Recorded in the last few months of his life, on the days when he was strong enough to sing, and touched by the shadow of his wife, June's death, American V: a Hundred Highways is, in every sense, a valedictory record. Virtually every song sounds like a leave-taking, though the overall mood is reflective and restrained, in places almost easy-going. There is nothing here as viscerally raw as 'Hurt', nor as startling as 'The Mercy Seat', nor as searingly honest as 'I See a Darkness'. It's almost as if Johnny got those songs out of the way first, then settled down to face his maker with a wry smile on his face. He says as much himself on the opening 'Help Me', Larry Gatlin's sweet song of surrender to a higher power, and again on his own 'I Came to Believe', which may yet become the anthem that every AA and NA member has been waiting for.