'Live At Folsom Prison'

Listening to Johnny Cash's live records from prisons, I always wondered what a treat that was for the guys in lock up. Really, it's probably more of a privilege than they actually deserve. To see one of the stalwarts of early rock and roll and country and western while you're wearing a prison uniform. I bet those dudes never even thought twice about how lucky they were. 

Although a neat concept, this album is just some sort of fantasy play for Cash as he attempted to paint himself as some sort of outlaw. It's my one gripe about Cash, the simple boy from backwoods Arkansas  that grew up singing gospel songs to his mother is suddenly a pill-popping badass, who is singing songs  about killing his cheating wife, snorting cocaine and counting down his minutes to his meeting at the gallows. 

Cash was a big phony baloney, in actuality. He was a small insecure man, who was probably incapable of having any kind of real human compatibility or useful relationships. He wasn't Elvis, Jerry Lee Lewis or any of those other guys and he knew it. And he tried everything he could to make up for that. 

Live At Folsom Prison was actually a comeback record for Cash. It was his 27th EP. Strung out on drugs, his popularity waned in the 1960s. He got (somewhat) clean and a change in leadership at Columbia Records prompted him to approach several California prisons to record live. 

Just glad he was able to go inside to keep up his image.