Product Description

Studio: Sony Music Release Date: 11/14/2006

Track Listing

Disc 1:

1. Blue Suede Shoes [#] - Carl Perkins
2. Flowers on the Wall [#] - The Statler Brothers
3. Last Thing on My Mind [#] - Carter Family
4. June Carter Cash Talks to the Audience [#] - June Carter Cash
5. Wildwood Flower [#] - Carter Family
6. Big River
7. I Still Miss Someone
8. Wreck of the Old 97
9. I Walk the Like
10. Medley: The Long Black Veil/Give My Love to Rose [#]
11. Folsom Prison Blues
12. Orange Blossom Special [#[
13. Jackson [#] - Johnny Cash, June Carter Cash
14. Darlin' Companion - Johnny Cash, June Carter Cash
15. Break My Mind [#] - Carter Family
16. I Don't Know Where I'm Bound
17. Starkville City Jail

Disc 2:

1. San Quentin
2. San Quentin
3. Wanted Man
4. Restless [#] - Carl Perkins
5. Boy Named Sue
6. Blistered [#]
7. (There'll Be) Peace in the Valley
8. Outside Looking In [#] - Carl Perkins
9. Less of Me [#] - The Statler Brothers
10. Ring of Fire - Carter Family, , Johnny Cash
11. He Turned the Water into Wine - Carter Family, , Johnny Cash, , Carl Perkins, The Statler Brothers
12. Daddy Sang Bass - Carter Family, , Johnny Cash, , Carl Perkins, The Statler Brothers
13. Old Account Was Settled Long Ago - Carter Family, , Johnny Cash, , Carl Perkins, The Statler Brothers
14. Closing Medley: Folsom Prison Blues/I Walk the Line/Ring of Fire/The Re - Carter Family, , Johnny Cash, , Carl Perkins, The Statler Brothers

Disc 3:

1. Bonus Material [DVD][*]

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #29283 in Music
• Brand: Sony
• Released on: 2006-11-14
• Number of discs: 3
• Format: Live
• Original language: English

Amazon.com
In 2000, Sony Legacy issued an expanded CD version of this landmark 1969 live Cash LP, which included "A Boy Named Sue," the Shel Silverstein novelty number that became one of Cash's biggest hits. The original LP contained ten songs from Cash's show, which actually ran far longer; the CD release added eight additional Cash performances. That, of course, happened before his death and the unexpected success of the Walk the Line. Now, this 2-CD set presents the entire concert, start to finish. Still grippingly intense after 37 years, it not only assembles all Cash's performances, but those by the other members of his stage show: June Carter, her mother and sisters (performing as the Carter Family), Cash's buddy Carl Perkins of "Blue Suede Shoes" (and "Daddy Sang Bass") fame, and the Statler Brothers, known then for their 1965 hit "Flowers on the Wall." Cash's performances remain beyond criticism, but Perkins, the Carters, and the Statlers smoke nearly as much. Among the high points is their unreleased, spine-chilling gospel medley of "He Turned the Water into Wine," "Daddy Sang Bass," and "The Old Account." The accompanying DVD comprises a documentary shot at the show by Britain's Granada TV, in which the Cash performances act mainly as a leitmotif to its focus on San Quentin and its inmates. --Rich Kienzle

Customer Reviews

Finally, the whole San Quentin show!
The 2-CD Legacy Edition releases have taken a number of approaches to expanding classic releases, but none has been so holistically inviting as this deluxe reissue of Cash's classic live album. Columbia's 2000 CD reissue (subtitled "The Complete 1969 Concert") added eight Cash performances that had been shaved off the original vinyl release, but left four more sitting in the vault. This latest edition not only restores the four missing Cash performances, but adds the solo performances from Cash's troupe - Carl Perkins, The Statler Brothers, and The Carter Family - presenting the entire show from start to finish.

The restored material serves several purposes. First, the missing Cash tracks (both solo and with wife June) are as good as those originally released. Second, each of the three supporting acts was strong enough to have topped the bill, and so their individual tracks are welcome on purely musical grounds. Finally, presenting it all in sequence gives listeners the you-are-there experience, starting with the warm-up, Cash's arrival on stage, and the choreography with which the four acts intertwine their histories and catalogs.

As you play through the two discs it's clear that Cash was not only a gifted singer, songwriter and performer, but a talented showman, skillfully weaving himself into the exchanges with his troupe. Though he's clearly the focal point, he gives his fellow performers plenty of limelight. He sings seven songs on his own, a pair of duets with June, and then trades solo spots with the Carters, Perkins and the Statlers. Cash joins the Carters for June's "Ring of Fire," and brings the Statlers and Perkins up for a trio of songs. The show closes with a rousing medley of "Folsom Prison Blues" "I Walk the Line" "Ring of Fire" and "The Rebel - Johnny Yuma."

