Unchained - Cash, Johnny (CD 2002)

This album is the second of three (so far) albums that the legendary Johnny Cash has recorded for Rick Rubin's American Recordings label.

The first album consisted of Johnny and a guitar in Rick Rubin's living room, along with an assortment of Rubin's vintage recording equipment and not much else. This time around, Johnny is backed in the studio by several guest musicians, most notably Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, for 14 songs that span the entire musical map, all done with that gravelly Johnny Cash sincerity that just doesn't seem to exist anymore.

First, we have Johnny singing a brilliant song called "Rowboat", which was written for him by Beck. Also standing out in the bunch is Johnny's rendition of Soundgarden's "Rusty Cage", where Cash makes the song sound like it was made for him, not even flinching at lines like "it's raining ice picks on your steel shore".

Johnny adds a religious element with "The Kneeling Drunkard's Plea", and "Meet Me In Heaven", and finishes off a song he started writing over 40 years ago with "Mean Eyed Cat". It's a good thing that he did.

It's a good thing that someone got Johnny in the studio again. Sure, he's "less polished" than your garden variety country artist, but what do you expect? The guy's almost 70 years old, and has Shy-Drager Syndrome! Just hearing new Johnny Cash material is such a treat that if I were a religious man, I may just consider it a gift from God.

See my next review, of 2000's "American III: Solitary Man", and I will assure you that Johnny has a lot of singin' left in him. They'll be carrying this guy off the stage in a body bag!