This was the first of the American Recordings series of albums that I bought (followed by American I and American IV). It was the first Johnny Cash album I'd bought in 15 years — on the strength of a good review and being intrigued to hear what the old man would make of my favourite U2 song, and The Mercy Seat.
JC usually brings out a side to songs that you haven't noticed before, like those Mercy Seat lyrics about the "sinister dinner deals" and the "meal trolley's wicked wheels" that passed me by on both Nick Cave's versions. He adds grit to a Tom Petty song. He doesn't change much about Bonnie Prince Billy's I See a Darkness, but, by God, his voice makes it count — it was this that led me to seek out the original.
But while the cover versions may have drawn me in, it's one of the original self-penned songs that really blew my socks off. Before My Time. Just a fantastic piece of writing and singing.
All through the album, Cash doesn't put a foot wrong. Definitely my favourite album of his.
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