At San Quentin
Johnny Cash
1969
Album Summary
Johnny Cash at San Quentin is the 31st overall album and second live album by American singer-songwriter Johnny Cash, recorded live at San Quentin State Prison on February 24, 1969, and released on June 16 of that same year. The concert was filmed by Granada Television, produced and directed by Michael Darlow. The album was the second in Cash's conceptual series of live prison albums that also included At Folsom Prison (1968), På Österåker (1973), and A Concert Behind Prison Walls (1976). The album was certified gold on August 12, 1969, platinum and double platinum on November 21, 1986, and triple platinum on March 27, 2003, by the RIAA. The album was nominated for a number of Grammy Awards, including Album of the Year and won Best Male Country Vocal Performance for "A Boy Named Sue." There have been several releases with different songs and set order. The album cover photo by Jim Marshall is considered to be an iconic image of Cash, with Marshall Grant's Epiphone Newport bass guitar famously silhouetted in the foreground.
WikipediaI mean, if the songs don’t do it for you then there’s still an entire comedy act in between them all.
Well, that's just a damn good album. Cash can be hit and miss for me but this was 100% a hit. Every track perfect and powerful. Even more so knowing his audience for this one. Just damn good. His reputation is earned. Elvis be damned. Cash is King.
On the face of it, the music is quite rudimentary. The atmosphere, though, is absolutely electric, and Cash sounds like he's having the time of his life. Incredible, we won't hear anything like this again
I have a T- shirt from this concert - a shirt with the photo of him giving the finger to the filming crew during the show since they were blocking the audience's view. I have ultimate respect for Johnny doing the series of concerts at jails. He was likely the only person of substance who gave respect to inmates who he didn't know. Before "Don't Know Where I'm Bound" Johnny says that an inmate wrote that song and gave it to him the day before. Johnny played the song and gave the inmate songwriting credit. Respect. Zeppelin and others could learn from him. San Quentin is a powerful song about the problems with the prison system. Of course the inmates loved it. Johnny was able to give the hard message about the prison system while being careful not to blame the particular prison or disrespecting the guards. It's hilarious how Johnny mentions to the crowd that he might play "Boy Named Sue" and gets no reaction. I guess this concert is when he first recorded it so the audience had no clue. Great idea to release the live version of this single since the audience reaction hearing it the first time adds a special dimension. Johnny would know that the prison audience would relate more to this song than other audiences since a substantially higher portion of prisoners are raised without their fathers. Many headline artists get musicians who have independent careers to play with them on tour. Most, however, don't let them sing their own songs. Johnny not only had Carl Perkins, Statler Brothers and Carter Family sing their own songs, but also left the stage so as not to distract the audience. Johnny still did this with his bandmates when I saw him in the early 90s. When I saw him he also brought his reverend on stage and said anyone who was having problems with life could talk with him afterwards. He also introduced his reverend at San Quentin after "Outside Looking In". The medley to end the show is amazing. Johnny lets the others on stage sing the final songs. June singing the first verse of Folsom is the highlight. As much as I complain about drum solos, I quite like the quick solo in the medley. The show ends with Johnny giving a shout out to the prisoners who, probably for safety or disciplinary reasons, couldn't leave their cells to watch the show. I give the album a 4 based on the music but +1 for the respect he shows everyone (well, perhaps not the filming crew but to everyone else.)
Been way too long since I listened to this; I just love how loose and joyful it is. Interesting to listen now as I've been thinking more about prison abolition, decriminalization, etc. over the past few years. Johnny Cash was pretty damn radical and badass.
Great albums transport you, this album transports you to a time and place like almost no other. Great tracks, great vibe, a true classic deserving of this list.
so cool — the cheer after “San Quentin, I hate you through and through”, JC singing “Peace in the Valley” to violent criminals, and the introduction of “A Boy Named Sue”.
Great album already liked Johnny Cash. I did not like the bleep sound they used. My distaste for censoring in songs aside, it's an awful sound
Johnny Cash comes out swinging with a raucous album of outlaw country. Where ‘Live at Folsom Prison’ took a more contemplative tone, this album was high energy throughout. An absolutely exhilarating show
The second album in Cash's "prison albums". This concert may be slightly overshadowed by the great "At Folsom Prison", but it's still great nonetheless. Cash is such a natural performer, his rapport with the audience makes you feel like he was a prisoner himself. Oh, wait, he was! They don't call it "outlaw country" for nothing, eh? He puts on a damn good show. You'll hear mention of Cash speaking of the cameras from the UK telling him what to do. Those very cameras would capture the famous image of Cash giving us the middle finger. You can tell, in that little bit of trivia, that Cash is a performer of the people. He doesn't care about the cameras, he cares about the people in front of him. It's a great measure of showmanship. There are natural highlights on the album: I Walk The Line and A Boy Name Sue are some of his best performances of all time. Even the lowlights are worth hearing too, especially the audience banter. This leads him to play the song "San Quentin" twice in a row, which is awesome. Yeah, this is an all-timer.
