Johnny Cash - American V: A Hundred Highways
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Free Music Notes for American V: A Hundred Highways
Free Music Review: The Art That Defines the Man
Hit: 5 Stars
I think its a tad insulting to insinuate that people give this album five stars out of some kind of obligation to Johnny Cash as opposed to its actual merrit. I also am a little incenced with critics who say that this album is not a fitting introduction to Johnny Cash as opposed his earlier works. That Johnny Cash didn't make this album and there is no single album or collection of songs to introduce one to the many men that were Johnny Cash. Instead of criticisizng this album for what it isn't, critique it for what it is.
This is an album about death. If you live in Austin you might have been lucky enough to catch a 2 hour special about Cash on KGSR in which he spoke with wonder and awe about Jimmie Rodgers recording TB Blues, which was recorded in a session where Rodgers had to lie down between takes because he was so weak. Anyone who has heard the recordings will understand why Cash remembered them 50 years later and why they have stayed in existance for a country fan like myself to have heard them despite being born 40 years after his death. This record is Johnny Cash's TB Blues--an often painful, powerful, at times uncomfortable full face foward look at death. Does he struggle with his voice, occassionally missing notes, yes, but then again he always did and that is part of living when you are dying.
This is not an album for the feint of heart. There are tracks which will leave you crying and some that will leave you trembling. Its not an album that is easy to take all at once and is often best enjoyed in small doses. But it is a fitting legacy of art and honesty to a man who made it his life's work to give us both.
Free Music Review: A Perfect Album
Hit: 5 Stars
I'll preface this review by saying I'm not a die-hard fan of Johnny Cash's music. I am, though, intrigued by his pop culture status as the man in black, the bad-boy who got religion. The hymn-singing Cash interested me much less than the bad-boy, so for years I lost interest.
I bought this album because I knew it was his last and I wondered if he had something to tell me. Indeed he did; this album is a perfect blend of the 3-R's that became his trademark: regret, religion, and redemption. The difference, for me, between this album and what I remembered about his previous ones, is the authenticity of emotion carried in his voice. (I didn't realize he really WAS making quietly affecting albums for years as part of the "American" series.)
Scratched, broken, and tired, Cash's voice conveys vulnerability, even as he sings "God's Gonna Cut You Down," a song presenting his maker as being as vengeful as the ancient warrior-God, Yahweh. In contrast is "Love's Been Good to Me," a song that can come off as syrupy sweet and infinitely corney--except not here. "I have walked alone," Cash sings, and you believe it, and not only that, you understand that we all do. I even believe it when he says the girl he once knew could "laugh away the dark clouds, cry away the snow."
In fact, the black and white of that image describes this album, a perfect amalgamation of darkness and light, of regret and forgiveness, of loving life and being willing to let it go.
I'll be buying all the "American" albums, now. I'm sorry it's taken me so long to rediscover Johnny Cash.
Free Music Review: I Already Miss Someone
Hit: 5 Stars
The first breath taken as this album begins leaves the listener (in this case, it was me, just moments after purchasing it July 4th) wishing there could be more...more of the man, more of his remarkable voice. More songs, more pain and redemption, and yes, forgiveness.
This album is at times somber, other times joyful. Somber because you realize that you are listening to a man who (at the time of the recordings) was just a short while away from leaving us (a man who, before leaving, had a few more things to say to us). It is joyful though, in that Johnny still reaches out to his audience, asks us to pull up a chair and listen. His voice is notably weaker than in previous recordings, but that's ok. He sounds like a loving Grandpa, sitting there, singing his songs.
Once again, as in the case of the other American records, there are cover songs that immediately become Cash songs. Gordon Lightfoot's haunting "If You Could Read My Mind" allows Johnny to play with powerful images, and we can feel his pain at having to say goodbye: "...In a castle dark, or a fortress strong, with chains around my feet, you know that ghost is me..."
Two songs especially stand out in my mind, as they both brought me to tears: "On The Evening Train" (track #6 on the cd) and "I Came to Believe" (track #7). Both songs capture Johnny Cash at his best: raw and exposed, sharing so totally of himself--- he is open, vulnerable, hurting, honestly searching, and hopeful. If only there were more artists, more men who could be so sensitive. If only there were still more Johnny Cash.
Free Music Review: What else can be said?
Hit: 5 Stars
I'll admit, there isn't much else to say that hasn't already been said in all these reviews of this wonderful album. Yes it's a titan's last breath, yes it's a masterpiece, and yes it is an excellent way for Cash to ride off into the sunset. At first I didn't want this album to come out, simply because I thought his last album ending with "We'll Meet Again" was an incredibly touching way to end his career. With all the unreleased material on "Unearthed," I was curious just what was left over for American V. Little did I know of the high quality material Cash recorded in the short time period between his wifes death and his own.
This album is touching, heartbreaking, emotional, and outstanding. Some of these songs like "Rose of my Heart" and "If You Could Read My Mind" just break your heart. This album is much better than American IV. His voice sounds better, the music is better, the songs are much better. The feeling is there. It's John's last statement to us all. Where American IV had a lot of recognizable covers that just didn't live up, here he is back at recording songs that mean a lot to him. Out of a desire to share his renditions with us, not out of a desire to get fans of Nine Inch Nails, Depeche Mode, Sting, the Beatles, and Simon & Garfunkel to buy his album.
Every song on this album is strong and moving. From "Legend in my Time" to "Like the 309" to "God's Gonna Cut You Down" to "I Came to Believe." It is an excellent way to end an amazing career. God Bless you Johnny and thank you for all the music you've given the world.
Free Music Review: Not The Last American Album, but a Heartfelt Farewell
Hit: 5 Stars
I walked into a record store this week, and heard this new Johnny Cash album on the soundsystem. Some idiot was talking to a cashier, asking incredulously how a guy like Cash got his career. It's not always about technical virtuosity, my friend.
Listen to this record -- really listen to it, and you will find a beautiful, heartfelt record made by someone who knew he was near the end (and sounds like it), but had some last things to say. Johnny Cash's greatness didn't lie in breathtaking guitar skill, or a several octave voice. He was a great storyteller and interpreter of songs. He sang with conviction and empathy, and you believed him - whether he wrote the song himself or not. When his voice was strong, it was as commanding as anyone's. When it was vulnerable, it was heartbreaking.
This album is as good as any of the American material I've heard. (Most of the album is non-stop highlights, but 'If You Could Read My Mind', '4 Strong Winds', and 'I'm Free From the Chain Gang Now' are particularly unforgettable.) I've been playing this disc constantly since I bought it 3 days ago, and I can't get it out of my head. Johnny's voice is weaker but haunting; his persona still spellbinding. An appropriate farewell to a brilliant artist and American icon. Thank you Johnny Cash and Rick Rubin.