When Johnny Cash passed away in September of 2003, I was moved emotionally and physically cried. I've mourned when some of my musical heroes had passed away before. But, when Johnny passed, it reminded me that my own Dad was getting older and some day he will not be with in this world much longer.
I thought about my earliest memory of hearing Johnny Cash and it was his 1969-1971 TV show on ABC. He was very iconic in my memory. He would wear his guitar slung on his back(in the shadows), he would turn around and say "Hi There, I'm Johnny Cash!".....Wow! simple yet etched in my memory.
I remember standing at the fireplace with a small plastic guitar and pretending I was some kind of junior Johnny Cash! This is why I have stated before that I consider Johnny Cash to be my musical father.
The original San Quentin Album only contained 10 tracks. About 3 years ago, I bought the remastered copy with 18 tracks. This was part of Columbia Records American Milestone series. By the time I had bought this, the current digital age was in full swing. I ripped the CD to my computer and synched it to my MP3 player. Put the headphones in and started off on a Sunday afternoon walk with my dog-Piper.
The performance on this seems very intimate by the band and by Johnny himself.
You feel Johnny's genuine compassion and camaraderie for the prisoners at San Quentin. There is no barrier between performer and audience. He makes the audience feel like he's one of them. He jokes with the men and he jokes with his band. He's professional but yet amiable.
He plays his hits for the men including Folsom Prison Blues, Ring of Fire and pays tribute to Bob Dylan with the song Wanted Man. This is also the performance that he debuted the Shel Silverstein tune Boy Named Sue. He also shares his spiritual and Christian beliefs and travels with the inmates with Gospel tunes -He turned the Water into wine and Daddy Sang bass. This performance also feature great performances from his backing musicians which include June Carter, the Carter Family, Carl Perkins, the Statler Brothers along with Johnny's band-the Tennessee Three. The remastered version brings out the talents of his entire ensemble from the harmony vocals of the Statlers to the drumming of WS Holland.
The remastered version has a great bunch of liner notes about recollections of this concert including behind the scenes pictures. This is truly a great live recording from an American original and music ICON.
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