 "JCFolsom" | 2008-06-18 |
| - Reviewed By User: AEYWHRWB6OHWL |
| It's fantastic. I orginially had this recording years ago on a 33rpm record, and like a fool got rid of it. I got it as a replacement on a CD format and its the way I always remembered it. |
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| "Cash at his peak" | 2008-06-12 |
| - Reviewed By User: ANXKMLID645XC |
Cash is basically the only country artist that I like. The very fact that he sings about life and its hardships is very appealing to me. Running on the notion that his material is about the struggles of existence, it is only fitting that he would record an album within the walls of a tough state penitentiary.
Songs about life in prison (Folsom Prison Blues, I Got Stripes), the difficulties of life (Busted), and being free (Orange Blossom Special), are strong examples of how Cash expresses himself musically and how he can relate to the audience. In one sense, since the material on this album relates to the prisoners, it can be considered a concept album. A must have for everyone's musical library. |
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| "THE best" | 2008-05-29 |
| - Reviewed By User: A6AAUT0BISP63 |
| I have to say, I have come to realize this is one of my favorite albums of TIME tied with Houston Marchman's - Naked The Best of Houston Marchman. Both are soooo good and I can listen to their voices over and over again and never get tired. Houston Marchman is special in that his music is filled with soul, passion, and solid lyrics. He truley has THE best singing vioce I have ever heard in my entire life. You should check out the cd if you enjoy j CASH. Both have the best songs EVER! |
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| "Real Music!" | 2008-03-08 |
| - Reviewed By User: A3MAK3FNTYYLPF |
| My favorite is not at all country, but this is some of my favorite music. The spirit of a live Johhny Cash show in Folsom Prison is deffinetely felt through the music. If you want real country music, buy. |
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 "Johnny Cash "At Folsom Prison"" | 2008-03-03 |
| - Reviewed By User: A2BNZW46CKAV7O |
| I bought this CD for my 86 year old Mother, who lives with me. She loves Johnny Cash's singing. I also like listening to this CD. I was brought up on this kind of music. |
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| "I wasn't a fan going in, but I was coming out" | 2007-12-20 |
| - Reviewed By saintshade |
I've never been big on country music, so I was skeptical about this. All doubts had disappeared by track 4 or 5.
What a great album! The music holds up on its own, and while its technically simplistic and formulaic (the guitars are all palm-muted cross picking with a IV-I-IV-I bass line) there's a passion and energy to it that somehow rings true. Johnny also has a fantastic speaking voice, and his "singing" is more of a "melodic spoken word" that was especially effective.
On its own, I'd probably give this album 4 stars, but what pushes it into 5-star classic territory is the setting: live at Folsum Prison. It's certainly a surreal listening experience, hearing all those hardened cons cheering at the "wrong" moments and the warden making announcements between songs. Johnny has a great rapport with the audience, and the set list--all about jail, murder, etc.--clearly spoke to their hearts. It's hard not to get caught up in their enthusiasm.
