American III: Solitary Man (LP)

With all of the massive hype around at the moment regarding Johnny Cash, largely due to the movie ‘Walk The Line’, the time is right that these fantastic American Recordings titles are available again. Cash’s American Recordings albums were critically acclaimed, and captivated a younger audience than his previous albums – they inspired a whole new legion of Johnny Cash devotees. All at Mid Price, these albums deserve to be in any serious record collection. For younger generations of musicians, having their song cut by Johnny Cash must be a little like scaling the Washington Monument. On his third album for producer Rick Rubin’s American label, Cash makes Tom Petty’s “I Won’t Back Down” sound like a companion classic to “I Walk the Line.” He transforms U2’s “One” into a sturdy testament of plainspoken faith, while he plumbs the netherworld of Nick Cave’s “The Mercy Seat” and Will Oldham’s “I See a Darkness.” Amid more familiar fare (including Neil Diamond’s title track), the album’s sing-along standout is the deadpan, down-and-out, talking blues of “Nobody.” Cash’s recent originals have the age-old purity of Appalachian music, while the traditional closing of “Wayfaring Stranger” offers bittersweet benediction. Merle Haggard, Sheryl Crow, and June Carter Cash provide vocal cameos. – Don McLeese