Johnny Cash's geriatric spiritual revival continues seven years after his death on American VI: Ain't No Grave, a collection of songs the Man in Black recorded at the same time as American V: A Hundred Highways.
The album begins promisingly with its title track - a dark, reflective song that resonates well in the context of the album's release, which was very near to what would have been Cash's 78th birthday.
By sprinkling relaxed language in with epic imagery, Cash attempts to bring his everyman image to what is essentially a spiritual album. Unfortunately, lyrics such as Oh roll my ships over the waves of Your sea/ Let me find a safe port now and then/ Don't let the Dark One in Your sanctuary/ Until it's time to pack it in
from 1 Corinthians 15:55 dominate the record.
Perhaps most disconcerting about the album, though, is the peacefulness with which Cash approaches his death.
This is, after all, the same man who made his name as a counterculture rebel who always wore black while resisting any form of authority. Suddenly, though, he is accepting his fate peacefully, singing songs such as Aloha Oe and going a little too gently into that good night.
American VI is an album of extremes, as Cash seems to vacillate between trying to capture the horrors of aging with the same terrible poignancy he did on Hurt and serenely accepting that he is dying.
Cash was ill for much of the recording of the record, which is why his voice sounds a bit weaker than usual, even though it is still clearly identifiable as belonging to the same man who sang Man in Black and I Walk the Line.
The voice may be similar, the man on the album is not the same. The Man in Black would have railed against death, battling to the very last second just because he could. This one is struggling to cope with the death of his wife and telling the people he is leaving behind to not miss him too much, all while playing Hawaiian folk songs and covering Sheryl Crow.
Unfortunately, this album could have been solid coming from another artist, but in the hands of Cash, it seems both inappropriately preachy and oddly calm. Whichever it is, the record is an unworthy capstone to the career of one of music's greatest legends.
Adam Wagner is a sophomore studying journalism. Send him an e-mail at aw333507@ohiou.edu.
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