Fritz
07-23-2003, 06:22 PM
As a few of you may know, I am big fan of Johnny Cash. This afternoon I picked up American IV: The Man Comes Around.
The CD is Cash doing a mixed group of his work and others. While there is no doubt from his voice that Cash is getting old, he also leave no doubt that his music is still relevant. The stripped down vocal-first versions of these songs sound reflective, spiritual and knowing.
Here are the songs:
1. The Man Comes Around (Cash) - 4:26
2. Hurt (Reznor) - 3:38
3. Give My Love to Rose (Cash) - 3:28
4. Bridge Over Troubled Water (Simon) - 3:55
5. I Hung My Head (Sting) - 3:53
6. First Time Ever I Saw Your Face (MacColl) - 3:52
7. Personal Jesus (Gore) - 3:20
8. In My Life (Lennon/Mccartney) - 2:57
9. Sam Hall - 2:40
10. Danny Boy (Weatherly) - 3:19
11. Desperado (Frey/Henley) - 3:13
12. I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry (Williams) - 3:03
13. Tear Stained Letter (Cash) - 3:41
14. Streets of Laredo - 3:33
15. We'll Meet Again (Charles/Parker) - 2:58
----
Since I am not the most effective writer, I thought I would include some reviews
http://www.bbc.co.uk/music/folkcountry/reviews/johnnycash_around.shtml
How does Johnny Cash do it? Take a hoary old chestnut like ''Bridge Over Troubled Water'': You've heard it so many times you're not just sick of it but are completely numb to any impact it might have. But yet here comes Mr Cash with that familiar wobbly, rough as torn sandpaper voice and yes, the hairs stand up on the back of your neck, and you're on the verge of tears, such is the emotional power he can still generate.
Solitary Man the previous album in the American Recordings sequence he's made with legendary producer Rick Rubin was simply a flawless classic. This one is more relaxed but less coherent. It sounds like it was a lot of fun to make, although the selection of songs seems almost wilfully eclectic. Cash's voice is probably too frayed now to do justice to ''The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face''. And the versions of country classics like ''Give My Love To Rose'' don't really add anything new.
But when he has a story to tell he can animate any material, old or new. Nine Inch Nails' ''Hurt'' is recast as an all too human tale of addiction and disgust. ''Danny Boy'' of all things, is fantastic, just Cash and a church organ - he sings his heart out. The duet with Nick Cave on ''I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry'' is great, with Cave revealing he's not a bad singer when he doesn't ham it up. ''Desperado'' with Don Henley on backing vocals, is relaxed and soulful. ''Sam Hall'' where Cash laughs and rages at the dying of the light, will put a big, wide grin on your face.
Most remarkable of all is the title track. Inspired by a dream about our dear Queen and the Book of Revelations, it puts you right there inside the Bible. It's scary, but also curiously uplifting.
Only his Creator knows how he does it. We should just be grateful that Cash is still around to make records as uplifting and entertaining as this.
Reviewer: Nick Reynolds
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00006L7XQ/104-6816919-3783950?vi=glance
Few albums in recent memory - heck, few albums period - are as emotion-rendering as Johnny Cash's latest, American IV: The Man Comes Around. As the title indicates, American IV is the latest installment of Cash's unlikely union with American Recordings, the label of famed hip-hop and metal producer, Rick Rubin. The album maintains the defining traits of Cash's previous American efforts: somber atmosphere, sparse accompaniment and a reliance on cover songs, many of them surprising. But, whereas American I though III delivered all kinds of dark deliberations, American IV focuses on thoughts of frailty and mortality, perhaps inspired by Cash's recent health problems. The singer is unafraid to sound like an ailing 70-year old and that is what makes American IV such an extraordinary experience.
With only one new original, the Revelations-themed "The Man Comes Around," American IV can hardly be called an autobiographical album. Yet almost every song, be it old standard, rock classic or relatively recent composition, seems selected to express the ruminations of a man in Cash's condition.
