This came out in 2003 – or at least that’s when I got it. Here’s what I said about it back then (with some minor editing):
You wanna know what Roseanne Cash’s album Rules Of Travel is about? Look no further than the title of the first track Beautiful Pain — a phrase that eloquently and succinctly sets the tone for this 11-song disc.
The long-awaited followup to 1996’s lauded 10 Song Demo, Rules Of Travel is a poignant effort that captures Cash adrift in a sea of sadness and washed up on the rocky shores of heartbreak. Lucky for her misery loves company. Sheryl Crow, Steve Earle and fellow musical scion Teddy Thompson are among the guests who show up to give Johnny’s daughter a shoulder to cry on during elegantly burnished roots-pop gems like I’ll Change For You and September When It Comes — though why Chryssie Hynde isn’t on the Pretenders homage 44 Stories is beyond me. The guest of honour, though, is naturally daddy Cash, who lends his weathered rumble to the Cowboy Junkies-style swooner September When It Comes, a bittersweet meditation on aging, regret and forgiveness. Guests like these — not to mention Cash’s sincere, intimate style — make Rules Of Travel a memorable journey.
