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Album Review:

American IV: The Man Comes Around

  • Release Date: 2002
  • Genre: Country
  • Label: Universal
  • Artist: Johnny Cash
  • Rating: StarStarHalf Star
  • Styles: Traditional Country, Interview, Singer/Songwriter
  • Track Picks: "Hurt," "Personal Jesus," "The Man Comes Around"

Review

Johnny Cash's fourth project with producer Rick Rubin continues on the same path as many of their previous releases: Cash's warm and rumbling baritone over minimal production and gentle duets with some surprising guests. One of the things that sets American IV: The Man Comes Around apart from the others is Cash's song selections. The success he experienced with his previous interpretations of contemporary songwriters (Soundgarden's "Rusty Cage," Nick Cave's "The Mercy Seat") is applied to this album with varying degrees of success. His throaty reading of Nine Inch Nails' "Hurt" easily fits into his "Man in Black" persona, and the spiritual conviction underlying Depeche Mode's "Personal Jesus" is certainly powerful. Unfortunately, the inclusion of "Bridge Over Troubled Water" (featuring a lost-sounding Fiona Apple) and a passionless snooze through the Beatles' "In My Life" should have been so much stronger (given the subject matter of both songs and Cash's prolific life story). One of the reasons his previous covers were so successful is that in the past he had chosen some pretty obscure songs (Bonnie Prince Billy's "I See a Darkness" and Beck's "Rowboat," to name a couple) and reinterpreted them with his unique perspective and unmistakable voice. However, there is really no need to hear his versions of the Irish standard "Danny Boy" or the clunky rendition of Sting's "I Hung My Head," since something about them just doesn't fit -- either Cash wasn't entirely comfortable with the song or the performance was never fully realized. Luckily, the new songs Cash wrote for the album are pretty strong, and his cover of the standard "We'll Meet Again" is among the best versions of the song ever recorded. It is a relief to hear that, although Cash's voice is clearly older and not the booming powerhouse it was in the earlier Sun and Columbia days, he's still got some punch left in him, and the wisdom he's gained in his later life seeps through between the grooves, revealing a man who has lived through it all and lived to tell the tale. ~ Zac Johnson, All Music Guide

Tracks

Track Title iTunes Composers Performers Time
The Man Comes Around
Johnny Cash Johnny Cash (4:26)
Hurt
Trent Reznor Johnny Cash (3:38)
Give My Love to Rose
Johnny Cash Johnny Cash (3:28)
Bridge over Troubled Water
Paul Simon Johnny Cash, Fiona Apple (3:55)
I Hung My Head
Sting Johnny Cash (3:53)
The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face
...
Ewan MacColl Johnny Cash (3:52)
Personal Jesus
Martin L. Gore Johnny Cash (3:20)
In My Life
John Lennon, Paul McCartney Johnny Cash (2:57)
Sam Hall
Tex Ritter Johnny Cash (2:40)
Danny Boy
Frederic E. Weatherly Johnny Cash (3:19)
Desperado
Don Henley, Glenn Frey Johnny Cash, Don Henley (3:13)
I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry
Hank Williams Johnny Cash, Nick Cave (3:03)
The Streets of Laredo
Traditional Johnny Cash (3:41)
Tear Stained Letter
Johnny Cash Johnny Cash (3:33)
We'll Meet Again
Hughie Charles, Ross Parker Johnny Cash (2:58)

Credits

Marty Stuart (Guitar (Acoustic)), Marty Stuart (Performer), Johnny Cash (Guitar (Acoustic)), Johnny Cash (Guitar), Johnny Cash (Vocals), Johnny Cash (Main Performer), Nick Cave (Vocals), Don Henley (Vocals), Billy Preston (Piano), Billy Preston (Keyboards), Mike Campbell (Guitar (Acoustic)), Mike Campbell (Guitar), Benmont Tench (Organ), Benmont Tench (Piano), Benmont Tench (Harmonium), Benmont Tench (Keyboards), Benmont Tench (Mellotron), Benmont Tench (Vibraphone), Benmont Tench (Pipe Organ), Benmont Tench (Wurlitzer), Thom Bresh (Guitar (Acoustic)), Jack Clement (Dobro), David Ferguson (Ukulele), David Ferguson (Engineer), David Ferguson (Mixing), John Frusciante (Guitar (Acoustic)), John Frusciante (Guitar), Jeff Hanna (Guitar (Acoustic)), Terry Harrington (Clarinet), Roger Manning (Piano), Roger Manning (Harmonium), Roger Manning (Mellotron), Roger Manning (Chamberlain), Roger Manning (Orchestra Bells), Roger Manning (Tack Piano), Vladimir Meller (Mastering), Rick Rubin (Producer), Thom Russo (Engineer), Randy Scruggs (Guitar (Acoustic)), Randy Scruggs (Guitar), Jimmy Tittle (Production Assistant), Smokey Hormel (Guitar (Acoustic)), Smokey Hormel (Guitar), Smokey Hormel (Slide Guitar), Kerry Marx (Guitar (Acoustic)), Joey Waronker (Drums), Fiona Apple (Vocals), Christine Cano (Art Direction), Christine Cano (Design), Andrew Scheps (Engineer), John R. Cash (Arranger), John R. Cash (Adaptation), Martyn Atkins (Photography), John Carter Cash (Producer), John Carter Cash (Engineer), Lindsay Chase (Production Coordination), Chuck Turner (Engineer), Laura Cash (Fiddle), Laura Cash (Production Assistant), Dwight Hume (Production Assistant)
 
