Legend, The - Johnny Cash

Author's product rating:   

Originality	Groundbreaking
Lyrics	Sublime
Quality and consistency of tracks	A couple of weak links
How does it rate alongside the competition	Outstanding
Value for Money	Excellent

Advantages:	104 songs means great value for money, plus, a book !
Disadvantages:	Not a chance of getting this on your CD shelf, it is a tall book too !

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

I couldn't believe my eyes when I realised that a review hadn't been written on this great box set. Mainly because it is Johnny Cash, and hence, a legend (as the title of the product suggests)!

I shall start straight away with mentioning that you won't get a huge description about every song on the album, as you would with my normal reviews. "Why, Alastair, WHYYYYY?!!!" I hear you cry... well, frankly, because there are 104 songs on the album, and if I did, I'd be here for a year....and so would you! :o)

This product is, in my opinion, the definitive box set from Mr. Johnny "The Man In Black" Cash. The box set celebrates the 50th anniversary of Johnny Cash's recordings between 1955-2005. It consists of 104 recordings from 1955 through to 2002, the year before he sadly died. The set also includes 7 tracks that were previously unreleased!

Now, if this doesn't seem like enough Johnny Cash fun for you, there is also a 72 page display book, which contains many rare and unseen photographs, of the man himself, his family, loved ones, and friends. These many photos also include shots from when he performed live at Folsom Prison (which tends to be known as his most famous performance, and live album). The display book also includes a small amount of song information for each song, the song lyrics for the song "Man In Black", a letter from Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash (his second wife), and credits from the producer. The book also features a new article by Patrick Carr, who was the co-author of "Cash: The Autobiography", which lasts for 14 extemely interesting pages about Cash's life.

For those of you who aren't aware of who Johnny Cash is, he was a vastly influential American musician, and songwriter. Cash was known for his deep, distinctive, bass-baritone voice, the "boom-chicka-boom" country sound that his band, The Tennessee Three produced, and his dark clothing, demeanor, and somber tone, which earned him the nickname from his fans as, "The Man in Black". He was also extremely well known for simply starting all of his concerts with the words, "Hello, I'm Johnny Cash".

Cash was born and raised in Arkansas, America, and by the age of five he was working in the cotton fields with his family. The family farm was flooded on at least one occasion, which later inspired him to write the song "Five Feet High And Rising", which is on disc 2 of this box set. Cash began drinking heavily in the 1960's, as he became more famous, and became addicted to amphetamines and barbiturates. In 1965, he was arrested for smuggling illegal amphetamines inside his guitar case. However, many people think that Johnny Cash received a prison sentence, when he did not. He had several arrests, and was placed in jail several times, but each stay was only for one night. Cash fell in love with June Carter at the height of his drug addiction, after his destructive behaviour had led to a divorce from his first wife, Vivian. The love ballad "Flesh and Blood" was one of the first of many songs that Johnny Cash would write about his June, his second wife, and this can be found on disc 1 of the box set. When he stopped using drugs, with help from June and her family, in the early 1970's, Cash rediscovered his Christian faith, and started to record more gospel songs. Cash had several relapses into drugs and alcohol throughout the 1980's, but Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash were happily married until the spring of 2003 when June died unexpectedly due to complications following heart valve replacement surgery. Less than 4 months later, on 12th September 2003, diabetes caught up with Johnny, his body failed, and his spirit was sadly set free. He was 71 years old when he died.

Johnny Cash's hits included "I Walk the Line", "Folsom Prison Blues", "Ring of Fire", and "Man In Black". He also recorded several amusing songs, such as "One Piece At A Time", "The One on the Right is on the Left" and "A Boy Named Sue", and all of these songs appear in this box set.

Johnny Cash is a musician who appeals to many different people, as he does not just fit into one genre of music. He recorded songs that could be considered to be rock, blues, folk and gospel, and he seemed to influence all of these genres in different ways. He is one of ten performers to be inducted into both the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Country Music Hall of Fame, and he is also in the Songwriters Hall of Fame. This makes Johnny Cash a full member of the three major music halls of fames, along with only one other person! This means that Johnny Cash tends to appeal to both young and old listeners, as he covers many different areas of music.

The Box Set comes with 4 CD discs. Each CD has different songs on, and a different title:
Disc One: Win, Place, And Show - The Hits
Disc Two: Old Favourites And New
Disc Three: The Great American Songbook
Disc Four: Family And Friends

Track List:

Disc One: Win, Place, And Show - The Hits
This CD includes The Hits! The ones that most people know, such as Ring Of Fire (written by June Carter about falling in love with Johnny Cash, and co-written by Johnny Cash as he wrote the famous brass sections), and Folsom Prison Blues (live at Folsom Prison).
Lyrics include:
"Love is a burning thing,
And it makes a firery ring.
Bound by wild desire,
I fell in to a ring of fire...
I fell in to a burning ring of fire,
I went down,down,down,
And the flames went higher.
And it burns,burns,burns,
The ring of fire,
The ring of fire".
(from Ring Of Fire)
and...
"When I was just a baby, my mama told me, "Son,
Always be a good boy; don't ever play with guns."
But I shot a man in Reno, just to watch him die.
When I hear that whistle blowin' I hang my head and cry"
(from Folsom Prison Blues)
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)The Ways Of a Woman In Love
7)Don't Take Your Guns To Town
8)Ring Of Fire
9)The Matador
10)Understand Your Man
11)The Ballad Of Ira Hayes
12)Orange Blossom Special
13)The One On the Right Is On the Left
14)Rosanna's Going Wild
15)Folsom Prison Blues (live at Folsom Prison)
16)Daddy Sang Bass
17)A Boy Named Sue
18)What Is Truth
19)Sunday Morning Coming Down
20)Flesh and Blood
21)Man In Black
22)A 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 Two: Old Favourites And New
This CD features both old hits and more modern tracks, such as the first singles Cry, Cry, Cry and Hey Porter, which were released in 1955.
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)The Man On the Hill
11)Five Feet High and Rising
12)Tennessee Flat-Top Box
13)I Got Stripes
14)Troublesome Waters
15)The Long Black Veil
16)Dark As a Dungeon
17)The Wall
18)Minutes To Go
19)Cocaine Blues
20)Doin' My Time
21)I Will Rock and Roll With You
22)Without Love
23)The Big Light
24)Highway Patrolman
25)I'm Never Gonna Roam Again
26)When I'm Gray
27)Forever Young

