The Man in Black worked at a fever pitch during the four months between wife June Carter's death and his own, and the results are still emerging. He recorded about 50 still-unreleased songs and assembled a box set (last year's Unearthed) as well as this compilation, whose selections he settled on just days before passing away.

Appropriately, Life is Johnny's attempt to sum up his philosophy about, well ... life. Intended as a sequel to 2000's Love, God and Murder collections, Life lacks the focus of its predecessors - but carries well the collected wisdom of its creator.