Review: Johnny Cash - American VI: Ain't No Grave

Songs of remembrance, prophecies of doom and an unbending fearlessness to look death in the face. Such was the course for the entire American Recordings series by Johnny Cash and producer Rick Rubin. American VI: Ain't No Grave marks the final installment in the collection as well as the second posthumous album released since Cash's death in 2003 at the age of 71.

For the last decade of his life, Cash's image was refitted into the outlaw he was always supposed to be. His ever weakening baritone never lost its conviction or ability to speak right to the heart of humanity. Whether covering Depeche Mode, Soundgarden, Nine Inch Nails, gospel hymns or even reworking his own classic catalog, Cash preserved his legacy as the Man in Black in effortless fashion.

Recorded during his last session a few weeks before his passing, Cash seems ready to meet his maker. With the loss of his life long love June Carter only a few months earlier, music was the only force that kept him going. Though the macabre has always been in a fixture in any American album, Ain't No Grave is given a bit more authenticity than its predecessors.

"There is a train that's headed straight to heaven's gate." Cash croaks on "Redemption Day" a Sheryl Crow cover that trades the pop gloss of the original performance for a dry and dusty arrangement featuring hollow piano and rustic guitar.

But for the fate that awaited Cash, he leaves a parting message in the Kris Kristofferson penned "For The Good Times". "I know it's over... Let's just be glad we had some time to spend together." It's heart wrenching, may be a tad too calculated and beautiful in the most fragile way all at the same time.

Yet something feels off about Ain't No Grave. At a scant 32 minutes these 10 songs seem like they belong in a box set or other Cash compilations. The album, constructed by Rubin, never seems to justify its existence. Sure the tunes presented are first rate, but after six albums of ominous foreboding the shtick has started to become a little too routine.

Perhaps the nicest, and indeed most sincere, track is the Hawaiian standard "Aloha Oe". Cash gently kisses this world goodbye with a warm smile. I suppose it's the best ending the entire American series deserves. For all the brooding heavy handedness and black and white album covers, a colorful farewell that leaves you rested and hopeful speaks to the true nature of Cash's entire life's work. Rest well sir.

Grade: B-