I'm not going to say that everyone picked up American IV when it came out, but it sure seemed to me that everyone I was hanging out with at the time did. The part that annoys me about that, is that everyone seemed to be picking this album up for just the cover of Nine Inch Nails' Hurt. Which is a great song, and admittedly was a major influence on my picking this album up as well. However, there's so many good songs on this album that should have gotten more exposure.
I would also like to point out that this album contains both covers and original songs, although most of the originals are rerecordings of classic Cash songs. The opening track is a prime example of this.
The Man Comes Around opens this album percfectly. It's a bit of a shame that Cash himself wasn't able to play his classic track, however his age and time roughened voice sounds spectacular. Like every track on this album Rick Rubin did an amazing job keeping the classic sound, but giving the production a modern kick.
Next up is Hurt. I love this cover so much more than the original. Namely because it sounds like a real band, and not just a computer with a vocalist in it. I also like that Cash changed the lyrics to swap out the profanity. This version is absolutely moving, and has brought me to tears more than once just because of how powerful it is.
Give My love To Rose is another update of a classic Cash song. Well I don't exactly care for the song, I do enjoy the story in the lyrics. "I found him by the railroad track this morning / I could see that he was nearly dead / I knelt down beside him and I listened / Just to hear the words the dying fellow said / He said they let me out of prison down in Frisco / For ten long years I've paid for what I've done / I was trying to get back to Louisiana / To see my Rose and get to know my son / Give my love to Rose please won't you mister / Take her all my money, tell her to buy some pretty clothes / Tell my boy his daddy's so proud of him / And don't forget to give my love to Rose / Tell them I said thanks for waiting for me / Tell my boy to help his mom at home / Tell my Rose to try to find another / For it ain't right that she should live alone / Mister here's a bag with all my money / It won't last them long the way it goes / God bless you for finding me this morning / And don't forget to give my love to Rose / Give my love to Rose please won't you mister / Take her all my money, tell her to buy some pretty clothes / Tell my boy his daddy's so proud of him / And don't forget to give my love to Rose " Other than that I find it kind of a typical country song.
I find it amazing how much Paul Simon's Bridge Over Troubled Water sounds like it's a Johnny Cash original, at least on this album. It really has a great sound and vibe to it, and I can understand why it was selected to be on this album. I even like Fiona Apple's background vocals on this song. She does a great job.
I had no clue that I Hung My Head was originally a Sting song. Namely because I've never been a Sting fan and this cover was also my first exposure to the song. But lyrically, as well as with the musical performance on this track, it totally comes across as a classic cowboy kind of song. "Early one morning / With time to kill / I borrowed Jebb's rifle / And sat on a hill / I saw a lone rider / Crossing the plain / I drew a bead on him / To practice my aim / My brother's rifle / Went off in my hand / A shot rang out / Across the land / The horse, he kept running / The rider was dead / I hung my head / I hung my head / I set off running / To wake from the dream / My brother's rifle / Went into the sheen / I kept on running / Into the south lands / That's where they found me / My head in my hands / The sheriff he asked me / Why had I run / And then it come to me / Just what I had done / And all for no reason / Just one piece of lead / I hung my head / I hung my head / Here in the court house / The whole town was there / I see the judge / High up in the chair / Explain to the court room / What went on in your mind / And we'll ask the jury / What verdict they find / I felt the power / Of death and life / I orphaned his children / I widowed his wife / I begged their forgiveness / I wish I was dead / I hung my head / I hung my head / I hung my head / I hung my head / Early one morning / With time to kill / I see the gallows / Up on a hill / And out in the distance / A trick of the brain / I see a lone rider / Crossing the plain / And he'd come to fetch me / To see what they'd done / And we'd ride together / To kingdom come / I prayed for god's mercy / For soon I'd be dead / I hung my head / I hung my head / I hung my head / I hung my head".
I don't care for First Time I Saw Your Face. I don't recall ever hearing this song prior to picking up this album, even though it was a very popular song amongst Folk artists and a hit song for Roberta Flack. I might like one of those versions, but for some reason I doubt it.
The next song is a cover of Personal Jesus. It's one of the only Depeche Mode songs that I knowingly like, and I love Marilyn Manson's cover of this song as well. This version is totally cool, and has a great upbeat tempo on this album. For me it's the musical interpretation that really makes this song. I love the Honky Tonk like sound.
I have never cared for any version of In My Life. I didn't like The Beatles' original, or the Ozzy Osbourne cover, and the same applies to this version as well. It fits on this album, but it's not my cup of tea.
Sam Hall is another redo of classic Cash. This is a really fun and enjoyable tune. Lyrically it's a classic bad boy story, that starts with blood shed and finishes the same.
I've never understood the affinity people have for Danny Boy. It may be because I was born in a completely different time, or that I'm not British, Scottish or Irish, or the child of an immigrant with strong ties to those countries. It could also be that I've never really cared for many funeral songs. Either way I could do without this song being on the album.
I can't stand The Eagles, and have no use for the song Desperado. It's a boring song that distracted people from much better songs that share the same title. I will say that Cash performing this song make sense, and it fits well in this collection, but I still don't like it. I would have rather heard Johnny do a cover of Alice Cooper's Desperado instead. That would have been totally bad ass, and less romantic tripe.
I'm So Lonesome I Could Die is true Classic Country. The Hank Williams song is amazingly well performed by Johnny Cash and Nick Cave. The two of them sound perfect making this into a sort of duet. This is also one of the few songs where Johnny Cash is credited as a guitar player, which makes me happy in a nostalgic kind of way.
Tear Stained Letter is the last Cash redo. It's also the last upbeat song on the album. I do enjoy this song, and will admit that it's a real toe tapper.
Streets Of Laredo is a really cool track. This is a classic cowboy song, and I totally dig the lyrics. Especially the verse, "Then go write a letter to my grey-haired mother, / "An' tell her the cowboy that she loved has gone. / "But please not one word of the man who had killed me. / "Don't mention his name and his name will pass on."
The album finishes with We'll Meet Again, which was originally written during the opening days of World War II. I'm not sure what it is about songs from this time period that I enjoy so much, but I think it has something to do with growing up listening to Chris De Burgh. As for this version of the song, I think it's great and the perfect album closer.
This was the last album during Johnny Cash's life. There were two more American albums that he had been working on with Rick Rubin prior to his death, but he sadly passed away before they were officially finished and released. However, I think this album was the perfect way of completing his ledgendary living career.
8/10 - content
7/10 - production
8/10 - personal bias
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