Johnny Cash
Live At Folsom Prison

Recorded entirely live on January 13, 1968, in front of an audience of about 2,000 inmates at the Folsom State Prison (Represa, California), this album undoubtedly marks the highest pinnacle of quality for the "Man In Black" and naturally for the band that accompanied him (composed of Marshall Grant on bass, W.S. Holland on drums, Carl and Luther Perkins on electric guitars) during a career spanning a full 48 years in which Johnny Cash released more than 100 albums. He experienced difficult moments and overwhelming success, sin and redemption, total darkness (when everyone seemed to have forgotten him), and blinding brightness (the "rebirth" in 1994 with the "American Recordings" series, articulated in 4 unmissable episodes produced by Rick Rubin).

The show begins in the best way, "Hello, I'm Johnny Cash," and continues with "Folsom Prison Blues", the first great classic, followed by "Busted" and other great pieces such as "25 Minutes To Go", "Dark As the Dungeon", "I Got Stripes", "Jackson" (with his wife June Carter, star of the "Carter Family" who accompanied him at all his concerts), "Green, Green Grass Of Home", and others, an essential album for anyone who wants to approach the work of a giant of American music, with an unmistakable style (his beautiful baritone voice, the strictly dark "stage" outfits, a sound that mainly reflects country music but also incorporates blues, gospel, and classic rock 'n' roll) and an attitude (read his lyrics, or watch the film about his life "I Walk The Line" to get an idea) that even today can teach a lot to many supposedly "rock bands"...

If you enjoyed this album, try listening to "At San Quentin," recorded live at San Quentin prison 2 days after Johnny Cash's 37th birthday (born in 1932) and released in the summer of 1969. Recently, both records have been re-released and remastered in a beautiful box set, with the addition of numerous unreleased tracks, and a real gem in "At Folsom Prison," where you can hear Cash saying: "We're recording live so we can't say words like shit and hell" which were heavily censored by the record company at the time. Enjoy listening.