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Johnny Cash
American III: Solitary Man

American Recordings

When Johnny Cash was diagnosed with Shy Drager's Syndrome in 1998, a condition similar to Parkinson's Disease, many didn't think he would be back. Things looked bleak for the Man in Black. At one point, he could barely stand. It seemed like one of country and rock's enduring stories was about to write its final chapter. Now, Cash is not only standing, he's recording and writing, and some are saying he may never have had Shy Drager's at all. And Cash is back with American III: Solitary Man, the third album in the Rick Rubin-produced American series.

Solitary Man follows much the same format as its predecessors, stripping down the sound to focus on Cash's still-strong voice, and mixing Cash originals with cover tunes. Most of the cover tunes resonate with Cash's recent personal history, from Tom Petty's "I Won't Back Down" to Will Oldham's "I See a Darkness". They tell the story of a man who has looked death in the eye and decided he wanted to stay around a little longer. Cash's reading of Nick Cave's "The Mercy Seat", is stunning, its swirling organ lines and chiming piano set against Cash's voice and guitar. It's a chilling story of a man on death row, covered by the man who practically invented the genre. The album is a success for this song alone.

The new Cash originals, "Before My Time", "Country Trash", and "Wayfaring Stranger", sound and feel like the classic tunes he tore up folk, country, and rock and roll with back when he first started recording in 1955. Old pal and fellow survivor Merle Haggard joins Cash on "I'm Leavin' Now", a classic country done-wrong tale. The lone sticking point is U2's "One". Cash does a good job of making the song his own, but U2's version of the song has become so ubiquitous it's tough to hear it without Bono's over-the-top emoting hovering around it. It takes some getting used to, as did his cover of Soundgarden's "Rusty Cage" on the last album.

With a flood of Cash reissues hitting the market in recent months, from Love, God, Murder to classics like At Folsom Prison, it's great to here something new to place him firmly back in the present. American III is a reassuring welcome back for a country legend.

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The Riptones
Buckshot

Bloodshot Records

If the world had been blown to hell in 1956, it wouldn't be surprising to find a record like the Riptones' Buckshot amongst the rubble somewhere in Memphis, stacked with a bunch of old Johnny Cash and Carl Perkins 45s. Sam Phillips himself might have given the boys a shot. All the right elements are in place - reverb-drenched guitar solos, wide-open and booming bass, heartache, and blue collar blues. "Yvette" is the woman that got away, "Getting By" is the ode to working for a living, and "Rebel Rock Armageddon" is the swinging youth anthem. The Riptones take that 50s vibe one step further, singing about the pitfalls of being drafted in "Army Blues". Not that retro purity for it's own sake should be any band's goal. But if the shoe fits, jump in and dance. And coming from the Riptones, nothing sounds forced. "Pardon Me" is as beautiful a rockabilly ballad as you're likely to find anywhere, in alt.country or the classics stacks. The tremolo guitars on the instrumental "Buckshot" showcases the band's ability to step out and just play. The Riptones have been honing this sound now for about ten years, and it has come through five albums and several line-up changes. But rockabilly is still as elemental as it ever has been, and the Riptones do it justice.

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