The Legend of Johnny Cash | 
| Artist: Johnny Cash
Label: Hip-O Records
Category: Music
List Price: $13.98
Buy Used: $5.50
You Save: $8.48 (61%)
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Rating:  63 reviews
Sales Rank: 1896
Media: Audio CD
Discs: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 5.6 x 4.9 x 0.4
MPN: 000528802
UPC: 602498843406
EAN: 0602498843406
ASIN: B000BISBDY
Release Date: October 25, 2005
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Tracks:
| • | Cry! Cry! Cry! | | • | Hey Porter | | • | Folsom Prison Blues | | • | I Walk the Line | | • | Get Rhythm | | • | Big River | | • | Guess Things Happen That Way | | • | Ring of Fire | | • | Jackson - Johnny Cash, June Carter Cash | | • | Boy Named Sue [Live] | | • | Sunday Morning Coming Down | | • | Man in Black | | • | One Piece at a Time | | • | Highwayman - Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, Kris Kristofferson, Willie Nelson | | • | Wanderer - Johnny Cash, U2, | | • | Delia's Gone | | • | Rusty Cage | | • | I've Been Everywhere | | • | Give My Love to Rose | | • | Man Comes Around [Early Take] | | • | Hurt |
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com
This introduction to the Man in Black's catalog is about as fine a one as can be found on one disc, primarily because the 21 classic tracks span J.R. Cash's entire career, from his first rockabilly single, "Hey, Porter"/"Cry! Cry! Cry!" (Sun Records, 1955), to his last significant alt-country tracks (American Recordings, 2003). Though Cash had his peaks and valleys in the studio, what shines brightly on this collection is how constant--how unwavering--his creativity remained, whether he was writing and performing original material or interpreting the work of others. His voice, too, remained a majestic thing of wonder, even as Cash often sang off-beat; settled his bass-baritone somewhere around, if not on the note; and cared more about power and emotion than strict rules of measure--something that became especially important as illness changed his great oaken voice into a frail instrument. In this way, he was able to infuse novelty songs ("One Piece at a Time," "A Boy Named Sue") with undeniable cool and maintain the poetry of Kris Kristofferson's "Sunday Morning Coming Down" even in the awful advent of a gloppy, too-peppy string section. Other chestnuts here take on new dimension in retrospect. "Jackson," a duet with wife June Carter Cash, seemed almost comedic ("hotter than a pepper sprout") when it was released, but now reveals the couple's own white-hot sexuality, primarily in June's elegant, if straightahead vocal. The surprise of The Legend of Johnny Cash is how seamlessly the newer material blends with the seminal, and how full-circle it sometimes comes: Soundgarden's "Rusty Cage" doesn't seem markedly different from the quietly defiant songs that Cash defined himself with in the '50s and early '60s. Yet the compilation producers, like Cash himself, saved the best for last. "Hurt," Trent Reznor's poignant meditation on addiction, is devastating as written, but becomes a thing of terrible beauty in the ailing Cash's ravaged, autobiographical delivery. Sequenced as the final cut on the album, it ends with a kind of shocking void; stunning in its intensity, dropping the listener off a cliff of something very akin to grief. No artist, no matter what genre, could have planned a more haunting exit. --Alanna Nash
Album Description
The Legend of Johnny Cash spans his entire career for the first time on a single disc. Featuring 21 of his recordings on the Sun, Columbia, Island, and American Recordings labels, it's the first compilation to include his work on American. Also highlighting the package is a 16-page deluxe booklet with photos and essay by author Rich Kienzle.His Sun Records tracks begin with his first single, "Hey, Porter"/"Cry! Cry! Cry!," a Country Top 20 penned by Cash and produced by Sam Phillips. Straddling country and rock 'n' roll, they scored in 1956 with the Top 10 Country "Folsom Prison Blues," #1 Country/Top 20 Pop "I Walk The Line" and #1 Country "Get Rhythm." Also heard from his Sun days are 1958's "Big River" (#4 Country/Top 20 Pop) and "Guess Things Happen That Way" (#1 Country/Top 20 Pop).Cash signed with Columbia in 1958 and five years later had a #1 Country/Top 20 Pop hit with "Ring of Fire," a ballad co-written by June Carter, who in 1967 would duet with him on the #2 Country "Jackson" and later become his wife. In 1969, the live Johnny Cash at San Quentin yielded his biggest hit: Shel Silverstein's novelty "A Boy Named Sue" (#1 Country/#2 Pop).Kris Kristofferson composed Cash's 1970 #1 Country hit "Sunday Morning Coming Down" while Cash himself composed his personal philosophy on 1971's #3 Country "Man in Black," his nickname for the rest of his days. Also from his Columbia tenure are 1976's "One Piece at a Time" (#1 Country/Top 30 Pop) and 1985's "Highwayman" with Waylon Jennings and Kristofferson.Cash joined Mercury in 1986 and The Legend of Johnny Cash includes a track from that period titled "The Wanderer," a duet with U2 written by Bono and U2, taken from the group's 1993 release Zooropa. That same year Rick Rubin, known for producing rap and rock acts, offered to record Cash singing whatever he chose. 1994's American Recordings, including college radio favorite "Delia's Gone," brought Cash to a new generation and won the Best Contemporary Folk Album Grammy. On 1996's Unchained, Cash brilliantly interpreted Soundgarden's "Rusty Cage" as well as the Hank Snow classic "I've Been Everywhere" and copped the Grammy for Best Country Album. On 2003's American IV: The Man Comes Around, he revisited old favorite "Give My Love to Rose" and gave new meaning to Nine Inch Nails' "Hurt" (the video for "Hurt" was 6 times nominated at MTV's 2003 VMAs and also won a Grammy for "Best Short Form Music Video" that same year). From 2003's posthumous box set Unearthed, The Legend of Johnny Cash adds an early take on "The Man Comes Around."
