The Legend

( 4 )

Editorial Reviews

Barnes & Noble - David McGee
Much anthologized and never wearing out his welcome, Johnny Cash returns on disc via a spectacular four-CD box set that justifies the title The Legend. Not that there's anything startlingly new here -- although there are a handful of previously unreleased tracks. Rather, it's the sheer depth and breadth of the musical legacy that's so gripping, no matter how many times the songs have been heard before. In this particular conceit, the four discs are arranged thematically. The first is subtitled Win, Place and Show -- The Hits, with selections including the timeless "I Walk the Line", several choice Sun tracks such as the too-seldom-anthologized gem "Home of the Blues", ...
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Editorial Reviews

Barnes & Noble - David McGee
Much anthologized and never wearing out his welcome, Johnny Cash returns on disc via a spectacular four-CD box set that justifies the title The Legend. Not that there's anything startlingly new here -- although there are a handful of previously unreleased tracks. Rather, it's the sheer depth and breadth of the musical legacy that's so gripping, no matter how many times the songs have been heard before. In this particular conceit, the four discs are arranged thematically. The first is subtitled Win, Place and Show -- The Hits, with selections including the timeless "I Walk the Line", several choice Sun tracks such as the too-seldom-anthologized gem "Home of the Blues", and an overview of Columbia smashes: Carl Perkins's still-stirring "Daddy Sang Bass"; "Ring of Fire"; "The Ballad of Ira Hayes," evidence of the Man in Black's growing social conscience; and achingly beautiful love songs on the order of "Flesh and Blood." Discs 2 and 3 follow this format, offering a sampling of Sun and Columbia sides appropriate to their respective themes. Old Favorites and New ranges from "Hey Porter" to Bruce Springsteen's "Highway Patrolman," while The Great American Songbook is not represented by Gershwin and Johnny Mercer but rather by the likes of Leadbelly "Rock Island Line", Jimmie Rodgers "In the Jailhouse Now", and Hank Williams "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry". Disc 4, Family and Friends, finds Cash teaming with the Carter Family, Bob Dylan, his daughter Rosanne on the stunning "September When It Comes", and A. P. Carter's daughter Janette on the wrenchingly beautiful hymn to Mother Maybelle Carter, "Tears on the Holston River." Cash spent the entirety of his career singing the great American songbook of the common people, and The Legend is a powerful chronicle of that momentous undertaking.
All Music Guide - Stephen Thomas Erlewine
There have been in the neighborhood of ten CD box sets devoted to Johnny Cash, released on Columbia, Bear Family, and Collectables (this does not count overseas releases by Sony, or budget-line repackagings of three albums into one box set). Since 2000 there have been roughly 15 new major-label compilations, and that number balloons to nearly 90 comps if various and sundry two-fers, budget-line releases, and imports are factored into the equation. Add to that number the three major reissue campaigns -- Columbia/Legacy's expanded reissues of proper '60s and '70s records, Varese's series of Sun LP re-releases, and Mercury's revival of his largely overlooked '80s albums for the label -- plus the CDs released in the '80s and '90s that are still in print -- and there's not only an enormous amount of Johnny Cash music on the market, but every phase of his career is extraordinarily well documented and easily available. With this in mind, it's initially hard to see the purpose of Columbia/Legacy's 2005 four-disc box set, The Legend. Sure, it's the first set to run the entire length of his career, from 1955 to 2002, but that statement in itself is a little misleading, suggesting that there's a significant sampling from his Rick Rubin-produced comeback recordings for American Records in the '90s, but that's not the case. In fact, there's nothing from those records, although there is a cut from the 1994 Red Hot + Country album and a smattering of other tracks he recorded in the last decade of his life included among the seven previously unreleased tracks on this 104-track box. So, this winds up being yet another repackaging of Cash's Columbia recordings, buttressed by several Sun standards ("Hey Porter," "Cry, Cry, Cry," "Luther Played the Boogie," "Get Rhythm," etc.). While this is familiar, this is by no means bad, since the music is not only good, but it's presented in an interesting manner, with each disc following a theme that's a little looser than Columbia's previous box, Love, God, Murder. Here, the first disc is called Win, Place and Show -- The Hits, the second is Old Favorites and New, the third is The Great American Songbook, and the fourth is Family and Friends. Although it's unclear what exactly separates the "hits" from the "favorites" -- if "Cry, Cry, Cry," "Get Rhythm," "Big River," and "I Got Stripes," all Top 15 country singles but all on the second disc, weren't hits, then what constitutes a hit? -- it seems that the former tends to favor funnier, poppier singles like "Ballad of a Teenage Queen," "A Boy Named Sue," and "The One on the Right Is on the Left," while the latter leans toward grittier numbers and standards that never charted (but even that isn't quite right, since the dark humor of "25 Minutes to Go" is on the second disc). In any case, both of the first two discs are good listens, filled with many of Cash's biggest hits and best songs. The third disc is similarly strong, featuring several of Cash's best readings of such standards -- recorded anywhere from 1955 to 1980, with most dating from the late '50s and '60s -- as "The Wreck of the Old 97," "Rock Island Line," "Delia's Gone," "In the Jailhouse Now," "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry," and "Time Changes Everything." However, despite a few good moments, such as his duet with Bob Dylan on "Girl from the North Country" from Nashville Skyline, the fourth disc isn't quite so compelling, largely because Johnny Cash is such an overpowering presence on record that he never made for a good duet partner. But even with the fourth disc being kind of weak, the other three are strong, which means this rivals Columbia's previous box set, 1992's The Essential Johnny Cash 1955-1983 as the best multi-disc retrospective of Cash's weighty career. That doesn't mean it's perfect -- that fourth disc won't be played much, some may gripe that it doesn't contain much from the '80s or '90s, and some big songs like "Five Feet High and Rising" and "The Rebel Johnny Yuma" are MIA -- but Cash recorded so much and so much of it was not only good, but popular, that it's hard to whittle it down to one set, even if it does stretch out over four discs. Overall, The Legend does a very good job presenting the biggest and best of the prime of Johnny Cash's career -- enough to make it a good comprehensive introduction for the curious who want more than what the many, many very good single- or double-disc sets have to offer, enough to make it a nice overview for the casual fan who wants one set with much of his best in one place. [The Legend was also released in a Deluxe Edition, packaged as a large, hardcover book and containing a bonus CD and DVD.]
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Product Details

