At Folsom Prison

I actually loved how soulful this album was. Light hearted but heart felt. And it was so easy to hear the sincerity in Johnny Cash’s resounding voice.

Nice to see Johnny having a laugh

(5/5) One of the only country music artists I like and one of the few albums by him I truly love. Cash was part of the 'outlaw' country scene and really believed in what he sang about. His (for the US) progressive politics also got him into some weird spaces in the industry. This album, for instance, is about as badass as it comes. Singing about cocaine and shooting your woman in front of a bunch of convicted murderers is arguably dangerous and undeniably brave. Cash was an advocate for the working man and the downtrodden, and that's why this gets a '5'. Plus, it's great music.

I liked! Certainly not my kind of music, but the songs he did play I liked and the interaction with the prisoners was really cool.

Fantastic. I’ve bumped this up a star for how humanising the little conversations are throughout it. Cash has such a brilliant voice and is such a gifted lyricist. The released tension from all the prisoners watching him is so gripping. Songs are just slightly too repetitive to warrant a 5

Awesome as always

The most epic of live albums

A soundtrack built for the audience. Great storytelling

Veldig kul historie

Always forget how much I like this album until I play it. Great music obviously, but the rough nature of it is what I really like. The laughs, the announcements, the start overs and words like hell and shit.

Repeat title

It's good. I try to give country a fair chance, but it's something I find very hard to enjoy. There were a few songs I did genuinely enjoy

That's incredible voice, I'm a bit doubting regarding the texts, cannot take them seriously now.

I liked it!

and the BONES are their MONEY, BONES means DOLLARS

Not only the best live album of all time, but also the best country album. Nothing else like it.

I mean duh. One of if not the best live album ever.

I can appreciate why Johnny Cash was such a sensation back in the day.

This album defined Johnny Cash. As a musician. As a legend.

this is great but real ones know på österåker is the superior 1

I usually stray away from live albums but this one is special. It's cool that he performed this at a prison and I was so happy when June showed up for Jackson. It's sad I'll never see Johnny live but this is the next best thing.

Johnny Cash is the crown jewel of old country, of country music in general frankly, and this, this is the crown jewel of his catelogue. It has everything from high-energy songs like “Folsom Prison Blues” and “Cocaine Blues,” to more melancholy songs like “Dark as the Dungeon” or “Give My Love To Rose.” It even has songs on the funnier side, such as “Flushed From the Bathroom of your Heart” and “Dirty Ol’ Egg-Suckin’ Dog.” I especially enjoy the songs performed with wife June Carter Cash; they add an even deeper level of universality to the recording. My favorite song on the album is “25 Minutes To Go,” which is a surprisingly harrowing song. This album is in every way a must-listen if you want to have a good sense of the influence and importance of Johnny Cash as an artist. 9.5/10 DOES IT BELONG ON THE LIST: YES REASON: impact, significance, quality

Dont like country but its Johnny Cash so

This is my first Cash and I'm smitten - charisma and empathy off the charts Truly the male equivalent of Dolly

It’s ok but it’s a life album…. Title tracks a good un

Might just be the only live album that matters

It may not be the first rock n roll record exactly, but it may as well be. My indie rock band (that probably wanted to be something less twee at times) used to sit out in the van before a show if there wasn’t a dressing room listening to this as our hype music, tossing back whiskey shots, absolutely on fire by the time we hit the stage to play to the other bands and 20 random people on a winter night in New Hampshire. “Hello, I’m Johnny Cash...” just the most bad ass intro.

not my kind of music

This is a remarkable album which perfectly documents an artist's ability to communicate with an audience - the crowd are as much a part of this performance as the band. The cheer in response to "just to watch him die" is so joyful and cathartic (apparently that line was cut from the single version of the song), that it's clear, from the wardens and prisoners - which side the man in black was on. Amazing stuff.

