Search - Johnny Cash :: American 3: Solitary Man (Reis)

Johnny Cash at his best

Bookish Mama | Israel | 04/02/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I have always loved folk, old style country and the darker, more acoustic broody side of rock. My husband is a dyed in the wool lover of classic old time Country music and bluegrass, but most of all, he loves pretty much anything Johnny Cash sings. This album is the perfect marriage of our tastes, only Johnny Cash could take songs from such disparate genres and make each and every one of them his own, to the extent that you cannot even recall them belonging to another artist. The spare arrangements work perfectly with his unique voice and the guitar work is a thing of simple beauty. More than anything though, I love the way his gravelly voice forces you to listen to each every word, however painful, however (darkly) humorous.



Anyone with a younger, sweeter voice might have made a song like I Wont Back Down sound like pap teenage rebellion, Cash turns it into a mature declaration of how to sincerely live. The same is true with any number of songs which could be rendered trite or overly sentimental or melodramatic, but which become moving, sometimes disturbing, but always thought provoking thanks to the straightforward delivery of Johnny Cash and the stark, haunting arrangements.



Standouts include I Wont Back Down, Solitary Man, Mercy Seat and Darkness, but all the tracks are well done, an album my husband and I listen to over and over and over."