Johnny Cash — The Legend (4CD, 2005)

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.

CD 1: Win, Place And Show

01 I Walk The Line 2:45

02 There You Go 2:18

03 Home Of The Blues 2:40

04 Ballad Of A Teenage Queen 2:12

05 Guess Things Happen That Way 1:51

06 The Ways Of A Woman In Love 2:16

07 Don\’t Take Your Gun To Town 3:04

08 Ring Of Fire 2:37

09 The Matador 2:46

10 Understand Your Man 2:43

11 The Ballad Of Ira Hayes 4:09

12 Orange Blossom Special 3:08

13 The One On The Right Is On The Left 2:48

14 Rosanna\’s Going Wild 1:59

15 Folsom Prision Blues 2:45

16 Daddy Sang Bass 2:21

17 A Boy Named Sue 3:46

18 What Is Truth 2:38

19 Sunday Mornin\’ Comin\’ Down 4:08

20 Flesh And Blood 2:37

21 Man In Black 2:53

22 A Thing Called Love 2:33

23 Kate 2:17

24 Oney 3:05

25 Any Old Wind That Blows 2:47

26 One Piece At A 4:02

27 (Ghost) Riders in the Sky 3:46

CD 2: Old Favorites and New

01 Hey Porter 2:14

02 Cry Cry Cry 2:25

03 Luther Played the Boogie 2:04

04 Get Rhythm 2:15

05 Give My Love to Rose 2:45

06 I Was There When it Happened 2:16

07 Big River 2:32

08 I Still Miss Someone 2:36

09 Pickin\’ 1:58

10 The Man on the Hill 2:09

11 Five Feet High And Rising 1:47

12 Tennessee Flat-Top Box 3:00

13 I Got Stripes 2:05

14 Troublesome Waters 3:52

15 The Long Black Veil 3:07

16 Dark as a Dungeon 2:29

17 The Wall 2:12

18 25 Minutes to Go 3:13

19 Cocaine Blues 2:52

20 Doin\’ My 4:14

21 I Will Rock and Roll With You 2:52

22 Without Love 2:30

23 The Big Light 2:42

24 Highway Patrolman 5:21

25 I\’m Never Gonna Roam Again 2:35

26 When I\’m Gray 3:33

27 Forever Young 6:16

CD 3: The Great American Songbook

01 The Wreck of the Old 97 1:47

02 Rock Island Line 2:11

03 Goodnight Irene 2:41

04 Goodbye Little Darlin\’ 2:15

05 Born to Lose 2:10

06 Walking The Blues 2:13

07 Frankie\’s Man, Johnny 2:18

08 Delia\’s Gone 3:02

09 In the Jailhouse Now 2:23

10 Waiting For a Train 2:08

11 Casey Jones 3:02

12 The Legend of John Henry\’s Hammer 8:26

13 I\’ve Been Working on the Railroad 3:27

14 Sweet Betsy From Pike 3:18

15 The Streets Of Laredo 3:41

16 Bury Me Not on the Lone Prairie 2:28

17 Down in the Valley 3:11

18 Wabash Cannonball 2:40

19 The Great Speckle Bird 2:09

20 Wildwood Flower 2:12

21 Cotton Fields (The Cotton Song) 2:34

22 Pick a Bale o\’ Cotton 1:59

23 Old Shep 2:23

24 I\’ll Be All Smiles Tonight 2:49

25 I\’m So Lonesome I Could Cry 2:40

26 Changes Everything 1:49

CD 4: Family And Friends

01 Keep on the Sunny Side (with The Carter Family) 2:16

02 Diamonds in the Rough (with Mother Maybelle Carter) 3:10

03 (There\’ll Be) Peace in the Valley (with The Carter Family) 2:49

04 Were You There (When They Crucified My Lord) (with The Carter Family) 3:56

05 Another Man Done Gone (with Anita Carter) 2:37

06 Pick the Wildwood Flower (with Mother Maybelle Carter) 2:59

07 Jackson (with June Carter) 2:47

08 If I Were a Carpenter (with June Carter Cash) 3:01

09 Girl From the North Country (with Bob Dylan) 3:42

10 One More Ride (with Marty Stuart) 3:27

11 You Can\’t Beat Jesus Christ (with Billy Joe Shaver) 3:40

12 There Ain\’t No Good Chain Gang (with Waylon Jennings) 3:17

13 We Ought to be Ashamed (with Elvis Costello) 2:46

14 Crazy Old Soldier (with Ray Charles) 3:34

15 Silver Haired Daddy of Mine (with Tommy Cash) 2:49

16 Who\’s Gene Autry (with John Carter Cash) 3:52

17 The Night Hank Williams Came to Town (with Waylon Jennings) 3:24

18 I Walk The Line (Revisited) (with Rodney Crowell) 3:51

19 Highwayman (with Willie Nelson, Kris Kristofferson & Waylon Jennings) 3:03

20 The Wandererer (U2 Starring Johnny Cash) 4:44

21 September When it Comes (with Rosanne Cash) 3:40

22 Tears in the Holston River (with The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band) 3:42

23 Far Side Banks of Jordan (with June Carter Cash) 2:42

24 It Takes One to Know Me (with June Carter Cash, guest vocal by Carlene Carter) 3:36