This is a special album. The sounds, the audience of prisoners, the whole sound and feel is unique. His voice is extraordinarily as well - the richness, the power, the empathy and the enjoyment. Not all the songs are out of the top drawer but it works all together as a piece and rolls along. I can’t think of another record that has so much humanity and feel for the outcasts and the outsiders.

not a country fan but I love Johnny Cash

egg sucking dog

I think it's very admirable that Johnny Cash did several performances at prisons, including this one. I didn't know that until now. Clearly his music really resonated with the inmates and it would've been a special experience for them. This is a cool moment to have captured in album form and I enjoy the music too. Simple blues and ballads sung in his lovely baritone.

I love that doing prison concerts helped revive Johnny Cash’s career. It was a cool hearing the inmates cheer for the more illegal things in his outlaw country. Still not a fan of country and the best song Johnny Cash has done is his NIN cover of Hurt.

Solid album

This has layers. Johnny Cash performing at a prison? Wardens making announcements, inmates cheering for some off the wall lyrics, on theme songs. Feels very America of the 60s, it oozes a certain vibe, which Im here for. At first the music didnt hook me in, but after a 2nd listen and a 2nd thought about the circumstances? Woah, suddenly Im really into it. This gives similar vibes to the Koln concert as far as live performances go. The two are nothing alike whatsoever, except for the fact that there's all these things and circumstances surrounding the performance itself which raises it to another level that no ordinary live performance or recorded album can obtain. Its a snapshot to a special moment in time that will never be able to be recreated. Making it a special listening experience if you were to imagine yourself in the room, the lead up to the performance, inmates whispering to eachother that Johnny fuckin Cash is coming to the Folsom prison to perform? Wardens and guards probably trying to weazle their way in to avoid responsibilities to see Johnny play live. Musically for me personally its like a 7.5/10, but with everything ive listed above this gets a 9/10.

Yeah, I absolutely can’t fault this. It’s rip-roaring in places, sad in places and tense in places. A unique and wonderful live album.

Perf for driving through the BC Rockies

Yeah this is great. The crowd is so unique. Doesn't always fit the mood but when it does it's amazing

It's a fuckin' classic, man. Let's focus on some of what makes this such a perfectly-executed concert instead of arguing for its essential-ness. If I'm honest, live albums seem to be polarizing by their nature, so you may have already made up your mind. It's fair to say this album may function as a sort of greatest hits collection, as much as anything, so you can make your own decision about how essential this is. This band (June Carter -- married to Cash two months before -- singing with him, Carl Perkins -- guitar legend in his own right, W.S. Holland on drums, Luther Perkins -- no relation? -- on a second guitar and Marshall Grant on bass guitar) is seasoned and tight. You'd be forgiven for not noticing that it contains three guitar players (including Cash, himself). The whole thing remains as rhythmically tight as the movement on a Swiss watch. Cash's charisma and his outlaw nature (swearing onstage in 1968 was transgressive, to say little of the content of his songs) are on full display. You can hear the crowd hanging from every word he sings. I've listened to this album a few times. Is it a must-listen, really? I guess if there's a thousand for us all to go through, maybe it's in the top thousand. Maybe not, though. It's certainly enjoyable and worth hearing Cash with a crowd but I don't think it will change your life or your perception of music. I'm calling it a 4/5 though; it's a solid listen.

This is great stuff. The crowd make it special with them booing certain wardens and cheering things Cash says. It has a real crackle to it. Special for the setting alone.

none of the songs are as good as the studio versions, but there is a very distinctive sense of place in this album which is distinct from most live albums

3.5

*would be a 2 except that I feel like it's historical or something, like it's live and there's something special about that

Undeniably one of the best live albums of all time.

4.5

funky :D personally always a little perturbed by live albums, but it was actually pretty good, bonus points for hearing the train a'comin

Absolutely wonderful, the energy brought me infinite joy throughout the whole performance

This probably the best live album I've ever heard. Cash is Cash and generally that's good, if a bit samey. But the audience, the little interjections, the fact he's singing about all these crimes and prison life to prisoners. Pure outlaw country stuff. 4 stars

Live albums can be hit or miss for me, but the energy and atmosphere really adds to this record. Rating: 3

i don't know if we really needed both Folsom Prison and San Quentin on this list but the charisma machine that is Johnny Cash really works in both cases. San Quentin just squeaked out an extra point.

