ReMastered: Tricky Dick and the Man in Black

Like many Cash admirers,today I chiefly listen to his final masterpieces ,produced by Rubin (the "American " series, eight works , all deeply moving and poignant.)

This doc is absorbing ,because, before the famous concert in the White House, it shows both sides of a country torn apart between the conservatives and the angry youth who took to the streets and was mistreated (some were killed) by the police .It's difficult to pinpoint Cash's attitude in these days : a patriot to the core , who supported any president's politics but who had a rebellious mind too : his concerts in jail and his fight for the Indians leave not doubt about it (as his "Apache tears "album testifies) . And to this list of honors, one can add another one: he refused to sing the mediocre reactionary " Okie from Muskogee" -which Phil Ochs ironically performed in his last concert in Carnegie Hall -and wrote a song I had never heard before ("What is truth?" ) : it took a lot of nerve and bravery to sing such words which was not really those people in their Sunday's best 's cup of tea. This song should be considered a Cash classic.

Cash ,like of most of the great artists ,was a man of contradictions ; aren't we a bit like him?

It was interesting and I love johnny cash but it was really unimportant

Pat Buchanan has a voice in this. Isn't that enough to tell you this production was pointless? Nixon was a paranoid, vindictive a-hole, and good ole Christian Pat was a chief advisor. Surprised yet?

Johnny Cash was great. His family and closest colleagues tell us how great he was in the most hyperbolic terms possible. Are you now surprised?

Guess what. You're more than halfway through the production and nothing has happened thus far.

This was an exercise in futility. Not interesting. Unsurprising. Tedious. Perhaps another ReMastering is in order.

Footage used in the show wasn't actually as it happened, the performance isn't the one Nixon saw, and witness accounts are fuzzy. Warm story but have to ask what is truth?

It's 1970. Johnny Cash is one of the most popular artists in America and Richard Nixon is in the White House. In order to shore up Southern votes Nixon invites Johnny Cash to perform at the White House. Cash seems a safe bet for Nixon as he seems to support the government and its policies. Nixon even goes so far as to make requests for two particular songs. Will Cash bend to the President's demands?

A documentary that's more interesting for its background information than the coverage of the central topic. The history of Johnny Cash, in particular his political and social stances is well done. How his poor, battling agricultural upbringing and his tragedies and tribulations shaped his life are also well explored.

Ditto how President Nixon's past and his current political struggles inform his actions are also well explored.

However, the main event - Cash performing at the White House - ultimately feels quite low-key. There's a degree of rebelliousness and individuality about Johnny Cash's actions but nothing extreme. It all feels a bit click-baity in the end.