Likewise, most of the songs deal in reflections, regrets and farewells. The most powerful is easily Cash's chilling rendition of Nine Inch Nail's "Hurt." Cash's trembling, yet resounding baritone give Trent Reznor's morbid meditation on faith and failure take on a whole new power. Next best is Cash's version of a much different song, English folk-singer, Ewan MacColl's immortal "The First Time I Ever Saw Your Face." On this track, Cash's voice becomes as rich, warm and ephemeral as the memories the verses describe. Also excellent are The Beatles' "In My Life" and The Eagles' "Desperado," both world-weary songs that sounded strange from their twenty-something authors and are easily assimilated by Cash.
Not every moment on American IV is so mournful, though (Although the album maintains its poignancy throughout). Simon & Garfunkel's "Bridge Over Troubled Water," and Vera Lynn's WWII standard "We'll Meet Again," were meant to be songs of hope and Cash certainly respects this, recording heartening, faithful renditions. A more unlikely upbeat track is Depeche Mode's "Personal Jesus." The traditional-country approach makes a song that once seemed blasphemous sound spiritual.
American IV has two flaws, though. The first is unnecessary guest appearances. The song's author, Don Henley, adds nothing but irksome mumbles, singing back-up on "Desperado" and Fiona Apple sounds similarly lost on "Bridge Over Troubled Water." The other flaw is a handful of re-recordings of songs Cash released years ago. Does anyone really need a new version of "Sam Hall" or "Give My Love to Rose?" These tracks can be written off as filler (An exception to both rules is a new "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry," a beautifully melancholy duet with Nick Cave). But these are minor complaints about an otherwise exceptional album. Taken as a whole, American IV is one of the most poignant experiences available on record in recent years.
When Johnny Cash teamed up with famed rock/rap producer Rick Rubin on his first release for American Recordings, no one knew what to expect. After the first outing consisting only of Cash and his guitar, they experimented with a backup band. That was dropped for the third, which found the right production groove. Now the public can expect unconventional covers, reworkings of traditional songs and stripped-down originals delivered with the occasional help of celebrity collaborators. The trick for Cash and Rubin, then, is to proceed in the same style without it becoming played out.
--
http://flakmag.com/music/cash.html
Where earlier American sessions included memorable covers of Beck and Tom Petty, this album's standout cover is Nine Inch Nails' "Hurt." Cash's rendition is bare-bones; a barely audible guitar and piano back Cash as he nearly talks his way through Trent Reznor's words, and "Hurt" becomes an old man's deathbed speech on guilt. That is, until the track swells up into an epic declaration of regret.
This collection, however, does add a new element to the formula behind the American Recordings: the instant Johnny Cash classic. All the previous efforts included original material from Cash the songwriter, but nothing outstanding. With The Man Comes Around's title track, Cash adds another masterpiece to his catalog that can live beside such landmarks as "I Walk the Line" and "Folsum Prison Blues."
"The Man Comes Around" is an apocalyptic dream showing any doubters the aging country rebel has indeed seen it all and now only waits for the final judgment. It opens with Cash reciting what sounds like lines from Revelation and quickly proceeds to a bouncing hymnal detailing armageddon. And yet this is not a hopeless end of the world — those not as prepared for death as Cash seems to be are offered their last minute salvation. By the song's conclusion, all that's left is Cash's detached voice bringing the words of Hell.
Elsewhere on the album, Fiona Apple's vocals contrast strongly with Cash's on "Bridge Over Troubled Water," but that clash appropriately curves the song's political tone from the older generation to the younger one. And backed only by a pipe organ, Cash gives a beautifully sobering version "Danny Boy."
The album closes with a pleasant version of "We'll Meet Again," with vocals credited to the whole Cash gang of guest players. As Cash fights serious illness with every passing day, each new record is feared to be his last. With this final track, Cash assures his fans that he'll work to the very end:
They'll be happy to know that as you saw me go,
I was singing this song:
We'll meet again, don't know where, don't know when
Regardless of whether Cash completes another album, this chapter of the American Recordings can fill the role of masterful final episode or precursor to the stunning conclusion.
