The Collection: At Folsom Prison/At San Quentin/America (2004)

About this title: This Columbia boxed set of Johnny Cash's two prison albums (At Folsom Prison and At San Quentin) paired with his 1972 album, America: A 200-Year Salute in Story and Song, sort of makes sense -- the albums all come from the same period, and while the prison recordings are not really patriotic in the classic sense, they speak volumes about the American situation. Unfortunately, Folsom and San Quentin sound a little redundant when played back-to-back, and, well, America is just not a very good album. Some of the songs on the two live albums overlap, and jumping from the ragged, tense cellblock ... read more

Tracks:

1. Folsom Prison Blues [Cash]
2. Busted [Howard]
3. Dark as the Dungeon [Travis]
4. I Still Miss Someone [Cash]
5. Cocaine Blues [Arnall]
6. 25 Minutes to Go [Silverstein]
7. Orange Blossom Special [Rouse]
8. The Long Black Veil [Dill/Wilkin]
9. Send a Picture of Mother [Cash]
10. The Wall [Howard/Howard]
11. Dirty Old Egg Sucking Dog [Clement]
12. Flushed from the Bathroom of Your Heart [Clement]
13. Joe Bean [Freeman/Pober]
14. Jackson [Lieber/Rodgers/Whee]
15. Give My Love to Rose [Cash]
16. I Got Stripes [Cash/Williams]
17. The Legend of John Henry's Hammer [Cash/Cash]
18. Green, Green Grass of Home [Putman]
19. Greystone Chapel [Sherley]
20. Big River [Cash]
21. I Still Miss Someone [Cash]
22. Wreck of the Old '97 [Blake/Cash/Johnson]
23. I Walk the Line [Cash]
24. Darlin' Companion [Sebastian]
25. I Don't Know Where I'm Bound [Cuttie]
26. Starkville City Jail [Cash]
27. San Quentin [Cash]
28. San Quentin [Cash]
29. Wanted Man [Dylan]
30. A Boy Named Sue [Silverstein]
31. Peace in the Valley [Dorsey]
32. Folsom Prison Blues [Cash]
33. Ring of Fire [Cash/Kilgore]
34. He Turned the Water Into Wine [Cash]
35. Daddy Sang Bass [Perkins]
36. The Old Account Was Settled Long Ago [Dalton]
37. Closing Medley: Folsom Prison Blues/I Walk the Line/Ring of ... [Cash/Cash/Fenady/Ki]
38. Opening Dialogue [Cash]
39. Paul Revere [Tubb]
40. Begin West Movement [Cash]
41. The Road to Kaintuck [Cash]
42. To the Shining Mountains [Cash]
43. The Battle of New Orleans [Driftwood]
44. Southwestward [Cash]
45. Remember the Alamo [Bowers]
46. Opening the West [Cash]
47. Lorena [Williams]
48. The Gettysburg Address [Lincoln]
49. The West [Cash]
50. Big Foot [Cash]
51. Like a Young Colt [Cash]
52. Mister Garfield [Elliott]
53. A Proud Land [Cash]
54. The Big Battle [Cash]
55. On Wheels and Wings [Cash]
56. Come Take a Trip in My Airship [Cash]
57. Reaching for the Stars [Cash]
58. There Are My People [Cash]

Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is further described below.