My taste in music changed a lot over the past 35 years. I went from Grand Funk's Live Album and Edgar Winter's They Only Come Out At Night (the first two albums I ever bought) to KISS, Rush, Starz, Angel, Heart, Yes, Genesis, Kansas, ELP, Queen and, finally, today, stuff like Iced Earth, King Crimson, Gamma Ray, Blind Guardian, Evergrey, Dream Theater, Black Sabbath and other heavy bands.

In short, I'm a music snob, proud that my tastes are so eclectic that I can listen to everything from Bach to The Beatles, from Mozart to Moxy. There are only two genres of music I can't stand: Rap and Country.

Yet, I absolutely love Unchained by Johnny Cash. And I think it's because the man's star power shines as brightly on this CD (released when he was 62) as it did when he was at his prime in the late 60s (maybe more so). But there's another reason: I don't consider this Country.

Johnny Cash's baritone voice is unique, unmistakable, and thoroughly captivating. But the songs he sings on Unchained run the gamut from light rock to Gospel, only occasionally sounding "Country." In short, this CD is a tour de force of song styles -- all rendered perfectly by Johnny Cash's powerful presence.

What I like about Unchained is that Johnny Cash was given a new lease on life in the early 90s by Rick Rubin -- a producer who picked up Johnny and put him on his American label when every other record label thought the Man in Black was washed up. The world is forever in debt to Mr. Rubin, who gave Johnny a chance to shine like never before -- at an age when most other performers have retired (or should have). I greatly respect Johnny Cash for risking all and recording a series of albums in the 90s that were unique in every sense of the word. They were edgy and bold and fascinating, starting with this one: Unchained. I also admire Rick Rubin for working with this legend of music and allowing the world to see him again, almost for the first time.

I have many favorite songs on Unchained, but my hands-down favorite is "Sea of Heartbreak." Johnny's voice is strong and the bass line counter melody is perfectly creative and unexpected. "Spiritual" is also a powerful song with Johnny's voice rising above the melody towards the end. Stunning.

Overall, Unchained contains some of Johnny Cash's best, most spirited singing. Every single track is very well recorded and fascinating in its own way.

I wish I had paid attention to Johnny Cash in the 90s. Sadly, I only got reacquainted with his music after seeing Walk the Line at the theater. That wonderful movie so moved me that I bought The Legend box set and about 10 of Johnny's CDs within a week afterwards. I've been listening to Johnny almost nonstop ever since, amazed with each listen that this guy had so much talent - a charisma that radiated "star" with every song.

Thankfully, I saw Johnny Cash in the early 70s at the Civic Auditorium in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The Civic is gone now, but the memories remain.

Johnny Cash was a unique talent. And very few of his recordings showcase that like Unchained, one of my all-time favorite CDs. (And I have some 2,500 CDs from which to choose a favorite!)

Flush from the Contemporary Folk Grammy success of AMERICAN RECORDINGS, Cash and producer Rick Rubin rewrote the rules on this one...no recordings in Rubin's living room or the Cash cabin..they needed a studio for the full band assembled here. They couldn't have asked for a much better one: Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers back Cash and put a real rockabilly edge into tunes when called for and a laconic rootsy country sound when that's what's needed. Add to the pot superstar turns from the likes of Marty Stuart, Flea, Lindsey Buckingham, and Mick Fleetwood and you have an imposing setting to place Cash's rumbling baritone in.

It's the band that's the mixed blessing for me. While I don't feel they could do a much better job, at times I find myself wishing they weren't doing ANY job...the riveting factor of AMERICAN RECORDINGS derived from its barebones "Here's Cash..love him or don't" aspect and you lose that on this one. But when the band is there to rock behind Cash, well, it's phenomenal.

HIGHLIGHTS:
Tom Petty adds a nice harmony and 2/5 of Fleetwood Mac join in on a nice take on "Sea of Heartbreak". The writing on "Rusty Cage" will cause me to borrow some Soundgarden CDs from the library to see if I've been missing anything. It's probably the hardest rocking track here and Cash's defiant vocal sounds as if he plans to SING his way out of it. "Country Boy" is blazing rockabilly with an amphetamine vocal and some killer bass (the CD doesn't identify who plays it but Cash should offer them special thanks). "Memories are Made of This" takes a fairly schmaltzy sounding Dean Martin tune, strips it to a country shuffle, and reveals it as a pretty good song. I always thought "Southern Accents" was a middling tune for Petty but in Cash's hands it's a manifesto. The string sound (Chamberlain organ I'm guessing?) swells JUST the right amount but not enough to make it bathetic. The title track is the best of the gospel material here. "I've Been Everywhere" is a great Hank Snow update.

LOWS:
"The One Rose (That's Left in my Heart)" just doesn't grab me lyrically. I've no doubt it's considered a "Classic" by many but that doesn't mean I have to like it. I'll be in the clear minority here but I didn't find "Spiritual" as moving as many others did. The tremeloed guitar played fairly basic progressions and while I thought Cash sang it well, it's just not as compelling as the other gospel themed material here.

BOTTOM LINE:
I miss the starkness of Cash and his acoustic on some of the ballads (I think "Spiritual" would have been better that way...) but this is still GREAT material. It's probably the best place to start if you're a Cash newbie wondering what the fuss is about because it's more immediately accesssible than some of the other American releases (or Cash's back catalogue). Fans of Cash's Sun days will find him rocking harder than he has since then. If you like this one, go for AMERICAN RECORDINGS, SAN QUENTIN, or FOLSOM PRISON next.

This CD rocks and touches your soul too. Get the man!