  • Release Date: 8/2/2005
  • Label: Sony
  • UPC: 827969280225
  • Catalog Number: 92802
  • Sales rank: 14,191

Tracks

Disc 1
  1. 1 I Walk the Line (2:45)
  2. 2 There You Go (2:17)
  3. 3 Home of the Blues (2:40)
  4. 4 Ballad of a Teenage Queen (2:12)
  5. 5 Guess Things Happen That Way (1:50)
  6. 6 The Ways of a Woman in Love (2:16)
  7. 7 Don't Take Your Guns to Town (3:03)
  8. 8 Ring of Fire (2:37)
  9. 9 The Matador (2:46)
  10. 10 Understand Your Man (2:43)
  11. 11 The Ballad of Ira Hayes (4:09)
  12. 12 Orange Blossom Special (3:07)
  13. 13 The One on the Right Is on the Left (2:48)
  14. 14 Rosanna's Going Wild (1:59)
  15. 15 Folsom Prison Blues (2:45)
  16. 16 Daddy Sang Blues (2:21)
  17. 17 A Boy Named Sue (3:46)
  18. 18 What Is Truth (2:38)
  19. 19 Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down (4:07)
  20. 20 Flesh and Blood (2:37)
  21. 21 Man in Black (2:52)
  22. 22 A Thing Called Love (2:33)
  23. 23 Kate (2:17)
  24. 24 Oney (3:05)
  25. 25 Any Old Wind That Blows (2:46)
  26. 26 One Piece at a Time (4:01)
  27. 27 (Ghost) Riders in the Sky (3:46)
Disc 2
  1. 1 Hey Porter (2:14)
  2. 2 Cry, Cry, Cry (2:25)
  3. 3 Luther Played the Boogie (2:03)
  4. 4 Get Rhythm (2:14)
  5. 5 Give My Love to Rose (2:45)
  6. 6 I Was There When It Happened (2:16)
  7. 7 Big River (2:32)
  8. 8 I Still Miss Someone (2:36)
  9. 9 Pickin' Time (1:58)
  10. 10 The Man on the Hill (2:09)
  11. 11 Five Feet High and Rising (1:47)
  12. 12 Tennessee Flat-Top Box (2:59)
  13. 13 I Got Stripes (2:04)
  14. 14 Troublesome Waters (3:51)
  15. 15 The Long Black Veil (3:07)
  16. 16 Dark as a Dungeon (2:28)
  17. 17 The Wall (2:12)
  18. 18 25 Minutes to Go (3:12)
  19. 19 Cocaine Blues (2:51)
  20. 20 Doin' My Time (4:13)
  21. 21 I Will Rock and Roll with You (2:51)
  22. 22 Without Love (2:30)
  23. 23 The Big Light (2:41)
  24. 24 Highway Patrolman (5:21)
  25. 25 I'm Never Gonna Roam Again (2:34)
  26. 26 When I'm Gray (3:33)
  27. 27 Forever Young (6:16)
Disc 3
  1. 1 The Wreck of the Old 97 (1:47)
  2. 2 Rock Island Line (2:11)
  3. 3 Goodnight Irene (2:40)
  4. 4 Goodbye, Little Darlin' (2:15)
  5. 5 Born to Lose (2:10)
  6. 6 Walking the Blues (2:13)
  7. 7 Frankie's Man, Johnny (2:17)
  8. 8 Delia's Gone (3:02)
  9. 9 In the Jailhouse Now (2:23)
  10. 10 Waiting for a Train (2:07)
  11. 11 Casey Jones (3:02)
  12. 12 The Legend of John Henry's Hammer (8:26)
  13. 13 I've Been Working on the Railroad (3:26)
  14. 14 Sweet Betsy from Pike (3:18)
  15. 15 The Streets of Laredo (3:40)
  16. 16 Bury Me Not on the Lone Prairie (2:28)
  17. 17 Down in the Valley (3:11)
  18. 18 Wabash Cannonball (2:40)
  19. 19 The Great Speckle Bird (2:08)
  20. 20 Wildwood Flower (2:12)
  21. 21 Cotton Fields (2:34)
  22. 22 Pick a Bale O' Cotton (1:58)
  23. 23 Old Shep (2:23)
  24. 24 I'll Be All Smiles Tonight (2:48)
  25. 25 I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry (2:39)
  26. 26 Time Changes Everything (1:48)
Disc 4
  1. 1 Keep on the Sunny Side (2:16)
  2. 2 Diamonds in the Rough (3:10)
  3. 3 (There'll Be) Peace in the Valley (2:48)
  4. 4 Were You There (When They Crucified My Lord) (3:56)
  5. 5 Another Man Done Gone (2:36)
  6. 6 Pick the Wildwood Flower (2:59)
  7. 7 Jackson (2:46)
  8. 8 If I Were a Carpenter (3:00)
  9. 9 Girl from the North Country (3:42)
  10. 10 One More Ride (3:27)
  11. 11 You Can't Beat Jesus Christ (3:39)
  12. 12 There Ain't No Good Chain Gang (3:17)
  13. 13 We Oughta Be Ashamed (2:45)
  14. 14 Crazy Old Soldier (3:34)
  15. 15 Silver Haired Daddy of Mine (2:48)
  16. 16 Who's Gone Autry? (3:51)
  17. 17 The Night Hank Williams Came to Town (3:24)
  18. 18 I Walk the Line (Revisited) (3:51)
  19. 19 Highwayman (3:03)
  20. 20 The Wanderer (4:43)
  21. 21 September When It Comes (3:39)
  22. 22 Tears in the Holston River (3:41)
  23. 23 Far Side Banks of Jordan (2:42)
  24. 24 It Takes One to Know Me (3:36)
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Album Credits