 
Wikipedia: American IV: The Man Comes Around
American IV: The Man Comes Around
American IV: The Man Comes Around cover
Studio album by Johnny Cash
Released November 5, 2002
Genre Country
Length 51:55
Label American Recordings / Universal
Producer Rick Rubin
John Carter Cash
Professional reviews
Johnny Cash chronology
Johnny Cash at Madison Square Garden
(2002)
American IV: The Man Comes Around
(2002)
Unearthed
(2003)
American series chronology
American III: Solitary Man
(2000)
American IV: The Man Comes Around
(2002)
Unearthed
(2003)

American IV: The Man Comes Around is the fourth album in the American series by Johnny Cash, released in 2002. The majority of songs are covers which Cash performs in his own sparse style, with help from producer Rick Rubin. For instance, for the song "Personal Jesus", Rubin asked Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist John Frusciante to re-work an acoustic version of Martin Gore's song, which featured a simple acoustic riff that stripped down the song to a blues style. He receives backing vocal assistance from various artists, including Fiona Apple, Nick Cave, and Don Henley. American IV was the last album released by Cash during his lifetime. It was also his first album to go gold (selling over 500,000 copies) in thirty years.

The video for "Hurt", a song written by Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails in 1994, was nominated in seven categories at the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards and won the award for Best Cinematography. In February 2003, mere days before his 71st birthday, Cash won another Grammy Award for Best Country Male Vocal Performance for "Give My Love To Rose," a song Cash had originally recorded in the late 1950s. The music video for "Hurt" also won a Grammy for Best Short Form Video at the 2004 Awards.

Nine Inch Nails frontman Trent Reznor admitted that he was initially "flattered" but worried that "the idea (of Cash covering "Hurt") sounded a bit gimmicky," but when he heard the song and saw the video for the first time, Reznor said he was deeply moved and found Cash's cover beautiful and meaningful. He later said in an interview, "I just lost my girlfriend, because that song isn't mine anymore."[1]

Track listing

  1. "The Man Comes Around" (Cash) – 4:26
  2. "Hurt" (Reznor) – 3:38
    Originally recorded by Nine Inch Nails for The Downward Spiral (1994)
  3. "Give My Love to Rose" (Cash) – 3:28
    Originally recorded by Cash for Sun, appears on Sings Hank Williams (1960)
  4. "Bridge Over Troubled Water" (Simon) – 3:55
    Originally recorded by Simon and Garfunkel for Bridge over Troubled Water (1970)
  5. "I Hung My Head" (Sting) – 3:53
    Originally recorded by Sting for Mercury Falling (1996)
  6. "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" (MacColl) – 3:52
    Was a number one hit for Roberta Flack (1972)
  7. "Personal Jesus" (Gore) – 3:20
    Originally recorded by Depeche Mode for Violator (1990)
  8. "In My Life" (Lennon/McCartney) – 2:57
    Originally recorded by The Beatles for Rubber Soul (1965)
  9. "Sam Hall" (Ritter) – 2:40
    Originally recorded by Cash for Sings the Ballads of the True West (1965)
  10. "Danny Boy" (Weatherly) – 3:19
    First published in 1910, previously recorded by Cash for Orange Blossom Special (1965)
  11. "Desperado" (Frey/Henley) – 3:13
    Originally recorded by The Eagles for Desperado (1973)
  12. "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry" (Williams) – 3:03
    Originally recorded by Hank Williams; previously recorded by Cash for Now, There Was a Song! (1960)
  13. "Tear Stained Letter" (Cash) – 3:33
    Originally recorded by Cash for A Thing Called Love (1972)
  14. "Streets of Laredo" – 3:41 (Traditional)
    Originally recorded by Cash for Sings the Ballads of the True West (1965)
  15. "We'll Meet Again" (Charles/Parker) – 2:58
    Most famously a hit for Vera Lynn (1939)

LP bonus tracks

Various editions of the album were released. Some include an extra interview disc or a DVD of the video for "Hurt." The vinyl edition of the album featured a slightly different track list and two bonus tracks which were subsequently released on the box set Unearthed:

Personnel

Additional personnel

  • Rick Rubin - Producer
  • John Carter Cash - Producer, Engineer
  • Thom Russo, Andrew Scheps, Chuck Turner - Engineers
  • Vladimir Meller - Mastering
  • Christine Cano - Art Direction, Design
  • Martyn Atkins - Photography
  • Lindsay Chase - Production Coordination
  • Dwight Hume, Jimmy Tittle - Production Assistants

Charts

Album - Billboard (North America)

Year Chart Position
2002 Country Albums 2
2002 Pop Albums 22

Use in film

References

  • ^  Alternative Press #194. September, 2004.

The Song "the man comes around" is also used in the film the "The Hunted" closing credits



 
 

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Album Review. Copyright © 2008 All Media Guide, LLC. Content provided by All Music Guide ® , a trademark of All Media Guide, LLC. All rights reserved.  Read more
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