Author: Michael Darling
On Feb. 23, the final installment of recordings by the legendary Johnny Cash hit the shelves. In 1994, Johnny Cash teamed up with noted hip-hop and hard rock producer Rick Rubin to release an album of bare bones songs entitled “American Recordings.” These stripped-down records, devoid of heavy instrumentals and frills, featured Cash singing original songs and covers of both classic and contemporary hits, including Hank Williams’ “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry,” Neil Diamond’s “Solitary Man” and Cash’s now legendary rendition of Nine Inch Nails’ “Hurt.”
Before the debut of these “American Recordings,” Cash had been on the verge of self-parody. He released songs like “The Chicken in Black” and worked with producers who sought to place his voice in barber shop arrangements, but Rubin helped Cash retain his dignity. The “American Recordings” were the first in a series of collaborations with Rubin that rejuvenated Cash’s career. By teaming up with Rubin, Cash found a partner who respected the country music legend’s wishes to return to his original intimate, minimalist style.
“American VI” is the sixth entry in the “American Recordings” series. Prior to his death in 2003, Cash recorded two albums worth of new material for this series. The first of these posthumous records, “American V: A Hundred Highways,” came out in 2006, and Cash’s final album, “American VI: Ain’t No Grave,” was released last week.
This final record in Cash’s discography finds the “Man in Black” with mortality on his mind. The album begins with foreboding music as Cash declares that there “ain’t no grave that can hold my body down.” The sole guest artists on this final album are indie folk duo the Avett Brothers, who add menacing banjo and sounds of dragging chains to this opening track, “Ain’t No Grave.”
Cash’s voice is often frail on this record, but he remains defiant. For most of the record, Cash reminisces and references previous works, filling the album with nine cover songs and one original tune. His cover of Kris Kristofferson’s “For The Good Times” taps into the album’s central theme: coming to terms with life and preparing for whatever might come next. Amidst an album of covers, Cash’s lone original song also borrows from the past, taking its theme from a Bible verse. The waltz-like song entitled “I Corinthians 15:55” begins by quoting the referenced verse, asking, “Oh death, where is thy sting?” As the song continues, Cash begs for forgiveness in death.
On the cover of Sheryl Crow’s “Redemption Day,” Cash bemoans the destruction and war he sees around him. The song’s dark lyrics are echoed in the notes played by keyboard player Benmont Tench. The mood of this song is repeated in the album’s penultimate track, a cover of Ed Curdy’s anti-war standard “Last Night I Had the Strangest Dream.” Although the lyrics speak dreamfully of a hopeful world without war, the music is mournful. This melancholic dream of utopia segues perfectly into Cash’s final song.Throughout the “American Recordings” series, Cash has selected a wide range of songs to perform, including Civil War era Negro spirituals, Irish folk songs, jazz standards, vaudeville songs and even a Depeche Mode cover. Although this record is almost strictly the work of country songwriters, Cash branches out for the last song on his final album.
The record, and Cash’s career, close with Hawaiian Queen Lili’uokalani’s famous farewell song “Aloha Oe.” As he sings the song, Cash seems at ease with all that has come before and all that might lay ahead. Although Cash knows he is nearing the end of his life, one cannot help but feel that he means it when he sings his last lyric, “until we meet again.”
“American VI” is not Cash’s greatest record, nor is it the best in the “American Recordings” series. However, it is a fitting farewell for a legend of American music. These albums paint a picture of a renowned performer returning to the basics of the singer and the song. This final record tells the tale of Cash as he confronts death and looks back on his life. “American VI” is not a record just for country music fans. This, and the rest of the series, is a record for anyone who enjoys the purity of song.
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