Originally released in 1960, Ride This Train is not, as one might think, a collection of songs about trains, but Johnny Cash's first true concept album. Here Cash presents himself as a kind of modern troubadour, travelling by train across America and telling a story about the people who live at each place the train stops. "Loading Coal", for example, is the story of a Kentucky miner, while "Slow Rider" tells of a murderous outlaw and saddle tramp.
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