If you own only one country album, this is the one to have. |
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| "JOHNNY CASH AT FOLSOM PRISON ! ( a legend and a classic)" | 2007-11-07 |
| - Reviewed By howlinblindmojo |
My oldest memories of Johnny Cash At Folsom Prison (1968) are as a kid, watching my dad and his buddies standing around our '65 Ford Galaxie 500 (390 cu.in./4 bbl.) talking shop, drinking Budweiser in cans, and listening to At Folsom Prison on the car's 8-track tape player. Those guys didn't really care much about The Beatles, The Stones, Woodstock, or Haight-Ashbury. They made an honest living, provided for their families, looked out for their neighbors, and LOVED Johnny Cash, though. I still think about those days and those hard working men when I listen to this album today. Most of those guys, including the legend who was providing the soundtrack, are dead now. The memories and the music still remain. At Folsom Prison is a great way to listen to Johnny Cash. He's in his element, right at home with this crowd, and he gives them the best he's got. His soon-to-be bride, June Carter (they were married a few months after this concert) makes an appearance to sing a duet with Johnny on their hit single, Jackson. Cash's long-time guitarist, Luther Perkins is in the band, and his brother Carl Perkins (Blue Suede Shoes) plays guitar on the album, too. And the famous Statler Brothers provide the backing vocals. The album's opener, Folsom Prison Blues, is obviously a popular song with California's Folsom Prison inmates, and the line, "I shot a man in Reno just to watch him die" gets an enthusiastic response. The album features several prison songs, such as Cocaine Blues, I Got Stripes, The Wall, and 25 Minutes To Go. Good choices for this appreciative audience, and you can feel the connection Johnny makes with them through his music. Dark As A Dungeon, I Still Miss Someone, and Lefty Frizell's haunting Long Black Veil slow things down, creating a somber and mournful mood. There are moments of fun and celebration with Orange Blossom Special, Dirty Old Egg Suckin' Dog, and Flushed From The Bathroom Of Your Heart. Johnny Cash is in top form on At Folsom Prison, and he tears through these songs with zeal and spirit. He's in a great mood, too, as he cracks a few jokes here and there. Appropriately, Johnny ends the show with Greystone Chapel, a song written by Glen Sherley, a Folsom Prison inmate doing life for armed robbery, and in the audience that night.
There's a Greystone chapel here at Folsom
A house of worship in this den of sin
You wouldn't think God had a place at Folsom
But He's saved the soul of many lost men
Johnny Cash At Folsom Prison is a great album, a real classic from an American legend. On January 13, 1968, that legend gave the inmates at Folsom State Prison a show they would never forget. |
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| "Extra Cash" | 2007-11-06 |
| - Reviewed By bucksmusic2 |
This magical recording of Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison is a warts and all live recording in front of several hundred plus prisoners in January 1968. The atmosphere is electric, with frequent shouts and spontaneous applause and whistles from the crowd. Even some of the official prison announcements are left in the recordings.
Highlights are many as Cash has chosen his set carefully with the audience in mind. So '25 minutes to go' (a reference to the electric chair), 'Cocaine Blues' and his own 'Fulsom Prison Blues' are all brilliant performances.
I first heard Johnny Cash through his later American recordings. These are great albums but on the last three or four his voice getting weaker after each album. The difference in his voice here is pretty startling and he puts it to great use.
The CD is very well packaged with interesting sleeve notes by Cash, written in 1999 and also by Steve Earle. There are also plenty of stills from the show itself. |
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| "Folsom liberates the soul" | 2007-09-15 |
| - Reviewed By User: A1C2A8BMQ4FXPW |
Johnny Cash's music has experienced a resurgence of sorts since the success of the biopic about his early music career. This is the album that made that film possible. Johnny Cash emerged from the mishmash of rockabilly acts---with its upright bass and rhythm guitar plinking out various 4/4 measures---to something real. The only reason this album isn't marked among the classic rock of the 60s has more to do with elitism and snobbery than music. Cash's soul here is reminiscent of his contemporary Ray Charles (ironically also benefiting from a resurgence via Hollywood). Neither figure fit neatly within the studio-produced need for compartmentalization; therefore, becoming marginalized not by a lack of talent but rather by a surplus of it.
This album is a must for any serious student of the musical legacy of the 60s. |
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| "Unique Live Show" | 2007-09-05 |
| - Reviewed By User: A3S89KHVZ9LGLZ |
This album has a different feel from most live recordings. Not only because of it's obvious convict crowd, but there's just a vibe that is hard to put into words. If you don't know Cash's material, you'll have a blast as each song unfolds and you get the prison relevance. If you DO know his material, you will appreciate the setlist and the variations he throws in.
The album flows well and the sound is excellent. I think it's great that in between songs you can hear inmates being paged for visitation, and Johnny is as lively as ever, talking with the crowd and even playing a song penned by someone locked up there in Folsom Prison.
The movie centered a lot around this concert, it was a cool thing to add depth and feel, and listening to the album can be a trip in itself. |
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