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11/08/2013

SUPER SONG SUNDAY // JOHNNY CASH Folsom Prison Blues

Last night I was searching for a DVD to watch and I found a film that has been in the house for years but I had yet to watch. It was the Johnny Cash biopic Walk The Line. I have no idea why it took me so long to watch it but waaaaaw, it was worth the wait. What an epic film and what about that Joaquin Pheonix - he was incredible! Such an amazing actor who had an uncanny resemblance to Cash. I don't think I need to comment on how amazing the soundtrack was because after all it was about a musical legend's life. I have always loved Cash's music but having watched the Oscar winning film it gives you more insight in to what he went through before he made it big and even while he was quickly becoming one of the world's most celebrated rock 'n' roll artists.

Post-film watching I turned on Cash's immensely popular album Live at Folsom Prison (it even outsold the Beatles!) and what a treat. Every song is spectacular but what makes it stand out more than any other album is that you can hear the prisoners shouting from the back of the room and Cash's funny replies. You can imagine all these prisoners who were doing time for crimes such as murder, just forgetting about their lives for a moment by immersing themselves in Cash's majestic, grim and often funny lyrics. It just shows the power of music and the power of Johnny Cash - to go against the grain of the electrification of music by sticking to his own roots, his acoustic guitar and by playing the music so many, including thousands of prisoners, related to. One of the greatest and most influential artists of all time.


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