This review is superfluous!  You know it, and I know it. Do you like Johnny Cash?  Do you like country music?  Are you a child of the 1970‘s?  Then, why  are hanging around here?  Go get these!  On the other hand, if you laugh at people who buy their music from Cracker Barrel, then you won’t like these dvd’s in any case.  You can always hope that I’ll say something amusing, but I’ll warn you:  I happen to think that Cracker Barrel has a fine music collection!

Mind you, I understand why the Cracker Barrel hecklers will heckle.  The 1970’s was one goofy decade.  These specials epitomize much of that goofiness.  The fashions alone prompt one to play “point and laugh.”  Is the famed Man in Black really wearing a shirt with frilly sleeves?!  What’s with that hair style?  His head is rounder than Charlie Brown‘s!  And my God, what’s with the heels on those boots???  Check out Carl Perkins - with that hair style and that long upturned collar, he looks like Count-freakin’-DRACULA!  And Good Lord!  Somebody save poor Barbara Mandrell!  The woman’s skull’s about to be crushed by a mountain of 1970’s hair !!!!   Then, there’s Roy Orbison!  I mean…oh, that’s right.  Orbison always looked that!

The specials follow the old variety-show format.  In retrospect, there’s much here to make younger viewers scratch their heads in bemusement.  Did people really flock to their televisions to watch lip-synced songs and scripted banter?   In the 1976 special, we’re told that all these celebrities are just visiting Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash at their home for the holidays!   Tony Orlando shows up, June points to a tree (“Do you know what kind of tree that is, Tony?”  “A big tree?” he replies.) and before you know it, they’re singing “Tie a Yellow Ribbon ‘Round the Ole Oak Tree.”  Nope, that’s not staged at all!!!  Later, Cash comments on Barbara Mandrell’s skill with a steel guitar.  Mandrell notes that she “just happened to bring a steel guitar” with her (…on her to way to the Cash’s…to celebrate Christmas…of course.).  Now, isn’t that an amazing coincidence?  Fortunately, the 1977 special largely drops these pretenses for a show filmed on the Grand Ole Opry stage.  Instead, representations of Cash’s Christmas pasts frame the musical numbers.  (In the first one, Cash is in the Air Force buying a guitar.  He then steps into his barracks to see the Statler Brothers in Air Force fatigues.) 

It’s easy to mock such proceedings.  In the 1970’s, though, musical variety programs did attract audiences.  Tony Orlando, who guest stars in the first Christmas special, hosted a variety show of his own.  Donny and Marie Osmond also hosted a variety series, and so did Sonny Bono and Cher.  All these shows were running when Cash’s 1976 special aired.   What was the draw?  I guess this is where we lecture the kiddies about “the way things used to be.”  There was, of course, no MTV in those days - and no country music video channel.  There was also no Entertainment Tonight, let alone an E! network.  Musical variety programs thus offered a unique opportunity to see several celebrities gathered in one place.  Sure, the interaction is scripted.  As long as Roy Orbison sings “Oh, Pretty Woman” (and he does), and Carl Perkins sings “Blue Suede Shoes” (and he does), then who cares?  If you’re patient, you’ll even see all the stars sing a song together!

Believe it or not, that appeal remains.  In fact, time has only enhanced it.  Such celebrity gatherings provide a natural look at the state of popular culture during those years.  You can see who was popular, how they looked, how they dressed and what image they projected.  In the 1976 special, we see a very young-looking Barbara Mandrell (She was close to her twenty-eighth birthday but looks younger.).  At this time, she was in the early stages of her popularity.  Here, she appears side-by-side with “old-timers” such as Roy Clark and Merle Travis.  The 1977 special provides an even greater historical moment.  Cash and fellow Sun Records alumni Jerry Lee Lewis, Roy Orbison and Carl Perkins pay their respects to Elvis Presley.  Presley had died two months before this special was taped, and like these gentleman, he began his career at Sun.  Cash, Lewis, Orbison and Perkins sing individual songs and then gather for “This Train is Bound for Glory,” which they dedicate to Presley.  I’m a big Sun Records fan, and I can tell you that I had chills down my spine.  The 1977 special also features Roy Clark (again) and the Statler Brothers, but really…after the Elvis Tribute, who cares?  Naturally, Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash sing duets in both specials, and the Carter Family appears in both, as well.  Both specials end on a religious note.  In the 1976 special, the Rev. Billy Graham delivers a sermon.  In the 1977 special, Johnny and June sing over a montage of clips depicting their then-recent trip to the Holy Land.

It helps that the music is good.  These being variety shows, it’s even fairly …well, varied.  There’s plenty of country, but also some old-time rock n’ roll, one top forty tune (Orlando’s “Tie a Yellow Ribbon `Round the Ole Oak Tree”), several Christmas carols and some surprising covers.  In the 1976 special, Johnny Cash, Tony Orlando and Roy Clark perform a medley of Stephen Foster tunes.  Cash and Clark also duet on Bing Crosby‘s “Far Away Places” and a couple other old pop standards.  In the 1977 special, Cash and the Statler Brothers perform “This Ole House.”  Really, musical numbers constitute most of the running time, with the scripted banter merely bridging them.

As I said, though, if you’re a Cash fan, then you’re probably already sold.  If you’re not, then these specials will probably not change your mind.  Now, if you’ll excuse me, I think I’ll go to Cracker Barrel and look at the CD’s!                             

Presentation
The 1976 and 1977 Johnny Cash Christmas Specials  are presented in 1.33:1 full screen format. Audio is in English only. There are no subtitle options.

Extras
Neither one of these DVD’s contains extras.
       
The Bottom Line
If you’re a fan of Johnny Cash or 1970’s country music, then you’ll want these.  If you’re not, then nothing in them will change your mind.