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| Customer Reviews: Read 58 more reviews...
An Excellent Single-Disc Overview of The Man In Black!!! October 26, 2005
Louie Bourland (Garden Grove CA)
25 out of 26 found this review helpful
The recently released "Legend of Johnny Cash" compilation is the first single-disc collection to cover the legendary Man In Black's entire career. While it would take literally a half-dozen CDs or more to cover every important piece of music Cash has made, this compilation offers the basics and is an excellent overview of his most important and classic work. The legendary Sun records hits, "Cry Cry Cry", "Hey Porter", "I Walk The Line" and "Folsum Prison Blues" are included here as well as "A Boy Named Sue", "Ring Of Fire" and "Highwayman" (his collaboration with Country legends Kris Kristoferson, Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson). Also included is Johnny's cameo appearance from U2's 1993 "Zooropa" album, "The Wanderer" and to close out the disc, there are several tracks from his American Records series with producer Rick Rubin including the final hit "Hurt" (originally by Nine Inch Nails).
With that said, "the Legend of Johnny Cash" is an essential collection and offers an excellent brief history lesson of his most acclaimed work. For the few who have never heard of Johnny Cash, this CD is an excllent introduction to his music. For everyone else, this is probably the best collection of Cash music to date.
 Well, there's things that never will be right I know March 15, 2006
Evil Lincoln (Dayton, Ohio)
12 out of 13 found this review helpful
I own some of Johnny Cash's older albums as well as the spectacular 2-CD The Essential Johnny Cash. But since I didn't have any of his American recordings he did with Rick Rubin, I got The Legend of Johnny Cash for the six songs representing those albums. It's rather obvious that this collection was aimed at young people who have heard and liked Cash's music but wouldn't otherwise be caught dead in the record store's country music section (and who am I kidding; that includes me).
In that sense, it's a good CD. It includes the biggest of Cash's big hits: "Cry, Cry, Cry," "I Walk the Line," "Ring of Fire," "Hurt," etc. But as a definitive greatest-hits collection, The Legend of Johnny Cash falls well short. "I Still Miss Someone," "The Ballad of Ira Hayes," "The Rebel- Johnny Yuma," "The One on the Right is on the Left," and (probably most bafflingly) "Daddy Sang Bass" are all absent from here. What's more, "Folsom Prison Blues" is the *studio* version- anyone at all can tell you that the definitive version is the live version recorded at Folsom Prison itself. This CD is only an hour long- that leaves plenty of time for more deserving cuts. The six American Recordings songs collected here are all great, and I think I'm going to spring for the albums themselves. "The Wanderer," featuring U2, also made it on here; I think that's one of Cash's best ever.
If you want a single-disc Johnny Cash collection, you could do worse. But I still think that The Essential Johnny Cash is a better bet. Even though there's no American Recordings material on there, it still includes every other song this collection does, plus many, many more great songs.
A new find December 31, 2005
J. karvis (Wilkes-Barre, PA USA)
7 out of 7 found this review helpful
I have never been a big fan of country music. My main music of choice is of the heavy metal genre such as Black Sabbath and Judas Priest, and newer groups like nine inch nails, and the harder edged industrial stuff. I always thought Johnny Cash was kind of cool, but until today I never really listened closely to his music. I recently became curious about the CD, and was happy to get it as a Xmas gift. I went for a ride on this cold, cloudy day in late December, and it could not be a better day to introduce myself to the man in black's music. All I can say is this Cd, of what are his classic songs, is just brilliant, and timeless - a very enjoyable listen. The CD is a real gem, and I would suggest anyone who is even the least bit curious about Cash to go out and get this. To me, it's a work of art that deserves a spot on my shelf right alongside the other CDs from varoius genres that I consider essential classics.
A JOHNNY CASH PRIMER! December 31, 2005
Steven Hancock (Winston Salem, NC United States)
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
For those who are still unaware, Johnny Cash is a true American legend. His music has defied category, which makes it as easily accessible to fans of Kenney Chesney and Coldplay as it is to fans of Metallica and Eminem. For those interested in hearing his music, then "The Legend of Johnny Cash" is a fine place to start.
Spanning his entire recording carrer, which lasted from 1955 to 2003, the listener gets to hear Cash grow both musically and lyrically. On these 21 tracks, we get a glimpse of his life and legend. There are no standout songs on here. For me, it is really hard to pick a favorite song from Johnny Cash, as they are all classics.
If you're a new fan of Johnny Cash, then this is definitely a must-have CD. As for longtime fans, you, too will not be disappointed.
Grade: A+
Essential collection of songs for the casual Johnny Cash fan December 20, 2005
Zengrrl (Denver, CO)
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
I just bought this album this last weekend and have listened to it a number of times since. It is absolutely fantastic. As other reviewers have noted here, this is the perfect single disk collection of his work. I have a random mix of a couple of his albums plus some "greatest hits" disks, but none have come close to this one in encompassing his career and giving you nearly every track you would probably be looking for.
If you are a pretty serious Johnny Cash fan, then you almost certainly have all of these songs, so this disk may not be a "must have" for you. If, however, you are like me, a casual fan looking for a solid collection of his hits, then this is most definitely the one for you. Pick it up, you will not be disappointed.
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