Es Johnny Cash, siempre es buen escuchar algún album de él

awesome of course. love the crowd reactions lol

Folsom Prison Blues - 4.5/5 Dark as the Dungeon - 4/5 I Still Miss Someone - 4/5 Cocaine Blues - 4.5/5 25 Minutes to Go - 4/5 Orange Blossom Special - 4/5 The Long Black Veil - 4/5 Send a Picture of Mother - 3.5/5 The Wall - 3.5/5 Dirty Old Egg-Sucking Dog - 3.5/5 Flushed From the Bathroom of Your Heart - 4/5 Jackson - 4.5/5 Give My Love to Rose - 4/5 I Got Stripes - 4/5 Green, Green Grass of Home - 4/5 Greystone Chapel - 4/5 Probably the most interesting location for a live album and yet somehow Cash and his captive audience (literally) makes it work. The warden announcements in between songs. Cash bantering in between and during songs. An incredibly fitting album that deserves the praise it gets. It loses a star due to most of the songs sounding the same but I think that's a result of the genre itself and not indicative of Cash's ability. Overall: 4/5 Favorites: Folsom Prison Blues, Cocaine Blues, Jackson

The man, the myth, the legend, the album. Its impossible to judge this recording without its origin story and the reinforcing inspect it had in the image of the singer. Sung in prison, by a man who'd been there. with songs about crime and heartbreak for men who crime and heartbreak were life, its a perfect storm. Cash's strong voice, driving backing band and whip smart lyrics are here in force and thats what carries the actual music, along with the cheering as a rabble rousing accompanyment. I normally dont give live albums good reviews as they are just 'best of' albums with no through line but you can't take issue with this.

I loved this album, i heard it long ago and had it in repeat.

I'd go to prison if it meant getting to see this

Johnny sings songs about murder to a bunch of murders and it’s perfect. One of the albums on here that is already etched into my brain, but it’s the little moments that make it great. The dude who cheers during long black veil, Johnny’s endearing banter with the prisoners, playing songs written by the inmates are just a few of the elements that make this album kick the ass that it kicks. no else has come close to capturing a what JC (never put together the irony of his initials until now) accomplished at Folsom and no one ever will. To add to all of that and I say this without hyperbole, but I think cocaine blues is my all time favorite song at least of the murder variety. Strongest 5 I can give, greatest country album of all time. God bless Johnny “Jesus Christ” Cash.

A live album like no other. What makes *At Folsom Prison* so extraordinary is that the crowd itself is every bit as integral to the record as Johnny Cash. This isn't just a concert that happens to have been recorded inside a prison. The prison is practically another member of the band. The jeering for the officers. The clanking of locks and chains. The announcements over the PA system. The sheer banality of hearing some prisoner, Duffy, 4-5-6-7 or whatever, being summoned to report to this officer or that. All these little reminders that you're listening to a performance inside an actual functioning prison, surrounded by men who aren't going anywhere when the show ends. It creates an atmosphere that no studio recording, no matter how polished, could ever hope to replicate. And meanwhile, Johnny Cash is standing there, in the belly of the beast, gleefully sticking his thumb in the eye of the very authorities running the place. I know everybody loves to debate which band invented punk rock, which obscure garage record came first, or who was sneering at the establishment before the Sex Pistols and the Ramones. But I'm sorry, if this isn't punk rock, I don't know what is. The sheer contempt for authority, the law, the man, the system, the judges who put these guys away. Cash is practically spitting in their faces, right in front of them, while the prisoners cheer him on. And he's doing it with an acoustic guitar, a black suit, and that unmistakable baritone. No distortion pedals or safety pins required. Just pure, unadulterated defiance. And the beautiful thing is that none of it feels performative. Cash isn't playing some rebellious character for an audience of comfortable suburban teenagers. He's singing songs about murder, imprisonment, regret, injustice, and redemption to people who have actually lived those things. There's something incredibly powerful about that relationship between performer and audience. You can hear the mutual understanding, the appreciation, the sense that Cash is genuinely on their side. He isn't singing *at* these men. He's singing *for* them. And, of course, Cash himself is absolutely bringing his A game. The energy is tremendous. "Cocaine Blues" is practically feral, "Folsom Prison Blues" takes on an entirely different meaning in this setting, and "I Got Stripes" feels tailor-made for the occasion. The duets with June Carter are fantastic, injecting some warmth, humor, and genuine affection into an otherwise pretty grim environment. And then there are the heartbreaking moments, like "The Long Black Veil," where Cash reminds you that beneath all the swagger and outlaw mythology is a storyteller capable of absolutely devastating emotional sincerity. What I particularly love is the contrast between the music and the setting. One minute the crowd is roaring with laughter at some joke about shooting a man or disrespecting a judge, and the next there's a moment of genuine tenderness or sorrow. It's funny, irreverent, tragic, joyful, and deeply human, sometimes all within the same song. The prisoners aren't just background noise. Their reactions give the songs context, meaning, and an emotional weight that simply wouldn't exist anywhere else. There's a reason this album is historic. It captures something far bigger than a great musician giving a great performance. It's a document of a particular moment, a particular place, and a remarkable connection between an artist and an audience that society had largely written off. It's raw, imperfect, confrontational, and bursting with personality. Everything a great live album should be, and then some. And nearly sixty years later, it's still an absolute pleasure to experience. 8/10. Punk rock in a black suit.

