Not everyone feels as if they must accept death. With such concepts as ashes being launched into space and bodies turned into diamonds, death no longer is a solemn disappearance, but has shifted more into a spooky permanence. A person may be forgotten in the ground, but never when they're winking expensively on a relative or a lover's ring finger. There is a human wish for immortality which can surface subconsciously with every written word, recorded song, or brush stroke. There may not be any artistry to the creation; but the presence of its creator will always be contained slightly within it.
Yet, there are some people who don't need to become immaterial objects to linger in the public's eye. Johnny Cash's latest release (but certainly not his last; longtime producer Rick Rubin has already stated that there will be an American VI) should leave an indelible mark on the consciousness of all who encounter it. American V: A Hundred Highways captures a legend of American music reflecting on what he knew and understood was an inevitable death with dignity, sadness, and hope.
American V is a revelation because it stops being a CD and becomes a reflection of the mental state of the slowly dying Cash, as well as a weathered monument which touches upon and can compel complex intellectual and emotional thoughts about Cash's life and the very meaning of death. This album reveals the mortal side of Cash, the legend, far better than any Hollywood biopic, remembered anecdote, or lingering biography ever could. It's a troubling album to review for this very reason: this music transcends the common arena of an album and instead reaches the level of a farewell letter, both to the world and to a beloved wife. Who really has the authority to judge anyone's reactions to an inescapable death?
At the same time, American V is not really a place for the ever-growing Johnny Cash fanbase to begin their journey. Younger fans who have begun an interest from watching Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon on screen might not yet have the patience for the vocal sounds of an older man. It's not even that Cash's voice sounds terrible or unpleasing; it is simply the fact that it is not usually within the limits of human nature (especially younger human nature) to begin with an idol who is no longer a legend, but a man slipping towards the grave. Less seasoned fans would still be advised to either start with the more recently famous American IV: The Man Comes Around, which is more of an accessible launching pad; or, if they're more of a classicist, to head much further back in time to Folsom Prison. Yet, for any person who has loved Cash and considered him an American legend, American V is a must for their collection.
Article comments
1 - El Bicho
Totally agree about this album doing what "Walk The Line " failed to do.
Must respectfully disagree with "it is not usually within the limits of human nature (especially younger human nature) to begin with an idol who is no longer a legend, but a man slipping towards the grave."
Cash willing to reveal this side of himself adds to his legend rather than detracts. I understand your point, but the message the album sends about love and life needs to be listened to by people of all ages.
Young people hungry for music should occasionally sit down to a hearty meal rather than their steady diet of empty junkfood. It will help them raise the bar.