Some people make too many albums. Rosanne Cash is not one of them. So when Johnny’s eldest daughter finally shows up with something new — like her 15th studio album She Remembers Everything, her first disc since 2014’s The River & The Thread — you know you’re in for something special. And this time, it’s even better, thanks to some new collaborators and influences. Here are some of the album’s more memorable moments:
1&2 | The Only Thing Worth Fighting For & My Least Favourite Life. If those titles sound familiar, you must be a True Detective fan. Singer-songwriter Lera Lynn (who co-wrote the tracks with Cash and T-Bone Burnett) performed them onscreen as the junkie-bar troubadour in the series’ second season. Cash’s version of the first number isn’t nearly as devastatingly grim as Lynn’s rendition. But the molasses-paced latter actually could give her bleak character a run for the money.
3 | 8 Gods of Harlem: The strummy roots-pop number features cameos by Elvis Costello AND Kris Kristofferson — whose voices fit together better than you might expect.
4 | Not Many Miles to Go: The 63-year-old Cash acknowledges her own mortality — “From this point on there’s nothing certain / except there’s not many miles to go” — to the bright, crunchy jangle of a lively Americana-rock backing track.
5 | She Remembers Everything: Singer-songwriter Sam Phillips joins forces with Cash on the smouldering, somber title ballad about a troubled woman.
6 | Tucker Martine‘s production: The Portland studio master has worked with the likes of Decemberists (whose Colin Meloy pops up on two cuts), R.E.M., My Morning Jacket, Modest Mouse and Iron & Wine. As Cash’s first new producer in years — she works with husband and multi-instrumentalist John Leventhal almost exclusively — Martine adds some contemporary textures and touches to several of these songs without compromising Cash’s earthy, honest immediacy.
7 | The Parting Glass: This sweetly spare Celtic-tinged lullaby is only available as a bonus track on the deluxe edition. It’s worth the extra bucks.
