American VI: Ain't No Grave

Starting in 1993, Johnny Cash collaborated with producer Rick Rubin on a series of American Recordings/Lost Highway albums. Rubin carefully overviewed the sessions and captured Cash's warm baritone voice - by now older but still full of punch - in mostly simple settings on "American Recordings". This first recording presented Cash as a hip elder of country, folk and rock at the age of 62. The album brought him back in the US album charts and also earned him a Grammy for "Best Contemporary Folk Album".

Subsequent albums ("Unchained" - 1996) and "Solitary Man" (1990) introduced additional musicians without any overproduction. "American IV: The Man Comes Around" and "American V" (the latter being recorded in 2002-2003 but only released in 2006 with overdubs). These two albums were a lot starker given Cash's worsening health and the death of his wife. A 5-CD set titled "Unearthed" was released in 2003. The first three CD's include unissued songs and alternate takes of previously issued ones. The fourth CD is a marvellous set of old country gospel songs which was also issued separately as "My Mother's Hymn Book" (2004). This CD featured songs that he learned whilst still quite young and which had a tremendous influence on him. The fifth CD of the box set is merely a selection of tracks from the previously released albums.

It is, of course, very significant that - in the course of the whole recording process - Cash would tackle material that one would not normally have expected to hear covered by him. Think of his covers of tunes from writers such as his ex-stepson Nick Lowe, the Blood Junkie's Glenn Danzig, Tom Waits, Josh Haden, Beck, Bonnie "Prince" Billy, U2, Nick Cave, Sound Garden, Nine Inch Nails, Neil Young, Lynne/Petty, Bruce Springsteen, Gordon Lightfoot, Rod McKuen, the Beatles... well you name them. Whilst tracks like those from Beck and Soundgarden failed to move me at all, some of the less likely interpretations proved to be real gems, as in the case of - say - Trent Reznor's "Hurt" (which became a hit single), Neil Diamond's "Solitary Man" or Martin Gore's "Personal Jesus". Besides, the obscure songs and country ballads interpreted here sound really as heartfelt as Cash's own compositions. Actually these nine CD's of new material could be viewed as a monument to Johnny Cash's genius.

It should be noted that Cash and Rubin recorded a whole lot more tracks that could fit on the aforementioned CD's. So, now, comes the release of "VI: Ain't No Grave" which is designed to be released on what would be Cash 78th birthday. It is the tenth instalment in the series of recordings (that is still susceptible to grow larger in the future).

"American VI" is very similar in mood to "American V". As on "American V", Cash sings in a cracked, whispered drawl. Every note sounds like it has been required quite an effort on the singer's part. This is, of course, not really a problem in itself. On this deeply intimate statement, Johnny Cash looks back on his eventful life as if he was standing at the end of the line (as he actually was!) I am happy to be able to enjoy versions of songs like "For the Good Times" (from Cash's close friend Kris Kristofferson) and of Tom Paxton's "Can't Help but Wonder Where I'm Bound". They are truly on a par with the best songs that were issued on the earlier albums. Sheryl Crow's song - "Redemption Day" - gets a haunting treatment. The beautiful and, at the same time, desperate mood of the song is something that only Cash could interpret in such a definitive way. The versions of Bob Nolan's "Cool Water" (made famous by the Sons of the Pioneers in 1941), of Ed McCurdy's hopeful "Last Night I Had the Strangest Dream", of Hayes/Rhodes "With a Satisfied Mind" as well as a version of Hawaiian singer Queen Lydia Lili'uokalani's "Aloha Oe", a farewell song, are also highly satisfying. Finally, there is one other good Cash original, a modern day song titled "I Corinthians: 15:55". Like on previous albums in this series, the material spans a lot of styles and times.

"American VI" was - as American V" - recorded by Cash's long-time engineer, David Ferguson and primarily tracked at the Cash Cabin Studio (Henderson, TN) and also in Los Angeles.

Guitarist Mike Campbell and keyboardist Benmont Tench, who played on all of the series' albums (save for the first one) were joined in the studio by guitarists Matt Sweeney and Jonny Polonsky, as well as Smokey Hormel, who also played on "American IV and V".

Seth and Scott Avett make a cameo appearance on the title song titled "Ain't No Grave" which is well in line with the overall theme of the album: "Well there ain't no grave/Can hold my body down..." The two remaining tracks are, for now, less appealing to me. Anyway, 8 pretty good tracks out of 10 make sure that this album is of a high musical and emotional standard.

Johnny Cash might not walk around and sing anymore but his recorded artistry will keep him alive as one of the most important performers of the second part of the 20th century.

A sticker on the cover states this is Johnny Cash last studio album. Let's hope it is. Of all posthumously released albums this is the weakest. There are not real suprises on it and the production is boring. It does not add anything to the great catalogue Cash build up in his life. Let's listen to all those great records and enjoy it.

As much as it pains me to say it, American 6 should not have been released. Johnny Cash made some of the most honest and unpretentious music of his career with the American albums. He also made what amount to forgettable B-sides, and these B-sides have been thrown together with very little care by people who are either doing it purely for the money or because they think American 5 was not a superb end to a classic series.

This is a weak collection with only the title track and a Sheryl Crow cover showing any promise. Of course, Johnny Cash was extremely ill when recording these songs but even so, they're a poor representation of the man's power and talent. It would have been far better and more respectful to do him the honour of leaving American 5 as what it was meant to be - his final recordings. This release should not have happened. Stick to the first five and let's pretend the music industry hasn't once again proved what a money-hungry machine it is.