Track Listing

Disc 1:

1. I Walk the Line
2. There You Go
3. Home of the Blues
4. Ballad of a Teenage Queen
5. Guess Things Happen That Way
6. Ways of a Woman in Love
7. Don't Take Your Guns to Town
8. Ring of Fire
9. Matador
10. Understand Your Man
11. Ballad of Ira Hayes
12. Orange Blossom Special
13. One on the Right Is on the Left
14. Rosanna's Going Wild
15. Folsom Prison Blues
16. Daddy Sang Blues
17. Boy Named Sue
18. What Is Truth
19. Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down
20. Flesh and Blood
21. Man in Black
22. Thing Called Love
23. Kate
24. Oney
25. Any Old Wind That Blows
26. One Piece at a Time
27. (Ghost) Riders in the Sky

Disc 2:

1. Hey Porter
2. Cry, Cry, Cry
3. Luther Played the Boogie
4. Get Rhythm
5. Give My Love to Rose
6. I Was There When It Happened
7. Big River
8. I Still Miss Someone
9. Pickin' Time
10. Man on the Hill
11. Five Feet High and Rising
12. Tennessee Flat-Top Box
13. I Got Stripes
14. Troublesome Waters
15. Long Black Veil
16. Dark as a Dungeon
17. Wall
18. 25 Minutes to Go
19. Cocaine Blues
20. Doin' My Time [#]
21. I Will Rock and Roll With You
22. Without Love
23. Big Light
24. Highway Patrolman
25. I'm Never Gonna Roam Again [#]
26. When I'm Gray [#]
27. Forever Young

Disc 3:

1. Wreck of the Old 97
2. Rock Island Line
3. Goodnight Irene
4. Goodbye, Little Darlin'
5. Born to Lose
6. Walking the Blues
7. Frankie's Man, Johnny
8. Delia's Gone
9. In the Jailhouse Now
10. Waiting for a Train
11. Casey Jones
12. Legend of John Henry's Hammer
13. I've Been Working on the Railroad [#]
14. Sweet Betsy from Pike
15. Streets of Laredo
16. Bury Me Not on the Lone Prairie
17. Down in the Valley [#]
18. Wabash Cannonball
19. Great Speckle Bird
20. Wildwood Flower
21. Cotton Fields
22. Pick a Bale O' Cotton
23. Old Shep
24. I'll Be All Smiles Tonight
25. I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry
26. Time Changes Everything

Disc 4:

1. Keep on the Sunny Side
2. Diamonds in the Rough
3. (There'll Be) Peace in the Valley
4. Were You There (When They Crucified My Lord)
5. Another Man Done Gone
6. Pick the Wildwood Flower
7. Jackson
8. If I Were a Carpenter
9. Girl from the North Country
10. One More Ride
11. You Can't Beat Jesus Christ [#]
12. There Ain't No Good Chain Gang
13. We Oughta Be Ashamed
14. Crazy Old Soldier
15. Silver Haired Daddy of Mine
16. Who's Gone Autry?
17. Night Hank Williams Came to Town
18. I Walk the Lined (Revisited)
19. Highwayman
20. Wanderer
21. September When It Comes
22. Tears in the Holston River
23. Far Side Banks of Jordan
24. It Takes One to Know Me [#]
25. KWEM Announcements And Advertisements
26. Johnny Cash Show Intro And Theme
27. Wide Open Road
28. Home Equipment Company Advertisement
29. One More Ride
30. Home Equipment Company Advertisement/Luther Perkins Intro
31. Luther's Boogie
32. Belshazzar Intro
33. Belshazzar
34. Closing Comments And Theme
35. Overton Park Shell Country Music Jamboree Advertisement

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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #249 in Music
• Brand: Sony
• Released on: 2005-08-02
• Number of discs: 4
• Format: Box set
• Dimensions: .96 pounds

