The Top 20 Albums of 2010 #9 Johnny Cash: Ain't No Grave

The Top 20 Albums of 2010

#9 Johnny Cash: Ain't No Grave

Words by Dirk Calloway

Preface: Each day (mostly... unless it's Easter... sorry about the last two days) I'm writing a review about one of my favourite albums of 2010. This is one of them.

The Man In Black, elderly and stoic, recorded this in the final few months of his life. It was produced by Rick Rubin, just as all of Cash's albums since the mid-90s were. For me, this is a blessing and a curse. The 'American Recording Series' - as these records have come to be known - have maintained a consistent style and weight over two decades now. If another is released, mark my words, I'll feel like they were a sausage factory and will sour on their legacy. If they're true to their word and this really is the last of the bunch, then I'm glad to report this is a fitting send-off for one of The Greats.

It kicks off with Ain't No Grave and it's the sort of deep-rooted grit-ballad that Cash and Rubin perfected. A strong beat is laid out with the dragging of chains over gravel, accompanied by a solemn banjo; ripe material for a latter-day Cash to stand tall on. It's a slow build that, in the hands of someone younger, would've exploded into a fireball. As guided by Cash though, it simmers, eating away at you. I think the arrangement is perfect, and goes to show that the youth of today can still learn a thing or two from the elderly. Check it out here:

The track listing from that point forwards sums the album up: "Redemption Day," "For The Good Times," "1 Corinthians 15:55," "Can't Help But Wonder Where I'm Bound," "Satisfied Mind," "I Don't Hurt Anymore," etc. These are tunes that have unshakable lyrics, delivered by a determined man, battling heartache and old age. It's a perfect run from Track #1 through to Track #7, with the below song being the highlight of the bunch (though it's not an official video / single, it's just a dude's compilation of photos):

Unfortunately the last three songs seem like B-sides to the A-sides that precede them. They're classic material, several decades in age now, but as covers go they're totally lackluster. Put it this way, at no point in Aloha 'Oe - perhaps the last song to be released by Cash - did I feel how I did when I first heard Cash covering Trent Reznor.

But, that gripe aside, I'm willing to say that the first seven cuts more than make up for the last three. They're a great collection of tracks that would serve your CD player (if you still have one) well. Check it out.

Tomorrow we're reviewing the fifth album of a rock band that is much better than their fourth one, but much worse than their third one.