American III: Solitary Man
For younger generations of musicians, having their song cut by Johnny Cash must be a little like scaling the Washington Monument. On his third album for producer Rick Rubin's American label, Cash makesTom Petty's "I Won't Back Down" sound like a companion classic to "I Walk the Line." He transformsU2's "One" into a sturdy testament of plainspoken faith, while he plumbs the netherworld ofNick Cave's "The Mercy Seat" andWill Oldham's "I See a Darkness." Amid more familiar fare (includingNeil Diamond's title track), the album's sing-along standout is the deadpan, down-and-out, talking blues of "Nobody." Cash's recent originals have the age-old purity of Appalachian music, while the traditional closing of "Wayfaring Stranger" offers bittersweet benediction.Merle Haggard,Sheryl Crow, andJune Carter Cashprovide vocal cameos.--Don McLeese