Produced by Rubin, the 12-track LP is built on a base of recordings begun shortly before Cash's death in 2003. In fact, the first sessions took place the day after the previous disc -- "American IV: The Man Comes Around" -- was completed.
"These songs are Johnny's final statement," Rubin has said. "They are the truest reflection of the music that was central to his life at the time. This is the music that Johnny wanted us to hear."
More specifically, it is two Cash originals -- the train song "Like the 309," the last tune he wrote, and "I Came to Believe" -- amid a string of covers of tunes like Bruce Springsteen's appropriate "Further On Up the Road," Hank Williams' "On the Evening Train" and Larry Gatlin's "Help Me."
Cash's reading of the traditional "God's Gonna Cut You Down" is dread and ominous and captivating. His tortured version of Gordon Lightfoot's "If You Could Read My Mind" is heart-wrenching.
Rubin brought in a stellar squad to finish the recordings after Cash's death -- including Mike Campbell and Benmont Tench from the Heartbreakers and Chicago power popper Johnny Polonsky -- and to their credit, the recordings are understated and lovely.
A real tribute to a guy that deserves a tender and classy send-off like this.
Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he lived until he was 17, Bobby received his BA-Mass Communications from UWM in 1989 and has lived in Walker's Point, Bay View, Enderis Park, South Milwaukee and on the East Side.
He has published three non-fiction books in Italy – including one about an event in Milwaukee history, which was published in the U.S. in autumn 2010. Four more books, all about Milwaukee, have been published by The History Press.
With his most recent band, The Yell Leaders, Bobby released four LPs and had a songs featured in episodes of TV's "Party of Five" and "Dawson's Creek," and films in Japan, South America and the U.S. The Yell Leaders were named the best unsigned band in their region by VH-1 as part of its Rock Across America 1998 Tour. Most recently, the band contributed tracks to a UK vinyl/CD tribute to the Redskins and collaborated on a track with Italian novelist Enrico Remmert.
He's produced three installments of the "OMCD" series of local music compilations for OnMilwaukee.com and in 2007 produced a CD of Italian music and poetry.
In 2005, he was awarded the City of Asti's (Italy) Journalism Prize for his work focusing on that area. He has also won awards from the Milwaukee Press Club.
He has be heard on 88Nine Radio Milwaukee talking about his "Urban Spelunking" series of stories, in that station's most popular podcast.
