The 90s found Johnny Cash going for that staple of music covers that many musicians branch out to eventually on their careers. You’ve seen it with Rod Stewart, you’ve seen with Barbra Streisand, and one of the main renegades of Country did so too, at the behest of Rick Rubin, who had seen him in a tribute to Bob Dylan and thought Cash was still a musician with much more to sing about.

The American series of releases were a late career resurgence for Cash, starting in ’94 with the sparse, intimate American, followed by American 2: Unchained, in ’96. This sequel had a bit of a bite: Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers acted as Cash’s backing band and it was just the best possible combination. Cash’s vocals work so great with the Heartbreakers and you end up with a fantastic album of mostly covers and a few originals that proved Rubin’s theory.

I hate to give Rick Rubin a win, but even a broken clock is right twice a day.

American 2: Unchained is also one of the last albums Cash recorded in his lifetime, and according to some fans, really his last. His health got worse, and a bout of pneumonia affected American 3, and he was on his last gasps on American IV. That does not mean those are bad albums. Not at all. They are amazing for a musician of Cash’s age and health woes. With that said, the energy in American 2: Unchained is unparalleled and the selection of covers is a judiciously curated one.

Beck. Lucky Starr. Tom Petty. And Soundgarden. That last cover was the one that raised my eyebrows. A country version of Rusty Cage? It’s a whole different beast and it works so well, it’s easily one of the best covers in music history, besides Cash’s brutally downbeat goodbye, Hurt (a nine inch nails cover).

The stars aligned for Rusty Cage, and it’s always interesting seeing people who like Cash (but not Soundgarden) or like Soundgarden (but not Cash) watching both worlds fuse into one.

-Sam J. Valdés López