Disc Three: The Great American Songbook
This CD includes mostly traditional songs, sung by Johnny Cash.
1)The 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)The Legend Of John Henry's Hammer
13)I've Been Working On the Railroad
14)Sweet Betsy From Pike
15)The Streets Of Laredo
16)Bury Me Not On the Lone Prairie
17)Down In the Valley
18)Wabash Cannonball
19)The Great Speckle Bird
20)Wildwood Flower
21)In Them Old Cottonfields Back Home
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 Four: Family And Friends
As the title of this CD suggests, the CD includes collaborations with Family and Friends. It also includes the most prominent previously unreleased track, the final track, "It Takes One to Know Me," a stirring salute to his wife, June Carter Cash (who also performs on the song).
1)Keep On the Sunny Side (with The Carter Family)
2)Diamonds In the Rough (with Mother Maybelle Carter)
3)(There'll Be) Peace In the Valley (with The Carter Family)
4)Were You There (When They Crucified My Lord) (with The Carter Family)
5)Another Man Done Gone (with Anita Carter)
6)Pick the Wildwood Flower (with Mother Maybelle Carter)
7)Jackson (with June Carter)
8)If I Were a Carpenter (with June Carter Cash)
9)Girl From the North Country (with Bob Dylan)
10)One More Ride (with Marty Stuart)
11)You Can't Beat Jesus Christ (with Billy Joe Shaver)
12)There Ain't No Good Chain Gang (with Waylon Jennings)
13)We Ought To Be Ashamed (with Elvis Costello)
14)Crazy Old Soldier (with Ray Charles)
15)Silver Haired Daddy Of Mine (with Tommy Cash)
16)Who's Gene Autry? (with John Carter Cash)
17)The Night Hank Williams Came To Town (with Waylon Jennings)
18)I Walk the Line (Revisited) (with Rodney Crowell)
19)Highwayman (with Willie Nelson, Kris Kristofferson, and Waylon Jennings)
20)The Wanderer (U2 starring Johnny Cash)
21)September When It Comes (with Rosanne Cash)
22)Tears In the Holston River (with The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band)
23)Far Side Banks Of Jordan (with June Carter Cash)
24)It Takes One To Know Me (with June Carter Cash, guest vocal by Carlene Carter)

The box set comes in a book layout, which is two CD's high, and one CD's wide. The book is a hardback book, making it strong, with a grey front cover, with a picture of Johnny Cash with his back turned to the camera, and the words "CASH THE LEGEND" on the front in large white and black text. The spine and back cover are a darker grey colour, which is almost black. The spine has "JOHNNY CASH THE LEGEND" written down the side in silver text, and the back cover features a "blurb" about Cash, and the track listings, all again in silver.

When you open the book the 4 CDs are situated on the back of the 2 covers, with the 72 page display book in between the 2 covers, and CDs. The 4 CDs are securely in hard, plastic, CD holders like you would find in most CD cases. Each CD is black on both the front and the back of the CD (which is sooooooooo cool, coming from the man in black! haha!). The CD's look extremely stylish as they are simply black and white. The CD's are black, and each features a different picture of Johnny Cash, in different poses, in white. Each CD is also clearly labelled with the disc name, and number in white e.g. "1 WIN, PLACE, AND SHOW - THE HITS". Behind the CD's are also more pictures of Johnny Cash signing autographs for fans: a picture which spans both covers. The box set is set out in an extremely effective way, making it look extremely elegant, and easy to use.

Now onto the price of the product! Well, mine cost £27.99 from play.com, and I haven't seen it in many highstreet shops. This may seem like quite a large sum of money at first... but after you have done the maths, and realise that you are paying a mere 27p per song, (and this is without including the 72 page book of pictures and an article), then it seems like a pretty good deal to me!

If you wish to hear some of Johnny Cash's music for free, before making a purchase that could cost £27.99, you can visit www.johnnycash.com, where there is free music to listen to, so that you can check that you like him. The songs on the site seem to include most of his greatest hits, but alot of these songs are also on these albums!

To conclude, if you really like Johnny Cash, I would recommend this product to you. It is one of the most far-reaching collections of Cash's music that has ever been assembled. It includes, the majority of Cash's hits, along with previously unreleased tracks, and some less known tracks. This includes both rocky and country songs, and many other genres are dipped into. Tracks on the album range from his first ever singles Cry, Cry, Cry and Hey Porter from his early Sun recordings, which were recorded in 1955, to his work much later with artists like U2. This box set should appeal to many people! Sinners to Christians (just like Cash himself), rockers, country folk, old, young.... the list seems endless with The Man In Black!

Thankyou for reading and I hope you have fun listening to John R. Cash!