captured on the best-selling albums "At Folsom Prison" and "At San Quentin." Merle Haggard was in prison at San Quentin when Cash appeared, and he later cited that show as a moment that changed his life. Though those two albums earned Cash some of his biggest record sales, this book details how Cash also played many free shows at prisons that were never publicized or recorded.

The most fascinating chapters of "Ring of Fire" are excerpts from Cash's two autobiographies, which tell his story in the plain kind of talk that Johnny Cash uses to speak. The details of his brother's death in a tragic accident (or a murder as Cash alleges in one article here) give insight into his character that is lost in most music profiles. And when Cash writes about his pill addiction, ("I had to get off them — or die,") he tells a back-story to a life that has enriched so many fans over the years. Cash also talks openly in interviews here about the pain he felt when country radio abandoned him for Garth Brooks.

Brooks may have sold more records, but no other country artist of this past century will ever likely top the impact of Johnny Cash. Merle Haggard once called him the Abe Lincoln of country music. Accolades like that are easy to throw at Cash, who has a voice that must sound something like that of God.

Cash is recording a new album, and he's covering songs by artists as diverse as the Beatles and Nine Inch Nails. Until that album comes out later this year, this book provides a welcome stop-gap and yet another reminder of why the Man in Black is still the man.