Hard songs for hard men doing hard time. Johnny Cash never was one to flinch in the face of adversity, never one to say no to a difficult task, never one to hide from the truth, regardless of how tough that truth may be. So, when he went into San Quinte

Thousands of words have been written about this album, and none of them has been able to capture the essence of this performance, and these words won't do that either. These are just words, and like Frank Zappa said, "Writing about music is like dancing about arcitechure". So there's no way I can adequately describe the power of the performance on this album.

Johnny Cash always performed with a certain intensity that was beyond what most performers could muster on the best of nights, and when he was "ON", look out! This show was Johnny Cash on an "ON" night. Tearing through his repertoire and delivering standout versions of his hits like Big River, I Still Miss Someone, Folsom Prison Blues, Ring of Fire, and I Walk The Line as well as timeless renditions of some of his lesser known songs like San Quentin (which was written for this performance), Starkville City Jail, Wanted Man, and A Boy Named Sue (which went on to become a hit), Cash brought a little light into the darkest of places, bringing hope and joy to those who had no hope and hadn't known joy in way too long.

For one night, the darkness which enveloped the men who were locked up at San Quentin was absorbed by one man who then turned the darkness into light and the light back into dark. There was only one Johnny Cash.