— Daniel Goslee ( [email protected])
The CD is Cash doing a mixed group of his work and others. While there is no doubt from his voice that Cash is getting old, he also leave no doubt that his music is still relevant. The stripped down vocal-first versions of these songs sound reflective, spiritual and knowing.
Here are the songs:
1. The Man Comes Around (Cash) - 4:26
2. Hurt (Reznor) - 3:38
3. Give My Love to Rose (Cash) - 3:28
4. Bridge Over Troubled Water (Simon) - 3:55
5. I Hung My Head (Sting) - 3:53
6. First Time Ever I Saw Your Face (MacColl) - 3:52
7. Personal Jesus (Gore) - 3:20
8. In My Life (Lennon/Mccartney) - 2:57
9. Sam Hall - 2:40
10. Danny Boy (Weatherly) - 3:19
11. Desperado (Frey/Henley) - 3:13
12. I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry (Williams) - 3:03
13. Tear Stained Letter (Cash) - 3:41
14. Streets of Laredo - 3:33
15. We'll Meet Again (Charles/Parker) - 2:58
----
Since I am not the most effective writer, I thought I would include some reviews
http://www.bbc.co.uk/music/folkcountry/reviews/johnnycash_around.shtml
How does Johnny Cash do it? Take a hoary old chestnut like ''Bridge Over Troubled Water'': You've heard it so many times you're not just sick of it but are completely numb to any impact it might have. But yet here comes Mr Cash with that familiar wobbly, rough as torn sandpaper voice and yes, the hairs stand up on the back of your neck, and you're on the verge of tears, such is the emotional power he can still generate.
Solitary Man the previous album in the American Recordings sequence he's made with legendary producer Rick Rubin was simply a flawless classic. This one is more relaxed but less coherent. It sounds like it was a lot of fun to make, although the selection of songs seems almost wilfully eclectic. Cash's voice is probably too frayed now to do justice to ''The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face''. And the versions of country classics like ''Give My Love To Rose'' don't really add anything new.
But when he has a story to tell he can animate any material, old or new. Nine Inch Nails' ''Hurt'' is recast as an all too human tale of addiction and disgust. ''Danny Boy'' of all things, is fantastic, just Cash and a church organ - he sings his heart out. The duet with Nick Cave on ''I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry'' is great, with Cave revealing he's not a bad singer when he doesn't ham it up. ''Desperado'' with Don Henley on backing vocals, is relaxed and soulful. ''Sam Hall'' where Cash laughs and rages at the dying of the light, will put a big, wide grin on your face.
Most remarkable of all is the title track. Inspired by a dream about our dear Queen and the Book of Revelations, it puts you right there inside the Bible. It's scary, but also curiously uplifting.
Only his Creator knows how he does it. We should just be grateful that Cash is still around to make records as uplifting and entertaining as this.
Reviewer: Nick Reynolds
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00006L7XQ/104-6816919-3783950?vi=glance
Few albums in recent memory - heck, few albums period - are as emotion-rendering as Johnny Cash's latest, American IV: The Man Comes Around. As the title indicates, American IV is the latest installment of Cash's unlikely union with American Recordings, the label of famed hip-hop and metal producer, Rick Rubin. The album maintains the defining traits of Cash's previous American efforts: somber atmosphere, sparse accompaniment and a reliance on cover songs, many of them surprising. But, whereas American I though III delivered all kinds of dark deliberations, American IV focuses on thoughts of frailty and mortality, perhaps inspired by Cash's recent health problems. The singer is unafraid to sound like an ailing 70-year old and that is what makes American IV such an extraordinary experience.
With only one new original, the Revelations-themed "The Man Comes Around," American IV can hardly be called an autobiographical album. Yet almost every song, be it old standard, rock classic or relatively recent composition, seems selected to express the ruminations of a man in Cash's condition.
