| On Rosanne Cash's final recording for Columbia's Nashville division she 
        pulled out all the stops. Already known for her unflinching honesty, she 
        took it to its most poignant and searing extreme on Interiors. Cash produced 
        the record herself and wrote or co-wrote all the material here. A country 
        record it's not, but that hardly matters. This is a pop record with teeth 
        and ache and broken hearts strewn all over the place. In fact, Interiors 
        has the feel of a battlefield emptied of everything but its ghosts. The 
        album is a collection of ten songs linked thematically by the chronicling 
        of the tension, dysfunction, and ultimate dissolution of Cash's marriage 
        to Rodney Crowell caused by dishonesty, infidelity, substance abuse, and 
        physical distance; and she owns her side of the street with courage without 
        laying blame. Carefully wrought with subtle instrumentation surrounding 
        her fearless yet wavering vocals. Acoustic guitars, pianos, brushed drums, 
        an occasional organ, a bass almost hidden under layers of ethereal grace 
        -- these are the musical trappings that frame Cash's voice as she sets 
        about a task so seemingly painful it's almost uncomfortable to listen 
        to. It's as if the listener is granted a private audience with her heart 
        and innermost thoughts. Everything is here: the disillusionment, the anger, 
        the vain hope of reconciliation, and finally the acceptance and resignation 
        that endings are a part of life and serve their purpose. While these ten 
        tracks are virtually inseparable from one another, there are standouts 
        such as "Dance With the Tiger" written with John Stewart, "Real 
        Woman" written with Crowell, "Mirror Image," "I Want 
        a Cure," and the harrowing closer, "Paralyzed," where Cash 
        is accompanied only by a piano. Here she lets her current position be 
        known, that seeing the end of this relationship leaves her in the clutches 
        of being unable to move from the emotional space she is in. This album 
        is full of a truth that most would rather not acknowledge, but it is morally 
        and spiritually instructive in terms of its lyrical content, and musically 
        it is her masterpiece. In fact, it's proof that art can redeem what cannot 
        be in human terms. (by Thom Jurek, All 
        Music Guide) |