grass clippings review: Johnny Cash – American VI: Ain’t No Grave

Though Johnny Cash died seven years ago, American VI: Ain’t No Grave, his final album produced by Rick Rubin, was released this week and is only $3.99 on Amazon today. Rubin recorded the album shortly after June’s death and only four months before Johnny died. The story of life, death and redemption is a theme that lives in every song on the album and throughout the album as a whole.

Grave is a powerful picture of a man that is totally broken, but holding fast to the hope of his faith. Unlike previous albums in the series with multiple contemporary renditions, this one only has one (Sheryl Crow’s “Redemption Day”). Grave is heavier on classics like Kris Kristopherson’s “Can’t Help But Wonder Where I’m Bound” and the old country song, “Satisfied Mind.” This gospel album closes with an appropriate song of release and paradise called “Aloha Oe.”

This is a classic that you’ll want to tell your kids you bought the first day it came out…and it’s $3.99. Buy it.

American VI: Ain’t No Grave on Amazon