Live albums are made that much better by the little bits, pieces and blips that occur. At Folsom Prison is probably the most notorious, and one of the best. Having the great Carl Perkins open up this double LP as an opening act for Johnny Cash does that much more for the live album system than any introduction could do. Cheering from the crowd, well-timed set pieces and the planning that goes into that are all included before Cash has even hit the stage. Listeners are warmed up the same way those in Folsom Prison were, and it adds a surprising layer of quality to an already tremendous record. This is an important record, not just for the quality of live music recordings, but for Cash and the trajectory of his career.
Infamous and rightly opening the set, Folsom Prison Blues, right in the birthplace of its namesake, is given an outing like no other. Perhaps the standard of quality that each live album must aspire to, regardless of genre, is the quality, dictation and phenomenon of that title track. Within Dark as a Dungeon are the first of a few homely blips, they do not throw the record, they just give it that layer of live articulation and improvisation. Strong cheers and cries for Cocaine Blues layer on that outlaw image Cash managed to create by appealing to the down-on-their-luck, ruthless prisoner types. But his tracks had far broader appeal than that impression would give them. 25 Minutes has always been a great highlight, the wry laughs muffled by the intensity of the acoustic-driven brilliance.
Much of At Folsom Prison is sheer brilliance. Cash responds to the cries and cheers of the crowd, the oddities that applaud the wrong bits. It is, genuinely, like being right there. Unable to see Cash and company on stage of course, but a great example of how live albums can transport the listener to the gig it captures, even if the performers are gone. That sombre brilliance is founded well on The Long Black Veil and continues onto the second of the two records, a well-rounded selection of tracks featuring June Carter appear there. Give My Love to Rose marks an incredible duet from the pair. There are highs and then there is perfection. Cash hopped back and forth between the two, with only
Ever the comeback kid, Cash creates yet another barn-storming album, and does so in intense surroundings. Relying on the vagrants inside that he had managed to have his image associated with adds a presumed layer of rebellion to At Folsom Prison. An unusual album, more so for the setting and atmosphere it created, but Cash adapts so well that he comes out the other end with one of the finest recordings out there, live, studio or otherwise. At Folsom Prison has that quality to it, to the point of encapsulating the essence of Cash’s work, eclipsing that of his studio work at the time and rightfully finding itself often listed as one of the all-time essential albums. Cash transcends the genre, the time and the place, with this album of hits, trick and live magic.
