Cash Back

It's unfortunate when you discover a band or artist you thoroughly enjoy and anticipate more and better things from in the future as they continue to evolve, only to have them devolve into something disappointing and craptacular (the Journey-fication of Kings of Leon comes to mind). Then there are others who never seem to disappoint and have the ability to hang on to the sound that initially made you a fan while keeping things interesting enough to have you come back for more time and time again. Johnny Cash continues to do this for me, even from the grave. I grew up in the backseat of my parents' car listening to JC and Roger Miller on countless trips to and from my grandparents' house. I love those songs and they signify a happy time from my youth with my family. If you've heard anything he's ever done then I don't have to sell you on just what makes JC's music special. If you haven't heard him....no, you're heard him.

By the time I was in high school and had begun to develop a more refined taste in music, JC launched a career comeback by teaming with Rick Rubin and releasing American Recordings - an album consisting mostly of covers of very recognizable popular songs. If you're read my best of the 90's post you'll know this was in my top 10 albums of that decade. He created the template for other aging musicians' career rebirths (see Loretta Lynn, Willie Nelson and Tony Bennett to name a few) by lending his vintage sound to songs and production a younger generation can identify with. Since that first spectacular album, he's released four more studio albums (one posthumously) and a box set of four discs worth of unreleased material. On those albums he's covered Nick Cave, Danzig, Tom Petty, Nine Inch Nails, Bonnie "Prince" Billy, Depeche Mode, The Beatles, Simon and Garfunkel, The Eagles, Soundgarden, U2, Leonard Cohen (he of the recent Cash-esque comeback himself), Bob Marley, Beck and many, many others. If that's not an eclectic mix, I don't know what is. He never covered Hall and Oates - draw your own conclusions.

These albums have been the soundtrack to a lot of good times in my life and have helped me through some of the worst times in my life. For these reasons, I'm very pleased to learn that a second posthumous album is forthcoming next month. The sixth studio album, American VI: Ain't No Grave will arrive February 23rd. While his later stuff is noticeably affected by age and declining health, it's no less powerful and I expect good things from this last compilation. I'll revisit this topic after giving it a listen. Meanwhile, check out American Recordings and American IV: The Man Comes Around to get you started.