Personnel: Johnny Cash (vocals, guitar); Carter Family (vocals, guitar); Carl Perkins (vocals, electric guitar); June Carter Cash, The Statler Brothers (vocals); Bob Wootton (electric guitar); Marshall Grant (bass instrument); W.S. Holland (drums).

While the 2000 edition of this classic Johnny Cash performance, AT SAN QUENTIN (THE COMPLETE 1969 CONCERT), led listeners to believe that it presented the show in its entirety, this comprehensive two-CD/one-DVD reissue set proves that notion to be not quite true. Boasting a total of 31 tracks, the audio discs feature all of the songs from SAN QUENTIN's previous incarnations, most notably the country icon's definitive reading of the witty Shel Silverstein tune "A Boy Named Sue," but it also makes room for additional Cash numbers, including the fierce "Blistered," and tunes by other members of Cash's traveling show, such as Carl Perkins (a rollicking version of his own "Blue Suede Shoes") and the Statler Brothers (the upbeat "Flowers on the Wall"). The DVD documentary focuses on both Cash and his venue of choice, making this version of SAN QUENTIN ideal for aficionados of the Man in Black.

One of country music's unequivocal stars, Johnny Cash retained respect for the travails of the audience elevating him to that position. Recorded live at one of America's most notorious prisons, this album displays an empathy bereft of condescension and captures a performer combining charisma with natural ease. The material is balanced between established favorites and new material including "Wanted Man" (an unrecorded Bob Dylan song), and the lighthearted hit "A Boy Named Sue." It was not the first time Cash had recorded in a penal institution, but this appearance, at a time when American values were vociferously questioned, suggested the artist's rebelliousness had not dimmed.

Entertainment Weekly (p.97) - "[Cash was] all but inciting riots with his rockers and incendiary remarks, then calming the captives with hymns." -- Grade: A

Q (p.126) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "[A] gruff, no-frills performer with a voice like a bag of rusty nails scattering noisily over his career highlights."

CMJ (6/19/00, p.32) - "...This beefed-up landmark release reissue contains nearly an album's worth of extra material..."

Dirty Linen (p.56) - "[I]t is certainly the stuff of legend, and this expanded edition brings the drama and excitement of that evening back to life."