The thirteenth and final track of Hamell on Trial's first album, Big as Life seems to be an attempt at reproducing one of Hamell's live performances, which tend to be a mix of song, spoken word, and random rants. What the listener gets is a snippet of Hamell covering Johnny Cash's "Folsom Prison Blues" (at one time described beautifully by a knifegirl writeup), introduced with the following self-conscious monologue about Cash's performance at Folsom Prison:

(quiet) Okey dokey, Smokey...

Then, at this stage of the game, I would, uh, try to bond the audience together... give my little schtick about... Johnny Cash. (strums)

So he... and I give this schtick about how, uh, he wanted to play a prison, and his record company executive was against it, and the producer was against it, and, uh, obviously the warden is gonna be against it, but they worked something out so he could play there... the governor owed him a favor or something, so he plays there, and I don't flatter myself to know anything about the politics of prison, but I would assume that the warden and the guards are figuring "Hey, how come these guys are getting a favor, this is, you know, they're getting a perk here, they're getting a benny... what's the deal, y'know, they don't deserve it, they're prisoners... so, there's a bit of, I would assume, resentment.

And, you know, this is, these guys are lifers, this isn't like, uh, county town where they failed to make some alimony payments, or y'know, screwed up on probation because of a DWI thing... these guys, they haven't cheered or laughed or nothing in ages... and 'stead of opening with "Long Black Veil" or something, he he cranks out this tune, he gets to the line "I shot a man in Reno/ Just to watch him die" and it's the genuine article, and they fuckin' go bananas:

yeeeeeeEEEEEE- HAH!

So, for those of you out there that feel the need, when I hit that point, give it hell, huh?

(guitar intro)

(sung:) I hear the train a'comin'
Comin round the bend
Ain't seen the sunshine since
I don't know when
But I'm stuck in Folsom Prison
Time keeps draggin' on
And I hear that lonesome whistle
I hang my head and moan.

When I was just a baby,
My mama told me, "Son,
"Always be a good boy,
Don't ever play with guns"
But I shot a man in Reno
Just to watch him die

Yeeeeee-HAH!


Have I mentioned I love Hamell's sense of history? This isn't an isolated example; a lot of his work is peppered with references to other artists who have deeply affected him in some way. But what's most intriguing to me about this and the other little snippets of monologue on his albums is how they give me a real sense of what Hamell's like at work in the studio: nervous and energetic without an audience's feedback, constantly fidgeting with his guitar and talking trash to anyone who'll listen.

Another Hamell version of "Folsom Prison Blues" is available on his 2002 live album, Ed's Not Dead --- Hamell Comes Alive. Again, it's the final track on the album (#16). The introductory patter is very similar to that on Big As Life, only less self-conscious because this time Ed's playing to a live audience for real instead of pretending for a recording, and the crowd does give forth with the requested "Yeeeee-HA!" --- and Hamell responds with a delighted, "I love that fucking part", and plays the entire song, instead of just the first two verses. It's great fun.

CST Approved