We made a few ground rules when coming up with our upcoming “Best Albums of 2006″ list. No double disc sets. No cover tunes. No B-Side releases. While Johnny Cash’s album was comprised mostly of covers, he deserves his own category for this past year.
American V: A Hundred Highways was the final chapter in the spellbinding life of one of the most influential musicians of all time. His final song, “Like the 309,” was his farewell; a song about the train that will take his coffin away.
I grew up listening to Cash, Willie Nelson, and Waylon Jennings. Some of my earliest memories were of long roadtrips with the family around America’s heartland, listening to the Man in Black, one of his country cohorts, or all of them together on The Highwaymen. I’m sure my emotional attachment to Cash and his music give the album more effect than it would the passive listener, but American V strikes a nerve. It’s downright chilling at times.
Kudos to Rick Rubin for toning down his treatment of the work. Although noticeably weakened in these recordings, Rubin still kept Cash’s voice where it belonged. Front and center. The heart and soul of the album.
Johnny Cash – “God’s Gonna Cut You Down” Video
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Guaranteed to be one of the most personal albums you’ll experience. Cash had a way to connect with the listener that you almost felt like each song was written for you and you alone, as if he was trying to impart some knowledge upon you.
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