Performance Credits
Johnny Cash Primary Artist, Acoustic Guitar, Guitar, Vocals
Norman Blake Dobro, Guitar
Marty Stuart Guitar, Mandolin
Hoyt Axton Background Vocals
Ed Bruce Background Vocals
Carlene Carter Vocals, Background Vocals
The Carter Family Background Vocals
Rosanne Cash Vocals
Floyd Cramer Piano
Rodney Crowell Acoustic Guitar, Electric Guitar, Vocals
Waylon Jennings Guitar, Vocals
Kris Kristofferson Vocals
Willie Nelson Guitar, Vocals
Jerry Reed Electric Guitar
Doc Watson Guitar
Ray Charles Vocals
Elvis Costello Acoustic Guitar, Vocals
Bob Dylan Acoustic Guitar, Vocals
Dave Edmunds Electric Guitar
The Jordanaires Background Vocals
Carl Perkins Electric Guitar
Jay Patten Horn
James Burton Guitar
Pete Drake Steel Guitar
Bob Johnson Banjo, Guitar, Lute, Mandocello
Judy Rodman Background Vocals
Jan Howard Background Vocals
Don Helms Steel Guitar
Bill Pursell Piano
Bobby Wood Keyboards
John McEuen Mandolin
Anita Carter Vocals
Billy Joe Shaver Acoustic Guitar, Vocals
Gordon Terry Fiddle
Tommy Cash Background Vocals
Mother Maybelle Carter Acoustic Guitar, Autoharp, Vocals
Johnny Western Guitar
The Edge Synthesizer, Background Vocals
Brian Ahern Guitar, Tambourine
Ritchie Albright Drums
Joe Babcock Banjo
Hal Blaine Drums
Earl Poole Ball Piano
Martin Belmont Electric Guitar
Benmont Tench Electric Piano
Barbara Bennett Background Vocals
Pete Bordonali Electric Guitar
Larry Butler Keyboards
Don Carter Background Vocals
June Carter Cash Vocals
Floyd Chance Bass
Gene Chrisman Drums
Jack Clement Guitar, Rhythm Guitar
J.R. Cobb Guitar
Chuck Cochran Piano
T. Michael Coleman Bass
Donivan Cowart Background Vocals
Glen D. Hardin Keyboards
Shane Keister Synthesizer
Ray Edenton Guitar
Bobby Emmons Keyboards
Brian Eno Synthesizer
Flood Loops
Jimmie Fadden Harmonica
Larry Farrell Trombone
Gene Lowery Background Vocals
Tim Goodman Banjo, Guitar
Marshall Grant Bass, Background Vocals
Jack Hale Trumpet, Horn, French Horn
Owen Hale Drums
Jeff Hanna national steel guitar, Vocal Harmony
Buddy Harman Drums
Jerry Hensley Guitar
Byron House Bass
Jimmy Ibbotson Mandolin, Vocal Harmony
Clayton Ivey Organ, Piano
Tony Kadleck Flugelhorn
Red Lane Guitar
Lynn Langham Background Vocals
Mike Leech Bass
John Leventhal Bass, Guitar, Keyboards
Bob Lewin Trumpet, Horn, French Horn
Rufus Long Flute
Nick Lowe Bass
Gary Lunn Bass
Kenny Malone Percussion, Drums
David Mansfield Mandocello
Larry McCoy Piano
Bill McElhiney Trumpet
Terry McMillan Harmonica, Percussion
Chips Moman Guitar
Ralph Mooney Steel Guitar
Farrell Morris Percussion
Richard Morris Percussion
Greg Morrow Drums
Roy Nichols Guitar
Louis Dean Nunley Background Vocals
Gordon Payne Bass
Shawn Pelton Percussion, Drums
Luther Perkins Acoustic Guitar, Electric Guitar, Background Vocals
Danny Petraitis Harmonica
Michael Rhodes Bass
Billy Lee Riley Electric Guitar
Hargus "Pig" Robbins Keyboards
