At Folsom Prison – JOHNNY CASH****

Folsom Prison Blues/Dark As The Dungeon/I Still Miss Someone/Cocaine Blues/25 Minutes To Go/Orange Blossom Special/The Long Black Veil/Send A Picture Of Mother/The Wall/Dirty Old Egg Sucking Dog/Flushed From The Bathroom Of Your Heart/Jackson/Give My Love To Rose/I Got Stripes/Green Green Grass Of Home/ Greystoke Chapel

Country legend Johnny Cash demonstrates an amazing rapport with the prison inmates in the challenging live set, At Folsom Prison, which includes several songs about criminality. (US:13 UK:8)

"This album doesn’t contain country’s most poignant ballads. Nor does it contain the honky tonkyest of toe tappers. What it does have is an excellent live show from a man who sounds like he means every word that he sings. Both his musical performances and his rapport with the audience come off as effortless and breezy, yet genuinely sincere."

"This is perhaps the best representation of why Johnny Cash was and is significant in American music history. The banter with the crowd, the subject matter of the songs and his excellent voice all combine to make this album holistic in the purest sense. I think this is what live albums should gear towards when they want to be viewed as complete albums. Probably the only time you'll envy an inmate."

"Cash relishes the setting, going into full outlaw mode. Over half the songs have something to do with criminality. And it's more than a little disturbing to hear how lustily the inmates cheer songs like Folsom Prison Blues and Cocaine Blues. Though the songs are the stars, the edgy atmosphere certainly adds to the experience."

"Musically, this isn't a great record; every song is just variations on familiar country chord progressions. The heart lies in the stories, performance, and chemistry between Cash and the audience, which is unlike anything on any other live album. It's a small crowd, which means that Cash can individually interact with all of them."

"This isn't a singles record, this is an album; you put it on to hear the whole thing. The performance itself is tight and structured, just like the venue. The recording is especially atmospheric - the reverb bouncing off the concrete walls, the sounds of doors slamming in the background, and an interruption by a prison announcement. Cash and the band seem unflappable and completely at ease, belying the actual tension of the gig."