Shout Factory, as part of their Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum Archive Series, has released The Johnny Cash Christmas Special 1977, a low-key holiday affair with guest stars June Carter Cash, Roy Clark, Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis, Roy Orbison, and The Statler Brothers. Eschewing most of the Christmastime trappings that were de rigueur for mid-70s holiday variety specials (no Santa, no Christmas-related comedy sketches), The Johnny Cash Christmas Special 1977 just lays out the music for the fans of the Man in Black.

Filmed on stage before a live audience at the Grand Old Opry in Nashville, The Johnny Cash Christmas Special 1977 admirably plays it straight, with Cash and his guests keeping the inbetween patter to a minimum, managing to cram 17 numbers into a 46 minute run time. Cash, charismatic as always, may be reading those cue cards a few too many times for comfort (his medley number with Roy Clark is pretty rough, technically). And while some of his performances may seem a tad muted (again, the Christmas song medley with Clark), when he lets go on the songs that really reach him (his early Sun Records hit, Blue River, the rousing This Train is Bound for Glory), the increased level of performance is noticeable.

This was the second Christmas special for Johnny Cash, and his line-up of guest stars is quite impressive, particularly for historians and appreciative fans of the Sun Records canon, and the early roots of rockabilly and pop/country/R&B crossovers. Cash's opening number with wife June Carter, Darlin' Companion is a lot of fun, with the couple laughing and clowning it up for the appreciative audience. Less successful is Cash's tribute to his time in the Army, stationed overseas in Germany, where he sings Stuart Hamblen's This Ole House, with The Statler Brothers. Performed on the only "set" for the special (an Army barracks mock-up), Cash and the group appear (awkwardly) in G.I. issues, and deliver a lackluster set (with Blue Christmas included).

The special really kicks into gear when Cash drives on his 1958 hit, Blue River, but falters with three tentative performances by Carl Perkins on Blue Suede Shoes, Roy Orbison (looking more strange than usual in what can only be described as a pantsuit from Jacklyn Smith's closet) on Oh, Pretty Woman, and a somnambulant Jerry Lee Lewis on Whole Lot of Shakin' Going On and White Christmas. Things perk back up for Cash, Orbison, Perkins and Lewis when they send a tribute out to Elvis Presley (who had died two months prior to the taping of this special) in the form of the rollicking This Train is Bound for Glory.

After singing Silent Night with the whole cast, the special winds up nicely with Cash addressing the audience, on film, from his trip to Israel, where shots of he and his family visiting the Holy Land play as we hear O Little Town of Bethlehem and Hark! The Herald Angels Sing, with a particularly spirited version of the gospel number, Children Go Where I Send Thee closing out the program.

Here are the 17 songs performed by Johnny Cash and his guests for The Johnny Cash Christmas Special 1977, in the order of their appearance:

Christmas Time's A-Comin'
Johnny Cash

Darlin' Companion
Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash

This Ole House
Johnny Cash and The Statler Brothers

Blue Christmas
Johnny Cash and The Statler Brothers

Here Comes Santa Claus
Johnny Cash and Roy Clark

Frosty the Snow Man
Johnny Cash and Roy Clark

Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer
Johnny Cash and Roy Clark

Big River
Johnny Cash

Blue Suede Shoes
Carl Perkins

Oh, Pretty Woman
Roy Orbison

Whole Lot of Shakin' Going On
Jerry Lee Lewis

White Christmas
Jerry Lee Lewis

This Train is Bound for Glory
Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, Roy Orbison and Carl Perkins

Silent Night
Johnny Cash and Cast

O Little Town of Bethlehem
June Carter Cash

Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
Johnny Cash and Cast

Children Go Where I Send Thee
Johnny Cash and Cast

The DVD:

The Video:
The full screen, 1.33:1 video image for The Johnny Cash Christmas Special 1977 is surprisingly good for a vintage, shot-on-video TV special from thirty years ago. The picture is sharp, and the colors spot on (although the filmed sequences in Israel looked washed out, no doubt from the original source materials).

The Audio:
The Dolby Digital English mono audio track accurately reflects the original broadcast presentation. There are no subtitles or close-captions.

The Extras:
There's a nice little four-page pamphlet included, with some pictures and background on Cash, including a run-down of the special.

Final Thoughts:
I was fortunate to see Johnny Cash in concert many times over his career; he was a consummate performer and entertainer. The Johnny Cash Christmas Special 1977 gives the viewer a little glimpse of that magic he could create on stage, even though some of the numbers and guest stars are a tad subdued. Plenty of songs and no extraneous Christmas variety show trappings mark The Johnny Cash Christmas Special 1977 a recommended choice for loyal Cash fans, but a rental first for the merely curious.