As on the 2000 reissue, many of the concert's best moments are Cash's dialog with the audience. Though not a prisoner, he clearly identifies with their confinement and rebel spirit, noting that the British film crew had tried to influence his song list, and he was having none of it. The comfort with which he holds the stage is reflected in the ease through which his songs and adlibs tumble forth. Surrounded by friends, family and his longtime backing band (W.S. Holland, Marshall Grant and then-new guitarist Bob Wooten), Cash's performance is as natural as his breathing.

New to this release are tracks from Cash ("The Long Black Veil/Give My Love to Rose," "Orange Blossom Special," "Blistered," and a duet with June Carter on "Jackson"), Carl Perkins ("Blue Suede Shoes," his then-current single, "Restless" and the instrumental "The Outside Looking In"), The Statler Brothers ("Flowers on the Wall" and a cover of Glen Campbell's "Less of Me") and The Carter Family ("The Last Thing on My Mind" "Wildwood Flower" and "Break My Mind"), all superb.

The CDs are augmented by a DVD that includes an hour-long 1969 documentary produced in the UK by Granada Television. The transfer's a bit dull (and the audio is mono), with some scratches and jumps, but overall it's quite watchable. The program intercuts performance footage with prisoner and guard interviews. And though this is more a documentary about San Quentin and prison life than a concert film, it still provides visual evidence of Cash's comfort with his captive audience. Not only does he seem at ease, but he shares the feeling with his fellow performers. June Carter - perhaps the only woman in San Quentin at that moment - seems surprisingly happy (though perhaps not completely relaxed) during their duet performances.

The original edited release of this concert still provides a wonderfully visceral anthology of Johnny Cash, but this documentary form of the original adds another dimension. The extra performances are all worth hearing, and the restoration of the show's original pacing and interplay between the acts are critical to reproducing the show's original emotional tenor. This is a true essential among the vast riches of the Cash catalog. [©2006 hyperbolium dot com]

Johnny Cash: An American Treasure
Johnny Cash is undoubtedly as essential to American music as Chuck Berry, Bob Dylan, Elvis Presley, and Hank Williams. His contributions are admired by both country aficionados and rockers alike. On none of his releases is the reason why as apparent as with his "Live At San Quentin" release.

Here, we're treated to rousing renditions of early Cash classics "Big River," "I Still Miss Somone," and "I Walk The Line" alongside revamped versions of "Folsom Prison Blues," "Ring Of Fire," and "Wreck Of The Old 97." Needless to say, the addition of Carl Perkins to the list of backing musicians has a great deal to do with the musical quality of this show! However, the musical highlights don't stop there:

At San Quentin, Cash introduces new numbers / soon to be hits such as "A Boy Named Sue" and "Jackson," as well as the biting "San Quentin" and "Starkville City Jail." On the double-disc boxed set, Cash also welcomes upcoming act The Statler Brothers and bluegrass favorites The Carter Family (now consisting of Mother Maybelle and her daughters). No longer limited to merely country or gospel numbers, modern era folk and rock covers include the eclectic and often-covered "Break My Mind," the Lovin' Spoonful's "Darlin' Companion," Tom Paxton's "The Last Thing On My Mind," and Carl Perkins' classic "Blue Suede Shoes" (performed by the master himself)!

Cash's passing would leave an empty space in American music, but the legacy of recordings he left behind and the artists he inspired (and continues to inspire) will deservedly live on as a true American treasure.

"San Quentin, you've been livin' hell to me." Amazing.
First off, I'd like to say that I am not a Country music fan. Having said that, I am a huge Johnny Cash fan. He transcends the genre that turned its back on him in his later years but here the man can do no wrong. Now I bought the 2000 "expansion" release of this concert, which at the time was dubbed the "complete concert recording". It was misleading because I had seen the British documentary on television (the DVD of this show is included in this set)in which Johnny & friends were performing songs I never knew existed from this legendary event since they were absent on CD. Now this box set is the full sha-bang, complete with amazing packaging, the concert spread over two CDs, and the DVD mentioned above. If you bought the previous CD like I did, let me tell you, this is worth the upgrade as it seems this is the "definitive end to all release" of Johnny singing to the prisoners at San Quentin.

For new fans, the single CD release might be the best place to start since it has at least 85% of what Johnny sang that night at San Quentin. The rest of the legacy tracks feature The Carter Family, Carl Perkins, and The Statler Bros.

So if you're looking for a "Johnny Cash" solo concert, then get the single CD version. If you want the absolute complete version in a great package, 40 page booklet, and the breathtaking British Documentary of this concert for the first time on DVD, then the Legacy Edition of this memorable night is the way to go.