The songs were fun, the banter with the crowd were fun. The whole thing was fun. If I have any criticism, it's that the lyrics are SO important that if you tune out you can miss part of the story. This music is a primary entertainment mechanism and it needs focus. It was hard to have it as background music. Which is a compliment, but narrows its use somewhat. Very very high 4.

Awesome live album! So real and interactive. Great experience!

Interactions with audience of inmates interspersed with warden announcements. I don't know if I disliked the voice cracks and mistakes or enjoyed how they captured the moment. I think the latter. What a wild snapshot in time.

Great live album. The best part is, of course, Johnny's interaction with the inmates. The songs are a little same-y, but performed with great gusto. "Flushed From The Bathroom of Your Heart" made me laugh out loud.

Wonderful in many ways.

Johnny ääni on aivan mahtava ja tämä live oli hyvä. Oon kuunnellut tätä aiemminkin.

wow i've been sleeping on johnny cash. is this what they mean by country music used to be good? haha even my review is turning into country music slander. anyways they should record more albums in prison. this is so fun

pretty good live album, even with the jarring coke references

I enjoyed this one a lot, a departure from the type of thing i usually listen to for sure. The audience was as much a part of the performance as the music itself was which dad a very interesting dynamic musically.

Two live albums recorded at prisons, this is the first one so I guess the other one was the gimmick trying to repeat the magic. And then from the wiki he apparently did two more! Should have known when to stop. Cash has an aura that's prevalent here, it sort of transcends the music and makes things more interesting than they are. The songs otherwise aren't really my thing, sort of country rock. So good one listen album I think. 3.5.

Imagine James Blunt going to Strangeways. Definitely the most interesting prison recording I've heard - even including the San Quentin one. Folsom Prison Blues, I Still Miss Someone, 25 Minutes To Go, The Wall, and Give My Love To Rose were the best tracks, and the one about the egg sucking dog is hilarious. Very rare that music makes one laugh. This is truly an incredible recording, he sounds brilliant. I love you can sometimes hear him breathing, and the whole bit about having some water. He has real character, and that comes across in his singing. Outlaw country. One of a kind. At his pre-Highwaymen best - even among them, he stands apart.

So are we only going to have 2 Johnny Cash albums on the list, both of which are live from prisons? 3 and a half years since the Sam Quentin one! I preferred this one, was really good. Folsom prison blues is the highlight but lots of it is very good. Feels so genuine too, which it is! I always moan about live albums being on the list, but this one is actually interesting and has something about it besides just being a recording of a gig Cocaine blues, I still miss someone and the wall all very good At least 4, probably 4.5

First, listen to this album way back in the early 70s. I have always loved Johnny Cash

Not my cup of tea, but it is still good

Genuinely perfect. It has everything.

maybe the goat live album, at least one where the format is actually very meaningful

Ah, maybe it's because I just heard the other one.

Great presence. Love the live atmosphere and the storytelling.

