Johnny Cash – At San Quentin [Stereo] (Speakers Corner Edition)

(AAA) — Lacquers cut from an analog tape copy by Maarten De Boer at Emil Berliner Studios.

(Note: Although advertised as “made from the original, analogue mastertapes,” this edition is almost certainly cut from a copy tape that was sent to Europe and used to cut the original European pressings and then stored afterward in Europe. By this point, Sony had stopped sending out original analog master tapes anywhere other than Sterling Sound (back when Sterling was still based in New York City).)

Johnny Cash was a country legend even during his lifetime, although, or perhaps because, he was very different from the numerous country singers with checkered shirts. When performing he chose to wear black as a symbol of solidarity with the oppressed and those who had no rights. His chosen outlaw image was just as convincing as the train-like boom-tiddy-boom sound of his rhythm group who lent their typical sound to many of his 500 songs. At the very zenith of his career, Cash (who himself had committed a few minor offenses) had the idea of singing and playing for the bad guys behind the prison walls for nothing. Initially his suggestion to market the live recording was rejected, but finally his record company decided to release the album At Folsom Prison. Fired by the success of his jailhouse recording, Columbia Records released At San Quentin shortly afterwards. The recording, in which Cash and his combo were frequently applauded more or less at the end of each verse, exceeded all expectations. Today it is still considered by Cash fans to be the best live recording by the "man in black.'

(Above description from AcousticSounds.com)