So, I was pleasantly surprised to find the sixth and (I'm told) final album in the American recordings series by Johnny Cash available for purchase. Like my friend Nik, everything I had heard and read said the album was dropping on Friday (2-26-10). He suggested that maybe someone broke the street date, and as we all know, when one does it, everybody does it. Regardless, I purchased it on the spot, then gave it a listen on my way home.
In the interest of fairness, let me make one thing clear. As my regular readers know, I am the first to admit my biases. And this post is no exception. I am big fan of Johnny cash. I was a fan since my days of first getting into country music in high school. Despite that being the era when the American Recordings were first released, I did not come across them until a few years later.
That said, I had sky-high expectations for this release. And really, how could I not? When you are a fan, especially of a legend like Johnny Cash and the American Recordings, you pretty much demand and expect excellence. The drawback, of course, is that with such lofty expectations, you can really set yourself up for colossal letdown.
The previous sentence probably gives you an idea where this is going. And, you would be right. I don't if this is the case, but this is my impression. The album sounds like they had some tracks leftover from the American V sessions and decided not to let them go to waste. rather than put out a boxed set with these tracks included, they whittled down what they had into a new album. Again, I don't know if that was the intent. But that's what it sounds like to me.
Taken individually, each track is great. Taken together, the whole album just seems forced, superfluous, and unnecessary. I CANNOT believe I just used those words to describe a Johnny Cash album. But, that's my impression. And, that's not to take away anything from Johnny himself, or his musical legacy.
Three of the first four tracks are really the strength of the album. The first one, the title track, spotlights a dying Christian's certain belief in the Resurrection of the dead ( great illustration for a sermon on those texts which mention it or the Third Article of the Creed). The second, a cover of Sheryl Crow's "Redemption Day", is a masterwork. It has the same effect as his cover of Trent Reznor's "Hurt". Though not as epic as "Hurt", this one has the feeling that he means it. By that,I mean, comparing the Crow version with this version would produce two entirely different impressions and interpretations, based on both the age and belief system of the two artists. The fourth track, titled 1 Corinthians 15:55, reiterates Cash's belief in where he will go after his biological death. Beyond these tracks, the rest of the album just feels thrown together. Or, as much as an album of great individual tracks can feel that way.
I am curious as to why the tracks were picked. The album ends with Cash's cover of "Aloha Oe". Trust me, you'll recognize it when you hear it.
In all honesty, I wish that those responsible for producing this album had done this instead: Take tracks 7 and 8 off of American 5, and replaced them with tracks 1,2, and 4 from this one. That would have been pretty much the perfect Johnny Cash album. But I don't make those decisions.
Pastors, you can feel comfortable recommending this album to your congregations, adding certain tracks to your library, and even preaching from those tracks.
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