Clifford Robertson Piano
Jack Routh Guitar
Billy Sanford Acoustic Guitar, Guitar
Randy Scruggs Acoustic Guitar, Guitar
Dale Sellers Acoustic Guitar
Jerry Shook Guitar
Steuart Smith Electric Guitar
Henry Strzelecki Bass
Wendy Suits Background Vocals
Pete Thomas Drums
Bobby Thompson Banjo
Jimmy Tittle Bass
Robby Turner Dobro, Steel Guitar
J.M. Van Eaton Drums
Pete Wade Guitar
Merle Watson Guitar
Bob Wootton Electric Guitar
Malcolm Yelvington Background Vocals
Reggie Young Electric Guitar
W.S. Holland Drums
Roy Goin Bass
Marvin Hughes Piano
Charlie McCoy Harmonica
Hershel Wigginton Background Vocals
Asa Wilkerson Background Vocals
Helen Carter Guitar
Karl Garvin Trumpet
Lee Holt Background Vocals
Jimmy Wilson Piano
Cyd Mosteller Background Vocals
Jerry Sheff Bass
Bill Abbott Background Vocals
John Carter Cash Acoustic Guitar, Background Vocals
Chuck Turner Percussion
Sara Bruce Background Vocals
Jimmy Smith Piano
Nita Smith Background Vocals
Joe "Public" Allen Bass
Laura Cash Background Vocals
Cindy Cash Vocals
Bob Carter Accordion, Vocal Harmony
Confederates Background Vocals
Paul Davis Keyboards
Evangel Temple Choir Background Vocals
Technical Credits
Marty Stuart Producer
J. Scott Skinner Composer
Gene Autry Composer
Johnny Cash Composer, Producer
Rodney Crowell Producer
Jimmie Davis Composer
Waylon Jennings Producer
George Jones Composer
Kris Kristofferson Composer
Shel Silverstein Composer
Dave Edmunds Producer
Jerry Leiber Composer
Stan Jones Composer
Alan Lomax Composer
Mother Maybelle Carter Composer
The Edge Composer, Producer
Brian Ahern Producer
Earl Ball Producer
Bono Composer
Charlie Bragg Producer
Larry Butler Producer
A.P. Carter Composer
Jerry Chesnut Composer
Adam Clayton Composer
Jack Clement Composer, Producer
Brian Eno Producer
Flood Producer
Gregg Geller Producer, Liner Notes
Bob Johnston Producer
Frank Jones Producer
Don Law Producer
John Leventhal Producer
John A. Lomax Adaptation
Nick Lowe Composer
Chips Moman Producer
Larry Mullen Jr. Composer
Ervin T. Rouse Composer
Jack Routh Producer
Randy Scruggs Producer
Billy Sherrill Producer
Marijohn Wilkin Composer
Hank Williams Composer
Rev. Thomas A. Dorsey Composer
T.J. Seals Composer
Sam Phillips Producer
Danny Dill Composer
Wayne Kemp Composer
Vic Anesini Mastering
Jerri Meyer Package Production
David Santana Graphic Design
Martin Burckhardt Illustrations
Jimmy Long Composer
J.J. Blair Engineer
Dixie Deen Composer
John R. Cash Arranger, Adaptation
A. Carter Composer
John Carter Cash Producer, Executive Producer
Chuck Turner Engineer
Ian Cuttler Art Direction
Traditional Composer
Lou Robin Executive Producer
Don Davis Producer
Abe Vélez Packaging Manager
Eddie Newton Composer
Patrick Carr Liner Notes
Gisela Delgado Package Production
J.R. Cash Composer
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Customer Reviews

