Out-of-print Coe album to see new release

Photo by: Curtis Weaver

David Allan Coe’s long-lost debut Penitentiary Blues will become the first release from the Shout! Factory/HackTone imprint on Aug. 23.

While serving his eighth consecutive stretch in prison, Coe wrote the record that includes “Cell #33,” “Oh Warden” and “Death Row.”

The album will be packaged in a digipak replicating the die-cut gatefold of the original LP, which featured a photo of Coe behind bars that lifted away when the front cover was opened. Inside the package will be two booklets: The first will include a new essay from Grammy-winning historian Colin Escott and a new introduction handwritten by Coe himself.

The second booklet, “David Allan Coe’s Guide To Surviving In (And Out) Of Prison,” is a 20-page guide excerpted from Coe’s out-of-print book, Ex-Convict.

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