115. Johnny Cash - At Folsom Prison (May 1968)

1. Folsom Prison Blues*

2. Dark as the Dungeon

3. I Still Miss Someone

4. Cocaine Blues

5. 25 Minutes to Go

6. Orange Blossom Special

7. The Long Black Veil

8. Send a Picture of Mother

9. The Wall

10. Dirty Old Egg-Suckin' Dog

11. Flushed from the Bathroom of Your Heart

12. Jackson*

13. Give My Love to Rose*

14. I Got Stripes

15. Green, Green Grass of Home

16. Greystone Chapel

A

I met a guy in a bar once who claimed he didn't like Johnny Cash because he didn't have that many great songs. I could list twenty great Johnny Cash songs without breaking a sweat, but sure, whatever, random hipster dude I'm still mad at fifteen years later.

Cash is one of those acts I got into through my father. I don't personally listen to him often, but I've heard a hell of a lot of his music over the years. It's not really surprising that my dad loves Cash, since he worked as a guard for four years in a maximum security prison, and has led a very rough and tumble life over the years. I don't personally feel as strong a connection to the music on this album, but it's impossible not to be swayed by the wit and warmth of At Folsom. There's a great range of material here, showing pretty much every side of Cash's music. There are funny songs, sad songs, and of course a lot of prison songs. All of this is interspersed with banter from Cash, announcements by the prison administration, and interjections from the audience. One great moment comes during the dark ballad "The Wall", which prompts Cash to respond "You're some mean bastards, aintcha?". There's also a great bit where Cash jokes about the quality of the water. You kind of have to hear it to get it, but it's pretty funny.

As to the music itself, Cash's country and rockabilly has always been of the "so simple it can't fail" variety. The band chugs along, providing a solid bedrock for Cash's clear, confident delivery. It's really nice to hear such stripped back music, honestly. Here we are in the late 60s, when everyone was playing around with studio trickery, and along comes a straightforward album of direct, lean rock & roll. It's pretty great. It helps that this is probably the best live album we've had so far, too.

On a side note, if you like Cash and haven't seen Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story, then you really owe it to yourself to check it out. If nothing else it'll make you realise just how easy it is to accidentally cut someone in half with a machete.