David Allan Coe - Penitentiary Blues

David Allan Coe is one of the outlaw country artists who actually was an outlaw. And while serving time in one correctional facility after another, Coe wrote the songs on this disc. They were recorded in Nashville after Coe's release, while he was peddling songs on Music Row and trying to get people to listen to him. Long out of print, Coe's 1970 debut is back, and every bit as good now as it was then.

When folks describe "the Outlaws" of country music, they're usually talking about a group of great artists who actually never did time. David Allan Coe was a real outlaw, a singer/songwriter who came out of a long period of serving consecutive sentences to finally break down the barriers of Nashville's prejudices and somehow manage to secure a number of big hits, for himself and others (including writing the Johnny Paycheck blue-collar anthem, "Take This Job and Shove It"). But this was his first album, a 1970 concept work which is more dripping Mississippi blues than it is really country, a rich little collection of songs which amply demonstrate Coe's brilliance as both a singer and songwriter.

One of the neat things about the original album art, very faithfully represented, is the back of the album is shown as it was then, side one and side two. The only difference is the change of the original label logo to the new label; and a new copyright stamp, of course. But it's kinda cool to see how the album was laid out, and where you had to turn the record over.

The original production has been remastered by Randy Perry for HackTone Records, and it sounds really good. The whole album is a terrific play, with no clear singles standing out (which is where Coe and Nashville often butted heads). David Allan Coe has gone on to be one of the legendary country performers. This was how he started. It's good to have it back out of solitary again.