Seminal Recordings From 2 Country Icons

Johnny Cash’s “Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison” and Willie Nelson’s “Stardust” are among five signature country albums that have been re-released by Sony’s Legacy division as part of its new “American Heritage” series.

The albums were both recorded in California, but in vastly different settings--ones that helped shape their respective characters.

Cash’s album was recorded live behind the walls of the Northern California prison in 1968, and the album reflects the drama of the occasion. Nelson’s album was recorded a decade later in the sedate surroundings of a Los Angeles-area home owned by Emmylou Harris, and it conveys an appropriately dreamy, relaxed quality.

Both CDs, however, are landmark country works.

The other three “Heritage” albums--Merle Haggard’s “Big City,” Marty Robbins’ “Gunfighter Ballads and Trail Songs” and Tammy Wynette’s “Stand by Your Man”--contain important individual tracks, but most listeners would probably be better served by greatest-hits packages by the artists.

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**** Johnny Cash, “Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison,” Columbia/Legacy. Cash already was a giant, artistically, in country music when he headed to Folsom to record this album. But after such late-’50s and early-’60s pop and country hits as “I Walk the Line” and “Ring of Fire,” he had gone through some hard times personally, and his career was in something of a low spell. So he needed to reestablish himself in the marketplace.

Rather than seeing the concert as a clever way to attract attention, however, Cash was driven chiefly by his own creative instincts when he went to Folsom. In fact, some industry observers thought a live prison album would be a mistake, possibly causing a backlash among conservative country-music fans.

But Cash always had shown a strong sense of creative independence. Instead of sticking to a commercial, honky-tonk style, he made folk-minded concept albums in the early ‘60s and recorded such socially conscious tunes as “The Ballad of Ira Hayes.”

As it turned out, “Folsom” was both a great album and a commercial smash. It spent two years on the pop charts, selling more than 2 million copies. The album’s version of “Folsom Prison Blues,” a song that had been a hit in 1956 for Cash, went to No. 1 on the country charts.

Contrary to widespread belief, Cash had never served time in prison. But he had gone through lots of personal problems, including a battle with drugs, and he identified strongly with the Folsom inmates. That helped him put together a set list that seemed to connect perfectly with the prisoners, with its humor, defiance, heartache and longing.

In the most dramatic moment, Cash announced that he was going to sing a song actually written by one of the inmates--a song that had been given to him the night before: Glen Sherley’s “Greystone Chapel.”

The album was such a success that Cash did a sequel the following year at another California prison. “Johnny Cash at San Quentin” was also a hit, thanks in part to the success of “A Boy Named Sue.” Of the two albums, however, “Folsom” is the more satisfying work.

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*** 1/2 Willie Nelson, “Stardust,” Columbia/Legacy. Nelson’s mid-’70s concept albums “Phases and Stages” and “Red-Headed Stranger” better define his overall artistic vision, but this tasteful set of pop standards illustrates why Nelson is a great pop singer in addition to being a great country singer. His strong vocal command and winning instincts for phrasing put him far closer in spirit to Frank Sinatra than many of the pop singers associated over the years with Sinatra have come.

Besides the title tune, the 4-million-selling album includes such classic numbers as “Georgia on My Mind” and “Someone to Watch Over Me.” Unfortunately, the reissue’s bonus tracks--”Scarlet Ribbons” and “I Can See Clearly Now”--don’t quite fit the spirit of the album.

Albums are rated on a scale of one star (poor), two stars (fair), three stars (good) and four stars (excellent).