American IV: The Man Comes Around (Bonus DVD)

It's true what many have said about this album, that Cash takes the songs and makes them his own. They don't feel like covers at all, even though the songs are familiar, especially for young people and baby boomers, with songs like "Hurt," "Personal Jesus," and "Bridge Over Troubled Water." I would definitely share this album with those who appreciate Johnny Cash--young and old alike. The songs are haunting and introspective. They seem to convey an underlying awareness of human mortality and vulnerability, yet their power and clarity is derived from this sense. This feeling is what remains with the listener long after the listening.

Johnny Cash has outdone himself with these beautiful and incredibly moving songs.I cannot get enough of this cd- I listen over and over.Each and every song has depth and meaning.I have been a big fan of The Man in Black since I was a kid but this cd(for me) is better than anything else he has done.It is probably better than any artist ever.

The man's last effort, he gave it all he had left, you can feel it in his voice. Profound, perhaps partly because it was his last, but profound nonetheless. This CD includes his version of Trent Reznor's Hurt, a song I had hoped no one would ever condescend to cover, but the song was almost written just for him, it's haunting. In the liner note he descibes how he spent the last few months of his life working on the title track, taking longer to compose than any other song of his life, like he knew it was his last and wanted to give it his all. If you only own one Cash album, especially if, like myself, you're not a country western sort, consider this one.

Having grown up in the New York area, where, in the early 1970s, country was definitely not "cool," I have taken more than thirty years to discover Johnny Cash. I am stunned by the remarkable quality of the music I have finally, belatedly, come to love. All of the American Recordings produced by Rick Rubin are fantastic, but, for me, this is the best of the lot. The title track (written by Cash) is especially memorable: it is a superb song, and is framed by Cash's eerie readings from the book of Revelations, in a world-weary voice that sounds as old as God himself. Every track here is timeless and haunting. This is a wonderful album, personal, profound, and unforgetable from start to finish. A true American classic, very highly recommended.

Late last year I "discovered" the American Recordings series Cash did with R. Rubin when I heard his version of Lightfoot's "If You Could Read my Mind" online. It moved me to tears! I rushed out ahd bought V: A Hundred Highways and could not get enough of the disc. I soon added "American Recordings" and "My Mother's Hymnal" along with "IV The Man Comes Around."

Like all the albums in this series, "The Man Comes Around" is a treasure, but so far it has been my least favorite in the collection. I think some of the covers were too "mainstream pop" though executed very well. "Hurt" is of course amazing, and I did like the treatment for "In My Life" and "Bridge" - "Personal Jesus" was another strong cover but for the life of me I can't figure out why "Danny Boy" is on this disc. For me, it kind of breaks up an otherwise good album.

Still, highly recommended...