Amazon.com
There are several Cash boxes available, but The Legend--spanning the years 1955-2002 but concentrating on his long tenure at Columbia and, to a lesser degree, his beginnings at Sun--probably belongs at the top of the list. Cash's greatest strengths are dramatized on these four, thematically programmed discs: Win, Place and Show: The Hits; Old Favorites and New; The Great American Songbook (mostly traditional songs); and Family and Friends (collaborations). For starters, consider the staggering depth and breadth of his repertoire (perhaps matched only by those of Bob Dylan and Ray Charles), embracing ancient folk tunes ("Streets of Laredo"), teen pop ("Ballad of a Teenage Queen"), mature contemporary rock ("Highway Patrolman"), gospel ("Were You There When They Crucified My Lord"), topical fare ("Ballad of Ira Hayes"), country standards ("Time Changes Everything"), novelties ("One Piece at a Time"), and more. Then there's the way his spare, spacious sound opens up to take in horns ("Ring of Fire"), strings ("Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down"), anything. The Legend includes seven previously unissued sides, most prominently "It Takes One to Know Me," a stirring salute to his wife June. --John Morthland

NOTE: There is also a deluxe limited edition of The Legend, featuring a lithograph, a bonus disc, and a DVD, and housed in a 120-page, 12" x 16" hardcover book.

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Customer Reviews

Icon, Titan, Sinner, Saint, Legend...the Man in Black
It has been said that if Mt. Rushmore could sing, it would sound like Johnny Cash. He was a living legend, and his status has only grown even greater since his passing. This latest CD box set is perhaps the most definitive, at least of his Columbia years, and it's a doozy.

Spanning 4 discs is pretty much the history of American music in the 20th Century...everything from folk, country, blues, soul, rock, patriotic Americana, gospel, novelty...songs from the mountains and the plains and the factories and the fields and the rivers and all points in between.

Johnny could (and did) take any song and make it his. His voice was that of Everyman, a little battered, a little bruised, a little sad, a little mad, a little bent...but never broken, never quitting, mostly hopeful, and oftentimes smiling that crooked smile. This box set does a masterful job of encompassing all of that, and even offers seven previously unreleased gems, such as "When I'm Gray," "Doin' My Time," and the emotionally resonant and wry "It Takes One to Know Me" (an instant classic).

One hopes that Columbia will continue to release all of the albums in their Cash catalog, especially some of his missing 70s and early 80s work. This box set is a giant step in the right direction, and will be treasured by music fans of all backgrounds and ages. Couple this set with his amazing American Recordings UNEARTHED set (and even his 20th Century Masters single disc) and you have a pretty fair overview of Johnny's life in music.

A Satisfying Study of the Man in Black
The 104 tracks on this 4-disc box set goes a long way toward making the case for the impact Johnny Cash has had on music during a nearly fifty-year recording career. If there is a single criticism to be leveled against this collection, it's that there are few songs included after 1986-the year Columbia unceremoniously dropped him from the label. And of those seven songs, none of them are from the string of Rick Rubin-produced albums beginning with 1994's AMERICAN RECORDINGS.

Disc 1, Win Place and Show-The Hits (76:58)

As the title of this disc indicates, these are some of Cash's biggest hits and best known songs, beginning with perhaps his most enduring hit "I Walk the Line" from 1956. This was one of a string of hits Cash had while at Sun (1955-1958) recording with the Tennessee Two (guitarist Luther Perkins and bassist Marshall Grant). Tracks 1-6 are Sun recordings. By late-1958, Cash was signed by Columbia and his popularity only increased. His 1963 Columbia single, "Ring of Fire," went to No. 1 on the country charts (and No. 17 on the pop charts).

Disc 2, Old Favorites and New (77:56)

The thematic groupings of some of these discs are a little puzzling. For example, "Cry, Cry, Cry" and "Tennessee Flat-Top Box" were huge hits; why weren't they on disc one? [Okay, it's a minor complaint.]

Again, there are several Sun recordings (tracks 1-7), including "Hey Porter" and "Get Rhythm."