It must be hard to be stuck in a prism

I can understand why this is a culturally important album, but it didn't really do much for me. Perhaps I need to give it another chance or two, but at the moment, it's a three for me.

Well, that's a classic!

I loved this. I love a live album at the best of times, but this one was excellent. Great singing and storytelling interwoven with live ad libs.

Great LP, I recently played it.

Classic

It has a very good mood.

Why am I so attracted to his voice?

Starting off with the rebel-rousing Folsom Prison Blues and carrying on with the beautiful Dark as the Dungeon is inspired. Johnny manages seamlessly to intersperse prison songs with songs of longing even throwing in some gallows humour to boot; with highlights such as telling the inmates not to use profanity, as they are recording the concert, while happily swearing himself. His voice is as ever hard and beautiful, you can hear how these honest songs were so appreciated by this select audience.

The live at San Quentin album was better, I think. There were better songs on that one, alongside more banter and more moments of unique realism/interaction between artist and audience. I think this one was looked at by Cash and his team, analyzed and then perfected on San Quentin. For that reason I am giving this album a 3. I enjoyed it, but I think the other is so great that there's no way to highly rate this one.

What's not to love. It's Johnny Cash performing at a prison.

01) Folsom Prison Blues - 10,0 02) Dark as the Dungeon - 8,0 03) I Still Miss Someone - 9,0 04) Cocaine Blues - 9,0 05) 25 Minutes to Go - 9,0 06) Orange Blossom Special - 9,0 07) The Long Black Veil - 8,5 08) Send a Picture of Mother - 9,0 09) The Wall - 8,5 10) Dirty Old Egg-Suckin' Dog - 8,0 11) Flushed from the Bathroom of Your Heart - 8,5 12) Jackson - 10,0 13) Give My Love to Rose - 9,0 14) I Got Stripes - 9,0 15) Green, Green Grass of Home - 10,0 16) Greystone Chapel - 9,0 TOTAL: 8,97 (90/100) Current ranking: 93/1036

What a weird concept for a performance and an album. I mean he already has the song so I guess it wasn’t too much of a leap to think about him playing at the prison but was that really where his career was at right then. Like playing murder ballads to a captive audience was the best he could manage? Pretty PR stunt-y if you ask me. Also hearing the reaction of a bunch of convicts to the material really didn’t improve what was already morally questionable. The songs revel in violence, random and motivated, towards women, strangers, prisoners, and just about anyone who gets in his way, and to hear a group of people incarcerated for the same and worse cheer ecstatically when he “shot a man in Reno just to watch him die” is just too ironic for me. Regardless of the lyrical content of the songs, stylistically they so homogenous that I wondered how the musicians could even keep one shuffle beat honky tonk song straight from another. Oh yeah and then he broke out a “harmonicy”. No thanks.

I’m not into country, but this is my favorite country album.

Excited for this. It’s kind of a famous album and moment but I’ve never actually listened to it. Johnny Cash is a legend that seems to transcend genre. He’s a country rock star but also an icon, and this live album is one of the reasons why. What a banger of an opening. “Hello, I’m Johnny Cash” to a roar. And right into Folsom Prison Blues. Crowd eating it up. He’s having fun commenting on the crowd and laughing during the second song. Love the crowd reactions to certain songs. Cocaine Blues is great. What a perfect collection of songs for a prison crowd. This is legitimately great. It’s all country folk with dark themes and prison related songs. Love whenever he interacts with the crowd. This version of Jackson too is unbelievable. I think the context, the songs, and the reactions make this a perfect live album. The performance is great in the setting too. This feels like a clear 5 from me. Great album.

Strålende album

Great live performance from the man In black

YEEEHAWWW

peak entertainment and kinda sad which then became full on sad. all in an enjoyable way

so cool

Again, awesome. I preferred the San Quentin album, though. Rating: 7.7

Really not a fan of live albums.

One of the best by one of the best. Sometimes the "live" aspect of live albums can be lead to underproduction and distration, but this is one of the few where it adds to the depth and story of the work, and his song choices and delivery really leans into it to create an experience like none before or since. And the fact that it has one of my favorite album covers of all time doesn't hurt. A pure 5/5 with no skips and a mandatory replay.