I Got Stripes/ Five Feet High and Rising

Well, here's one for the "you never know until you listen" philosophy of record collecting: The audio preserved within the grooves of your typical 45 rpm cannot be discerned with certainty by a visual inspection. A perfect-looking record can have damaged audio from only light play on inferior equipment. In this case, I approached Johnny Cash's 1959 single with low expectations. The vinyl (I'm pretty sure it's styrene) looks worn, with light surface wear, and both of these visual signals did not make me confident about the audio. So what a surprise and sheer delight to discover that somehow the audio in these grooves has managed to survive in its original, pristine state! It was also a learning experience for me, because I had previously known the B side, "Five Feet High...", and had assumed it was the A side. So, discovering another of Cash's prison songs, and realizing it had been the bigger hit, has also boosted this little black circle in my humble esteem. :-) Note: This copy comes in a vintage Columbia Records factory sleeve. The labels grade a weak Near Mint, with very minor imperfections that almost — but not quite — reduce their grade to a strong Excellent (see scan).