What are the odds our group would get this album the day after we listened to Cash Live at Folsom Prison!? I'm trying not to let the fact we just heard Cash live from a prison affect my rating. It feels strange to have two live albums from Cash here, but I think they represent different things. Live at Folsom helped revitalize his career, and Live at San Quentin feels like a continuation of that success as his fame grew - British TV filming him, Cash still actin' gruff and wanting to perform for locked up men. Also where his famous middle finger photo was from! || I'd say both Cash live albums deserve to be on this list, as strange as it seems, because of how different they are! This one in particular is great to hear the crowdwork chat and some of the other acts.
The Godfather Part II of live prison albums. The Man In Black sings a few too many slow, depressing tunes in front of his captive Folsom audience. This album is more of a party. Be sure to listen to the Legacy Edition, which includes many more songs, since Johnny not only brought June Carter to San Quentin, but the freaking Statler Brothers and Carl Perkins as well. Johnny must have liked the inmates at San Quentin more than the ones stuck in Folsom Prison.
The man in his pomp! Not entirely sure why we needed live in San Quentin and live in Folsom in the same list though!
There's no question that this album is powerful, and the fact that he played at a prison, and the interaction with the audience of prisoners is beyond remarkable. HOWEVER, Johnny Cash released 97 albums in his career, 3 of which are on this list. Did 2 of the 3 need to be live albums from prisons?
Conceptually, I like the idea of this record. Musically, not as much. Not a Cash or country music fan. All of these songs sound the same to my ears. All I can picture when I hear these songs are those old time-y teeter-totter railroad car things. You know what I’m talking about? Two people stand on this small railroad “car” thing with a teeter totter bar and they take turns pushing the bar down to make the car move forward on the tracks…oompah, oompah, oompah…up and down, over and over. It can be quite maddening. If that’s your thing, more power to you…it ain’t for me. I’ll say this, though. Johnny Cash was pretty funny with his stage banter.
Pretty incredible to have this many talented folks playing in a prison. What a party!! I gotta give this a 10/5
This album made a fan of me. It was such a crazy thing to hear live. Possibly the best live album I've ever heard.
This live album shows how Cash connects with the people he performs for on their level. He was cool, funny, rebellious to authority figures and genuine. This was played at a penitentiary and the prisoners were clearly having such a good time.
I dont normally like live albums and it took me a minute to get the right version of this one. I know all these songs and I think the live versions were the originals I heard. So I agree with this album being on the list.
Cool Dude. Incredible "album" because of the context in itself, but songs obviously awesome too
Couldn't stop smiling the whole way through. Fun, funny, and a worthy sequel to Folsom Prison.
Loved the country type vibe. Really refreshing. Hilarious commentary too.
Another good Cash in Prison album. “A Boy Named Sue” was a childhood favorite.
Look, it's not At Folsom Prison, but if this doesn't embody what it means or what it meant to be country (because country is a rotting corpse now), then I don't know what does. It's brilliant in its anti prison industrial complex premise. It's brilliant in its support of the working class. In Johnny's iconic simplicity. In his silver tongue. The crowd is happy and you're happy because there's nothing to complain about. A classic, through and through. Also features one of my first and favorite Cash songs of all time, a story of a drunken bar fight with your dead beat dad who named you "Sue".
Johnny Cash and live recordings are two things I've never really listened to much before, but I think I might be changing that. An all-round great album. You can really feel the humanity of it.
This album just oozes atmosphere, I usually hate 'live' albums but there's something special about this particular one that I can not only forgive it but revel in it. Only drawback is the censoring beeps.
The prison’s antennas quit after seeing the reception Cash gets from the inmates. Loved the interaction with the crowd and him stirring them and the guards up.
A great showman, you can feel the great atmosphere. Love the funny little bits between songs I’ve heard hundreds of times.
I'll admit I was surprised to see this over his album at Folsom Prison, but after listening to it for the first time, I get why it's included (though I hope they're both on this list somewhere). Incredible energy from Cash and the audience alike. Plus, Cash's laid back attitude with regards to people telling him what to do is hilarious. I have massive respect for Cash for his series of prison performances. Just an outstanding, fun album.
