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Throughout his career, country legend Johnny Cash toured prisons across the U.S. and Europe, putting on concerts for the inmates. Eventually this led to the famous album Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison. But, shortly thereafter, Cash recorded the less prominent album Johnny Cash at San Quentin which has been collected in short form over the years but has now been collected along with a 1969 documentary.

The box set consists of two audio discs and one DVD containing the aforementioned documentary. The two disc audio set contains the entirety of The Man in Black’s concert, as well as opening / accompanying acts The Statler Brothers, Carl Perkins, and of course longtime Cash love June Carter and her group The Carter Family. Perkins opened the road act with an energetic, fast paced bluesy version of his most famous song, “Blue Suede Shoes” and then appears again later with “Restless” and plays guitar on “Daddy Sang Bass.” While Elvis Presley’s cover will always remain foremost in my mind because I heard it first, Perkins’ original holds a rootsy, earthy feel that Elvis couldn’t replicate. The Statler Brothers follow Perkins, singing “Flowers on the Wall,” which regained legs with the Pulp Fiction soundtrack in the mid-1990s. Unfortunately either the Brothers weren’t miked correctly or they weren’t close enough to the microphones, because lead singer Don Reid vastly overpowers the rest of the group and bass-vocalist Harold Reid’s signature bass line almost goes unheard. Country pioneers The Carter Family then follow with two songs in a row, led by June.

Finally, Johnny Cash emerges to open with “Big River” and follows through with twenty-two tunes throughout the concert, two of which are the mournful “San Quentin,” a follow-up to “Folsom Prison Blues,” which Cash debuts at the show to thundering cries and applause from the inmates. Reportedly the song almost caused a riot at the show because of lyrics like “San Quentin, may you rot in hell / May your walls fall and I live to tell,” though Cash defused the situation with a joke. The most famous of the songs to emerge from the walls of San Quentin, though, was the debut of “Boy Named Sue,” written by famed poet Shel Silverstein. After that song was recorded at San Quentin and released to the radio, it knocked the Rolling Stones off the top of the charts and it is most famous version that you can still hear on country stations today. Finally to close out the show, Cash brings everyone up on stage for three hymns and a rousing medley of several Cash classics. This was reportedly Cash’s first show fully sober and unfortunately his voice wasn’t ready, as you can hear him coughing, short of breath, altering his pitch and dropping octaves just to survive. But, what Cash lacks in vocal power, he makes up for in jokes and kinetic energy.

The Legacy Edition also packs in a fascinating documentary created by Granada TV for the BBC that focuses on the American prison system and features footage of Cash at San Quentin cut with amusing and disturbing interviews with self-deluding inmates and guards. While it’s fascinating to see the footage, the audio sounds like it came straight from the original reel. To properly understand the deep-baritone of the voice-over, you’ll need to turn up your speakers to fight the background hiss. It’s thanks to Granada, though, that we have the iconic image of Cash flipping off the camera when the crew got in his way and he asked them to move, but they kept getting between him and his audience.

Finally, the last piece of the set is a comprehensive, photo-fat liner book that has the story of Johnny Cash at San Quentin, an interview with Merle Haggard (who was an inmate at San Quentin at the time, sitting in the front row), pieces from singer Marty Stuart, a recount from June, and a piece from Cash himself written in 2000.

When the San Quentin album was recorded, Cash was already famous and had already cemented his place in history. But Johnny Cash at San Quentin is a mesmerizing glimpse into what made The Man in Black who he was: a man that played for the poor and the beaten down, for the prisoner who has long paid for his crime. 

Genre: Country
Sounds like: Johnny Cash having fun
Best songs: “San Quentin,” “Boy Named Sue,” “Orange Blossom Special”

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