Search - Johnny Cash - A Concert Behind Prison Walls (with Audio CD) on DVD

A Gorgeous Gem from Cash --and Ronstandt

Thomas P. Grommell | Brooklyn, NY | 03/12/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I watched this DVD in order to see and hear the great Johnny Cash. He absolutely does not disappoint. It's good to see him young and strong. He sings six songs, including " Sunday Morning Coming Down " and " Jacob Green " , and a raucous version of " Boy Named Sue " , not one of my favorite songs, but one that this audience absolutely loved.

This is a very high energy performance by Cash. He gives it all he's got. The empathy and respect that the Man in Black had for his fellow sinners is very evident; the disc is worth viewing for these songs alone.

But, for me, the performance by Linda Ronstadt was also wonderful. I had no idea that she was on this disc. This is a young and beautiful Linda Ronstadt, just on the verge of major superstardom. Her voice is just astonishing, and this performance ( "Desperado", " You're No Good ", " Love Has No Pride ", and " Silver Threads and Golden Needles " ) blows away the audience--and the DVD viewer.

As with all well-made concert videos, some of the best moments are the shots of the audience. They were clearly under orders not to move around --at all --, as they were right next to the artists. So there were no " standing ovations ". But you can tell how very much they loved this show, not just Johnny Cash and Linda Ronstadt, but also comedian Foster Brooks ( never saw him before, his slightly off-color humor went over fantastically with this audience! ).

Could have done without the Roy Clark segment, not sure that this was the best venue for him, talented musician that he is.

Overall, this is one of the best concert films I have ever seen. Highly recommended.



"

This is Not a Johnny Cash Concert

Fred Campbell | 10/01/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"By the picture on this DVD and the title you would think it's a full lenghth Johnny Cash video....but...most of this video is Linda (i stole Roy's musicians) Ronstadt, Roy Clark (which if you've never seen him before is quite a good banjo player, and Foster Brooks (i guess you have to be from another generation to get his humour).
Anyhow, the couple of numbers that Johnny Cash DOES play are really good...especially the Kris Kristofferson song "Saturday Morning Coming Down". Overall I would say buy this if you're a true country fan or if you wanna see a small glimpse of the man in Black."

Don't be fooled by the other reviews

Karl Anderson | Yorba Linda, CA USA | 06/23/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I don't know what some of these other reviewers were thinking. Biggest complaint being deceptive advertising. The DVD clearly states that their are other performers in the show, maybe they missed that, how I don't know. Another gripe was the sound was bad. If I could get more footage from this era that sounded as good it would be fortunate. The audio is very good, all the different instuments come through as well as the vocals and backing vocals all clear and very audble. This complaint is my favorite. One reviewer claimed Johnny Cash delivered a poor performance. Maybe he hasn't seen much footage of The Man In Black but I have and it's standard issue Johnny, soulful, heartfelt and he rocks. The only reason I didn't give it five stars is due to the standup act from "the Drunk", I feel it takes away from the actual concert as well as there performance time, but at least his act is fairly short. All in all I thought it was a great show. Cash delivers a great performance on all the songs, not to mention Carl Perkins smokin the guitar. It's impossible to say a bad word about Mr. Roy Clark, his performance alone is worth it, incredible guitar and banjo work as always. Who wouldn't want to watch Ronstadt in her prime belt a few out, I'm pretty sure the prisoners didn't mind"

Good perfoamance, but . . .

Fred Campbell | Salem, VA USA | 09/29/2003

(3 out of 5 stars)

"I love Johnny Cash's performance on this dvd. The problem is that the disc also contains lengthy segments from Linda Ronstadt, Foster Brooks, and Roy Clark -- great performers in their own right, but I didn't buy the dvd for their portion of the show. I bought it to see Johnny Cash. The title of the dvd, then, seems misleading to me. If you're looking for a full performance from Cash, this isn't it. The dvd cover also says that the disc runs for approximately 60 minutes. It runs 48 minutes."