Published on Nov 4, 1999
Back in the ’60s, it seemed like some artists got a kick out of
recording albums in jails or prisons. B.B. King did it at Cook
County Jail, and Johnny Cash did it at both San Quentin and Folsom
Prison. Maybe it was because they were guaranteed a captive
audience. (No, no, scratch that…)
Ahem. Cash’s 1968 release
Johnny Cash At Folsom Prison dares to show a more human side
of both artist and prisoners. You can hear Cash speak almost
lovingly to people whose condition he could understand, having been
in a few tussles with the law in his day. As for the prisoners, the
joy in their cheers as the music plays is obvious. And if this
album didn’t feel so rushed, it would be damn near perfect.
The notoriously dark side of Cash’s music is evident early on in
this set, with songs like “Folsom Prison Blues,” “I Still Miss
Someone” and “The Long Black Veil” showcasing his talents well. Of
course, there
has to be levity somewhere in such a tense setting, and it
comes as Cash starts laughing during “Dark As The Dungeon” – though
we can’t really tell whether it was a member of the audience, a
band member or Cash himself who triggered the inside joke.
If that moment started to break the ice, then Cash melted the
rest down with a flamethrower with songs like “25 Minutes To Go,”:
a gallows pole song that gave Cash the chance to break loose with
his emotions and musical style. If you needed any more moments of
levity, they came in the form of two songs: “Dirty Old Egg-Suckin’
Dog” and “Flushed From The Bathroom Of Your Heart”. (And I always
thought the latter of those song titles was fake – yeesh.)
Musically, Cash and his band hit the mark consistently on all
but a few tracks. “Jackson” brings in Cash’s wife June, who just
doesn’t sound like she’s comfortable on this track. If there was
one track I would have left off, it would have been “The Legend Of
John Henry’s Hammer,” one of three tracks added on to the
remastered version of this album. Admittedly, I’ve never been a fan
of any of the versions of “John Henry” I’ve heard over the years,
but this one just seems to wander aimlessly style-wise, and was
rightfully left off the original release.
The one vibe I get from
Johnny Cash At Folsom Prison is that he’s being rushed
through his set – and he probably was, as he’s heard asking at one
point how much more time he has to perform. Had Cash been given the
luxury of time, the overall feel of this album (which isn’t bad to
begin with) would have been that much better. But let’s face it:
the only place Cash would get that kind of time is in a tradtional
theatre setting – and then you’d have lost the sheer joy of the
prisoners getting a moment of sunlight in an otherwise dark time of
their lives.
One other disappointment for me is that songs like “Ring Of
Fire” and “I Walk The Line” are nowhere to be heard. Admittedly, I
don’t know much about Cash’s career save for what I own and have
listened to, so I’m willing to admit ignorance if the songs weren’t
written at the time this album was recorded. However, I’m inclined
to believe that they were written well before 1968, so my
disappointment is justified.
Johnny Cash At Folsom Prison is still a very entertaining
album featuring Cash in a unique musical setting that is special to
hear, even over three decades after it was recorded. If you’re
interested in learning more about Cash and his music, this is a
nice place to start.