Prison Bound took almost half a decade to materialize, with the initial attempt to record and release the follow-up to ''Mommy's Little Monster'' dating back to 1984. The album was shelved for a few years, and it would not be re-recorded and completed until 1987, following frontman
Mike Ness' recovery from drug addiction and Social Distortion's signing to then-
independent Restless/
Enigma Records. Unlike many of the band's albums, no singles were released for this album, but the title track "Prison Bound" received some heavy rotation from commercial radio stations (particularly
KROQ-FM), and the song's success attracted attention from major labels, including
Epic Records, to whom Social Distortion would sign in 1989. The first track, "It's the Law", is a remake of "Justice for All", which appeared on the 1981 compilation album
The Future Looks Bright (and later on the 1995 compilation album
Mainliner: Wreckage from the Past). It also contains a cover version of "Backstreet Girl", originally recorded by
the Rolling Stones. The album's title track references Johnny Cash's "
I Walk the Line". ==Reception==