There are also several tracks that illustrate Cash's willingness to work with material outside the country mainstream. On 1979's "Without Love," Cash returns to his rockabilly roots on the Nick Lowe-penned tune with Lowe on bass and Dave Edmunds on guitar. Cash also turns in a haunting version of Bruce Springsteen's "Highway Patrolman." Equally impressive is the raucous version of Elvis Costello's "The Big Light" (one of two tracks from the 1987 Mercury album JOHNNY CASH IS COMING TO TOWN-the other is "The Night Hank Williams Came to Town" on disc four).

In addition, there are three previously unreleased tracks: "Doin' My Time" (1981), "I'm Never Gonna Roam Again" (1980) and "When I'm Gray" (1981). [Note: in the 72-page booklet, the producer says that all the previously unreleased tracks (except "It Takes One To Know Me") were taken from the "House of Cash tapes." This cache of literally hundreds of tapes included demos and outtakes that had never been commercially released. I have read recent articles promising the release of many of these songs, but in the meantime this box set offers a small sampling. All three tracks on disc two are full band recordings.]

Disc 3, The Great American Songbook (71:59)

Like the previous discs, Disc three starts with five Sun tracks, including a couple of Leadbelly songs ("Rock Island Line" and "Goodnight Irene"). Also of note is an alternate take of "Delia's Gone." Moreover, there are two more previously unreleased tracks-"I've Been Working on the Railroad" and "Down in the Valley." On these two demos Cash performs solo accompanying himself on acoustic guitar.

Disc 4, Family and Friends (79:25)

As the title suggests, these are recordings with Cash and special guests. Among the family members he performs with his wife June ("Jackson," "If I Were a Carpenter"), his mother-in-law Maybelle ("Diamonds in the Rough"), his son John Carter ("Who's Gene Autry?"), his daughter Roseanne ("September When It Comes") and his former son-in-law Rodney Crowell ("I Walk the Line (Revisited)").

Friends include Dylan ("Girl from the North Country"), Doc and Merle Watson ("One More Ride"), Ray Charles ("Crazy Old Soldier") and Elvis Costello ("We Ought To Be Ashamed").

There is also a pair of unreleased songs. The first is a toe-tapping duet with Billy Joe Shaver on "You Can't Beat Jesus Christ." The second, "It Takes One To Know Me," closes the set, a song written by Carlene Carter. An attempt was first made by John and June in 1977 to record the song. In 2005, John Carter Cash produced the overdub sessions, including adding a featured vocal turn by Carlene. It's a fitting way to conclude this box set.

There have been dozens of compilations released since Cash's death in 2003, but this is hands-down the most thorough. For longtime and casual fans alike, this is a welcome addition to your music library. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

Great set... but does it stand out?
"The Legend" box set is tremendous, especially considering its offering of seven unreleased songs and several hard to find tracks, but given other recent issues of box sets, what's the point?

Consider that "Love, God, Murder... (and now) Life" was only recently issued, covering Cash's entire career, including the American Recording years, which "The Legend" overlooks.

Also consider that American Recordings issued a five disc set called "Unearthed," offering dozens of unreleased songs, and a "best of" disc of Cash's American songs.

Then there's Columbia's "The Essential Johnny Cash" (2 discs) and "The Essential Johnny Cash, 1955-1983 (3 discs).

I could also mention Sun Records unlimited issues of the Sun years, or the classic Bear Family Records, which is truly remarkable offering two versions of "Delia's Gone" to "Legend's" one.

The market for Cash "best of" sets must be growing thin. I would have vastly preferred having four discs of unreleased Cash material (apparently there's enough unreleased material of dozens of discs).

However, among the better collections of Cash's work, "The Legend" does stand out, offering songs not typically offered in box sets, while not overlooking the classics. If you don't already own a box set or much of Cash's material, this is a good set, though you'll need to buy some American Recordings to round it out. And for avid collectors, well, it does offer some unreleased material and some never-before-issued-on-CD songs.

Still, I am critical of Columbia for issuing yet another, albeit great, collection of Cash songs. Even more appalling is the limited edition of "The Legend" which offers a fifth disc of some very rare material. However, at over $200 for that set, it's simply not worth it.

So, five stars because of the set really is that good, only remember there are several other very good sets, which begs the question, what's the point of issuing another?