I always just love Johnny with all my heart and he never fails. So great hearing him chat with the prisoners and just fuck around. San Quentin is solid and ofc a lil Folsom prison blues to close out. Wish I could’ve been alive to see him irl 😫
I knew this would be somewhere in the list. Not as absolutely 200% fucking classic as Folsom Prison, but compared to so many albums on here this still deserves full marks and then some. 5/5.
The TV recording is off the scale brilliant. https://youtu.be/PSLsfwTbo4Q
What a fantastic album. Johnny Cash sounds particularly motivated on this album and he really seems empathetic to the audience who of course feed off of his empathy and his energy. Johnny Cash at his absolute best 5 🌟
IMO this is one of the best live albums of modern music. The dynamic with him bantering with the inmates is so uniquely strange, energetic, tense, and yet somehow he is comfortable (naive?) enough to invite his wife, June Carter on stage to sing with him for a song. I think the setlist is fantastic, the performance is fantastic, and I think this album is fantastic. It's not only fitting for this list but also is an easy 5/5 for me.
As long as I can remember, Mr. Cash has been one of the few exceptions to my "I don't listen to country music on purpose" mantra. His voice is smooth, the stories are interesting, and his delivery is captivating. I'm familiar with most of the songs, but to hear them live like this brings new life to them. I am shocked he nearly incited a dang riot with the "San Quentin" song!
This has it all. An iconic performance, social commentary, humour, audience interaction. And of course, some great songs. Not least San Quentin, penned for the occasion. But in some ways the high point for me is the tender duet, accompanied by the under-rated Carl Perkins, on Darling Companion. You can hear the warmth, both on and off stage. An all time classic.
I was never much of Cash's target audience, but hearing (and seeing) him play in front of dozens of inmates was a powerful experience. Going to jump to At Folsom Prison real soon too.
I do have to be in the right mood for live albums, but when I am this one is a solid 5.
This is one of the greatest live albums ever made. What Cash did in this album to a higher degree than I have ever heard is that he spoke to the prisoners from *their* point of view as peers. Listen to the humor, the politeness, and the anti-authoritarian comments. And the crowd responds incredibly because it was so rare for anyone to treat them this way. I've listened to this album scores of times over my life. It is one of the greatest examples of artistic empathy I know. I love Johnny Cash and I definitely love this album. I bet a lot of those guys were seeing June Carter on the back of their eyelids as they fell asleep that night. Worth going to prison for to see this performance? Maybe.
Phenomenal album. I have personally never listened to Johnny Cash, and I am glad this was my first listen. I love the banter between Cash and the prisoners, hearing the overwhelming cheering and booing really adds to the listening experience. 'San Quentin' and 'A Boy Named Sue' are magical. I would definitely listen to this again.
always wanted to get into johnny cash but never actually listened. good stuff i liked it quite a bit. shall listen to more of him
The atmosphere is amazing, I really enjoyed it. I didn't think live albums are for me, but this proved me wrong
Ultra sympathischer Mann. Sehr hohe Qualität und sehr gute Atmosphäre. Hammer!
Amazing album. Possibly the greatest live album ever and what a genius. Love this always
yep, already know johnny cash, his songs, and his personality -- damn, what a badass. best country artist in history. one of the most badass live album ever to date, along with at folsom prison. music is great. sound is great. ambiance is also great -- the conversations with the prisoners add to the feel. it makes me feel i'm within the san quentin prison, vibing with cash and everyone within the prison. damn, what a feeling. (but, i still think that at folsom prison is better.) rip johnny cash, the man in black forever. 10/10 (maybe from 9 to a 10, could be an 8) -- 9/23/2022
This was a blast. I don't know if I have ever listened to a whole Johnny Cash record before and I'm happy I did.. such a fun discovery through this.
Excellent album, great slice of cantankerous rebel music history. Love the hooting prison guys throughout. The cheek and humour. Showmanship. The songs are excellent too. Johnny Cash at his most extraordinary. Wonderful
I don't like it as much as Folsom Prison, but I think the stage banter might be better. Seems a little more like a raw concert. Still excellent. I listened to the later release of the Full Concert (which still isn't the *full* concert) which has more songs than the original and I think it works better.
Great album, classic Cash. Not the best recording but it almost adds to the experience. Would be amazing to find an un-bleeped version. Does it exist?
It's Johnny Cash singing in prison, of course you need to listen to it. Not as good as Folsom Prison but it does have Boy Named Sue. Probably a 4.5 album but given my love for the Man in Black I'm rounding up to a 5.
Along with live at Folsom this is the perfect introduction to the Man in Black