At San Quentin (Legacy Edition)

Johnny Cash | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (November 14, 2006)
• Number of Discs: 3
• Label: Sony
• ASIN: B000IJ7RE0
• In-Print Editions: Audio CD
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #8,730 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #93 in Music > Country > Outlaw Country

Track Listings

Disc: 1

1. Blue Suede Shoes [#]

2. Flowers on the Wall [#]

3. The Last Thing on My Mind [#]

4. June Carter Cash Talks to the Audience [#]

5. Wildwood Flower [#]

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 [#]

See all 17 tracks on this disc

Disc: 2

1. San Quentin

2. San Quentin

3. Wanted Man

4. Restless [#]

5. A Boy Named Sue

6. Blistered [#]

7. (There'll Be) Peace in the Valley

8. The Outside Looking In [#]

9. Less of Me [#]

10. Ring of Fire

See all 14 tracks on this disc

Editorial Reviews

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

Product Description

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

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

34 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Finally, the whole San Quentin show!, November 15, 2006

By 

hyperbolium (Earth, USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: At San Quentin (Legacy Edition) (Audio CD)

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 - one of only four women in a room full of male convicts - 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]

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "San Quentin, you've been livin' hell to me." Amazing., November 18, 2006

By 

E. Medina (California) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: At San Quentin (Legacy Edition) (Audio CD)

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.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I had doubts, but this is superb., November 22, 2006

By 

Dan Plankton (Somerville, MA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: At San Quentin (Legacy Edition) (Audio CD)

I'm a longtime Cash fan who has owned every edition of this album. I held off on this one, perhaps in part due to resentment at Sony for releasing the falsely advertised "Complete San Quentin Concert" only six years ago. But after watching the DVD of the original Granada TV (UK) program, I recommend this set without reservation. Despite some comments I read, the DVD has plenty of performance footage (it's 54 minutes long and about two-thirds onstage footage and one-third San Quentin documentary, and that one-third is also quite interesting to watch). You see the complete performance of A Boy Named Sue and several songs that weren't on the original album and CD issues, like Orange Blossom Special (great to watch Johnny playing the "harmonic-i") and Jackson. It appears that the video and sound have not been enhanced at all--there's lots of grain, and the mono sound distorted slightly at high volume. I got used to it and still thoroughly enjoyed viewing it.

One interesting note: Watching the video, it appears that June Carter's vocal on Darling Companion must have been overdubbed in-studio for the original album. Her vocal is different in the live footage -- and still good, so I don't know why they overdubbed. I didn't spot any other differences between the live footage and the album recording.

My one minor complaint: At this price Sony could have included a disc of the original 10-song "Johnny Cash at San Quentin" album, for historical interest and for times when you want to listen to a classic 40-minute Cash album instead of a full 100-minute concert.