Firlapalooza

During a reconnaissance tour of Toronto’s splendid Annex area last weekend, I couldn’t help but be drawn to what is probably my favourite retail music store anywhere, Sonic Boom (almost directly adjacent to the intersection of Bathurst and Bloor Streets).  With a vast floor area consisting of a well-organized collection of predominantly used and inexpensive music in all known formats, it’s a place that’s hard to avoid visiting (sorry for the shameless plug, but I’d be disappointed to ever find it closed down).

Anyhow, as I browsed through the section which included the works of intergenerational guitar legend Johnny Cash, I was surprised to come across a used copy of his posthumous album, American V, which had only been released this past July (an in-depth critical review of it can be found here).  I knew that I had much enjoyed a previous release in the ‘American’ series, that an opportunity to find this priced so cheap would not come again soon, and also that there was yet a four-hour drive ahead of me in a car with a CD player.  After due consideration, a purchase could not be prevented.

Hearing the album through showed the second track to be one of my favourites.  Called ‘God’s Gonna Cut You Down‘, it is a haunting, driving song that is well worth a listen – check out the song’s video here at YouTube, which features a whole slew of music industry cameos (all of whom are listed by name at the bottom of this page).

Regardless of whether or not it is right to have some of the very sort of people whom are being sung about included in the video (as this blogger points out), it is still a powerful song about the surety of God’s judgment.  Thankfully, we can make the choice to avoid being ‘cut down‘, as the song puts it.  Though the Man in Black sings softly, his voice still has a strangely commanding authority behind it.

The rest of the album is quite good as well, and I’m glad I came across it; I’m almost surprised someone would willingly give it up.  Though, after they sold the CD to the store, they must have been given some cash. 

(Ah, the sweet sound of groans everywhere.)

This entry was posted on Saturday, May 12th, 2007, and is filed under Scriptural Reflections. You can subscribe via RSS 2.0 feed to this post's comments. You can comment below, or link to this permanent URL from your own site. I reserve the right to delete inappropriate comments.