Likewise, most of the songs deal in reflections, regrets and farewells. The most powerful is easily Cash's chilling rendition of Nine Inch Nail's "Hurt." Cash's trembling, yet resounding baritone give Trent Reznor's morbid meditation on faith and failure take on a whole new power. Next best is Cash's version of a much different song, English folk-singer, Ewan MacColl's immortal "The First Time I Ever Saw Your Face." On this track, Cash's voice becomes as rich, warm and ephemeral as the memories the verses describe. Also excellent are The Beatles' "In My Life" and The Eagles' "Desperado," both world-weary songs that sounded strange from their twenty-something authors and are easily assimilated by Cash.
Not every moment on American IV is so mournful, though (Although the album maintains its poignancy throughout). Simon & Garfunkel's "Bridge Over Troubled Water," and Vera Lynn's WWII standard "We'll Meet Again," were meant to be songs of hope and Cash certainly respects this, recording heartening, faithful renditions. A more unlikely upbeat track is Depeche Mode's "Personal Jesus." The traditional-country approach makes a song that once seemed blasphemous sound spiritual.
American IV has two flaws, though. The first is unnecessary guest appearances. The song's author, Don Henley, adds nothing but irksome mumbles, singing back-up on "Desperado" and Fiona Apple sounds similarly lost on "Bridge Over Troubled Water." The other flaw is a handful of re-recordings of songs Cash released years ago. Does anyone really need a new version of "Sam Hall" or "Give My Love to Rose?" These tracks can be written off as filler (An exception to both rules is a new "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry," a beautifully melancholy duet with Nick Cave). But these are minor complaints about an otherwise exceptional album. Taken as a whole, American IV is one of the most poignant experiences available on record in recent years.
When Johnny Cash teamed up with famed rock/rap producer Rick Rubin on his first release for American Recordings, no one knew what to expect. After the first outing consisting only of Cash and his guitar, they experimented with a backup band. That was dropped for the third, which found the right production groove. Now the public can expect unconventional covers, reworkings of traditional songs and stripped-down originals delivered with the occasional help of celebrity collaborators. The trick for Cash and Rubin, then, is to proceed in the same style without it becoming played out.
--
http://flakmag.com/music/cash.html
Where earlier American sessions included memorable covers of Beck and Tom Petty, this album's standout cover is Nine Inch Nails' "Hurt." Cash's rendition is bare-bones; a barely audible guitar and piano back Cash as he nearly talks his way through Trent Reznor's words, and "Hurt" becomes an old man's deathbed speech on guilt. That is, until the track swells up into an epic declaration of regret.
This collection, however, does add a new element to the formula behind the American Recordings: the instant Johnny Cash classic. All the previous efforts included original material from Cash the songwriter, but nothing outstanding. With The Man Comes Around's title track, Cash adds another masterpiece to his catalog that can live beside such landmarks as "I Walk the Line" and "Folsum Prison Blues."
"The Man Comes Around" is an apocalyptic dream showing any doubters the aging country rebel has indeed seen it all and now only waits for the final judgment. It opens with Cash reciting what sounds like lines from Revelation and quickly proceeds to a bouncing hymnal detailing armageddon. And yet this is not a hopeless end of the world — those not as prepared for death as Cash seems to be are offered their last minute salvation. By the song's conclusion, all that's left is Cash's detached voice bringing the words of Hell.
Elsewhere on the album, Fiona Apple's vocals contrast strongly with Cash's on "Bridge Over Troubled Water," but that clash appropriately curves the song's political tone from the older generation to the younger one. And backed only by a pipe organ, Cash gives a beautifully sobering version "Danny Boy."
The album closes with a pleasant version of "We'll Meet Again," with vocals credited to the whole Cash gang of guest players. As Cash fights serious illness with every passing day, each new record is feared to be his last. With this final track, Cash assures his fans that he'll work to the very end:
They'll be happy to know that as you saw me go,
I was singing this song:
We'll meet again, don't know where, don't know when
Regardless of whether Cash completes another album, this chapter of the American Recordings can fill the role of masterful final episode or precursor to the stunning conclusion.
— Daniel Goslee ( [email protected])