Johnny Cash
American V: A Hundred Highways
(Universal)
Goosebumps appear while listening to the first track, “Help Me,” and don’t vanish until the last note of Cash’s final album, recorded while Cash was nearing his death and published posthumously. As producer Rick Rubin points out, you can hear the uneven strength of Cash’s voice—feel his good days and bad. A gorgeous, raw ode to love, pain and faith by a man reconciling the end of his life, the mostly cover album’s power is boosted by thoughtful track selection. Try to keep it together during Lightfoot’s “If You Could Read My Mind,” where you can actually hear The Man in Black choke on the contemplative power of the lyrics.
—Sue Carter Flinn
This article appears in Dec 6-12, 2007.
