When was aint no grave recorded

I think it was the only thing that kept him going. Cash feared that American IV might be his last release, so Rubin suggested that he immediately begin writing and recording new material.

During those months, Rubin went to Nashville several times to record with Cash and associate producer John Carter Cash. When he knew he was going to die, he was calm and matter of fact about it, and…that wa s it.

I waited so long for this moment…. I can imagine losing someone you had loved for so long,,,. Only members can comment. Become a member. Already a member? Log In. Rubin comes across as deeply sentimental and fashions Ain't No Grave -- rumored to be the final installment in the series-- as a tearjerker.

Listen as Cash ponders the delicate seam separating life from death on his own arrangement of "I Corinthians ". It can be manipulative and obvious: Just the title of "I Don't Hurt Anymore" looms ominously on the tracklist. Cash's weak but determined performance aside, it's meant as a beyond-the-grave pronouncement, a consolation from the afterlife. The song itself was never about heaven. It's about numbness as a salve for heartache, so in this context it feels like a great tune that cannot carry such a heavy conceptual burden.

And yet, we want to believe. We want Cash to go out on top, with a strong batch of songs created in the interval between hardship and grace. Even so, it's hard not to question some of the choices made in assembling and arranging these new songs. The album begins with its two clumsiest tracks: Cash's vocal is strong on the title track, weaker on Sheryl Crow's "Redemption Day", and here's where Rubin shows his influence over the project. The Old Testament ambience has lost its impact, contrasting sharply with the hands-off approach that defined the first and still best American Recordings album.

When Rubin leaves the fire and brimstone behind, Ain't No Grave picks up considerably, revealing itself as a personal rather than preacherly album. Even in those final days, when his spirit was strong but his voice weak, Cash remained a charismatic and commanding singer, with an easy gravity and a friendly, grandfatherly presence.