Average Rating 5
( 4 )
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Sort by: Showing all of 4 Customer Reviews

  • Anonymous

    Posted October 1, 2010

    It s a great collection!!!!

    I'ma anew Cash fan since I watched the movie "walk the line". This is great because it compiles all his greatest hits!!!!

    1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Anonymous

    Posted October 1, 2010

    "The Best Christmas Gift"

    My husband's a forever 'Cash' fan - we have his music in every form, 45s, albums, cassettes, cds (even 8-tracks!) Saw the cash family & friends on Larry King... quickly went on line and order the LEGEND package. It is wonderful - it's all there. I occasionally 'borrow' one of the LEGEND cd's and play during housework. Not long before I just sit & listen not much longer before there's a tear down my cheek. It is truly a PKG SET well worth the money. Not just Cash but, the Carters, Waylon, Willie, even Bob Dillon - and the hundreds of other's 'living' in this set. If you're a country/'Cash' fan, buy it! you will not be disappointed. It covers the whole spectrum of 'Cash'in outstanding quality. And, if you've got friend or family member who's a Cash fan - BUY IT -it will be the best gift THEY every get. 'five stars' count 'em!

    1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Anonymous

    Posted May 14, 2009

    No text was provided for this review.

  • Anonymous

    Posted November 13, 2008

    No text was provided for this review.

Sort by: Showing all of 4 Customer Reviews