Johnny Cash – At Folsom Prison (2LP, 45RPM, Ultra Analog)
ORDER LIMITED TO ONE ITEM PER CUSTOMER
Vocals, guitar, harmonica – Johnny Cash [click here to see more vinyl featuring Johnny Cash]
Vocals – June Carter
Backing vocals – The Carter Family, The Statler Brothers
Bass – Marshall Grant
Drums – W.S. Holland
Electric guitar – Carl Perkins, Luther Perkins
Written by Johnny Cash (A1, A3, B4, D1-3), Merle Travis (A2), Roy Cash (A3), T.J Arnall (A4), Shel Silverstein (B1), Ervin T. Rouse (B2), Danny Dill (B3), Marijohn Wilkin (B3), Harlan Howard (C1), Jack Clement (C2-3), Gaby Rodgers (C4), Billy Edd Wheeler (D1), Charlie Williams (D2), June Carter Cash (D3), Glen Sherley (D4), G. Sherley (D4)
2 LPs, gatefold jacket
Limited numbered edition
Original analog Master tape : YES
Ultra Analog
Heavy Press : 180g
Record color : black
Speed : 45 RPM
Size : 12”
Stereo
Live
Record Press : unspecified
Label : MOFI
Original Label : Columbia
Recorded January 13, 1968 at Folsom State Prison, Folsom, California
Engineered by Bob Breault, Bill Britain
Produced by Bob Johnston
Mastered from 1/4" / 15 IPS Analog Copy to DSD 256 to Analog Console to Lathe
Liner Notes by Johnny Cash
Photography Jim Marshall
Originally released in May 1968
Reissued in 2024
Tracks:
Side A:
- Folsom Prison Blues
- Dark as the Dungeon
- I Still Miss Someone
- Cocaine Blues
Side B:
- 25 Minutes to Go
- Orange Blossom Special
- The Long Black Veil
- Send a Picture of Mother
Side C:
- The Wall
- Dirty Old Egg-Suckin' Dog
- Flushed from the Bathroom of Your Heart
- Jackson
Side D:
- Give My Love to Rose
- I Got Stripes
- Green, Green Grass of Home
- Greystone Chapel
Awards:
Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums of All Time - Ranked 164 / 500
Reviews :
"Folsom Prison looms large in Johnny Cash's legacy, providing the setting for perhaps his definitive song and the location for his definitive album, At Folsom Prison. The ideal blend of mythmaking and gritty reality, At Folsom Prison is the moment when Cash turned into the towering Man in Black, a haunted troubadour singing songs of crime, conflicted conscience, and jail. Surely, this dark outlaw stance wasn't a contrivance but it was an exaggeration, with Cash creating this image by tailoring his set list to his audience of prisoners, filling up the set with tales of murder and imprisonment -- a bid for common ground with the convicts, but also a sly way to suggest that maybe Cash really did shoot a man in Reno just to watch him die. Given the cloud of death that hangs over the songs on At Folsom Prison, there's a temptation to think of it as a gothic, gloomy affair or perhaps a repository of rage, but what's striking about Cash's performance is that he never romanticizes either the crime or the criminals: if anything, he underplays the seriousness with his matter-of-fact ballad delivery or how he throws out wry jokes. Cash is relating to the prisoners and he's entertaining them too, singing "Cocaine Blues" like a bastard on the run, turning a death sentence into literal gallows humor on "25 Minutes to Go," playing "I Got Stripes" as if it were a badge of pride. Never before had his music seemed so vigorous as it does here, nor had he tied together his humor, gravity, and spirituality in one record. In every sense, it was a breakthrough, but more than that, At Folsom Prison is the quintessential Johnny Cash album, the place where his legend burns bright and eternal." AllMusic Review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine.
Ultra Analog™ : The GAIN 2 Ultra Analog™ Series stems from the use of the Gain 2 system, mastered at half speed from the original master tapes where possible, capturing and uncovering as before undiscovered sonic information.
Ratings :
AllMusic : 5 / 5 ; Rolling Stone : 4 / 5 ; Rolling Stone Album Guide : 5 / 5 ; Discogs : 4.4 / 5 ; Pitchfork : 9.7 / 10 ; PopMatters : 10 / 10