Tuesday, June 17, 2008

Best albums of the '90s, number five: Johnny Cash, "American Recordings"

I couldn't wait. So I've gone ahead and posted here my Number Five selection in the five best albums of the '90s. And yes, it's American Recordings from 1994, the first in a series of "comeback" albums from Johnny Cash, produced by Rick Rubin. This is definitely my favorite of the entire series, and when I first heard it, it gave me a whole new appreciation, not only for Cash himself, but for Americana, folk, and country music in general. The sound is haunting, from the first words of the opening track, "Delia's Gone," until the very end. The thing I like about this album the most -- and what sets it apart from the rest of the albums in the series, in my opinion -- is that it's the most pure of the bunch, the only one where it's just Cash and his guitar, nothing else. He is allowed to captivate you all by himself, and it's then that, at least late in life, he was most affective.

[Also, with each of the top five selections, I'll give one of my top five honorable mentions in this same category. The first is another acoustic affair, Live at Luther College, the 1999 live album (recorded in '96) by Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds.]
Posted by Dave at 11:58 AM

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