Gospel Music
I'll preface this review by saying I'm not a die-hard fan of Johnny Cash's music. I am, though, intrigued by his pop...
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(09/21/06) I'll preface this review by saying I'm not a die-hard fan of Johnny Cash's music. I am, though, intrigued by his pop culture status as the man in black, the bad-boy who got religion. The hymn-singing Cash interested me much less than the bad-boy, so for years I lost interest. I bought this album because I knew it was his last and I wondered if he had something to tell me. Indeed he did; this album is a perfect blend of the 3-R's that became his trademark: regret, religion, and redemption. The difference, for me, between this album and what I remembered about his previous ones, is the authenticity of emotion carried in his voice. (I didn't realize he really WAS making quietly affecting albums for years as part of the "American" series.) Scratched, broken, and tired, Cash's voice conveys vulnerability, even as he sings "God's Gonna Cut You Down," a song presenting his maker as being as vengeful as the ancient warrior-God, Yahweh. In contrast is "Love's Been Good to Me," a song that can...See less
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