Categories : Country + Western, Music Reviews.
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Rating: 4/5 Released: July 4, 2006 Reviewer: David Coats |
In his final months, Johnny Cash, grieving the passing of beloved wife June and struggling with his own health, made a point of recording whenever he felt well enough. After Cash’s own death, with his vocal tracks finished, producer Rick Rubin and a cast of supporting musicians completed what became American V. The most sobering thing about the record is that it doesn’t just bring a career to a close – it brings a life to a close, as well. But therein lies the most endearing thing about it – this is evidence that Cash’s music and life were indispensable without the other.
American V follows the same format as previous volumes, featuring acoustic interpretations of legendary songs, along with a smattering of Cash originals, including the final song the Man In Black ever wrote, ‘Like the 309′, which gratefully carries a blues swagger, accompanying his fearless lyric “Put me and my box on the 309.†The highlight is Cash’s rendition of Bruce Springsteen’s ‘Further On Up the Road’; Rubin’s production is especially strong here, as he oversees a song rich in musical subtlety, especially through the use of harmonium and flute. Likewise, the use of cello adds new depth to ‘Help Me’ (originally recorded by Cash on his Gospel Road project in the 1970s), and the stomp-and-clap percussion of ‘God’s Gonna Cut You Down’ makes it satisfyingly communal. Cash’s voice grew ever more inconsistent in his final months; while delivering a stirring rendition of ‘On The Evening Train’, he has difficulty carrying the melody of Gordon Lightfoot’s ‘If You Could Read My Mind’. Nonetheless, give Cash credit for always singing like he had something to prove. The only real misstep is ‘A Legend In My Time’, which is unnecessarily and contradictorily self-deprecating.
American V does nothing that other volumes in the series didn’t do; but in capturing and reconciling the brilliant and the flawed with a unique awareness, dignity, and humility, it will remain a celebration of story, song, love, life, and spirit.
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