Saturday 5 December 2009

At San Quentin

Next CD, Friday nights drive to Oxfordshire was the Johnny Cash album, At San Quentin. This is the 2000 reissue of the 1969 album. The previous year saw Cash perform at Folsom, but this is a record of his concert to prisoners and wardens at California's San Quentin Prison.
San Quentin has hosted as inmates Merle Haggard and Art Pepper within its walls but this was quite a unique concert really. Cash had always wanted to do a concert for prisoners and this started at Folsom prison at continued here at San Quentin.
This was recorded for Granada TV and he refers to this in his between song dialogue, a later deluxe edition of this disc contains the entire concert and a DVD of that concert.
This album contains more than a few highpoints for me, the stand out track is I Still Miss Someone, not a massively well known song, it should be, hopefully Youtube will have a recording of this but if not please do seek it out for a listen.
Cash is backed, vocally by The Statler Brothers but also by the gorgeous voice of June Carter Cash. And its her contribution to the song (There'll Be) Peace in the Valley, a beautiful song. Utterly gorgeous.
Outside of these you get on the whole Cash staples such as I Walk The Line, Folsom Prison Blues, Daddy Sang Bass as well as A Boy Named Sue.
The other tracks on this disc are the intriguing for me, such as the song San Quentin, it went down so well that he plays it twice in a row.
Unsure if this album is better than his Folsom album, I will know next week I think. Either way, superb. 10 out of 10.



San Quentin by Johnny Cash

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