The Man Comes Around

Today's Music That Jason Wants You To Listen To is Johnny Cash's American IV: The Man Comes Around. This is the fourth album in the 'American' series, which (as I understand it) was largely orchestrated by producer Rick Rubin. Now I may not have my facts entirely straight, but the first 'American' album was the result of Rubin getting in touch with Cash and just getting him into the studio and letting him do what he wanted, at his own pace. And thank God.

American IV is a curious mix of mostly cover songs, with a few originals rounding out the album. The song you probably know is his cover of Nine Inch Nails/Trent Reznor's "Hurt", which is everything a cover song should be: a unique take on an interesting song that doesn't lessen the effect of the original at all. There are plenty of other good songs here too; most of the album consists of covers of old country songs and standards, making this album not a candidate for 'feel-good record of the year', but it is a fine work. As much as the old covers seem to fit Johnny's style, they almost seem beneath him ("Desperado", "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry"). So many of them just seem to pander for sympathy, whereas Johnny being himself never had to, never would have. Still, the fact that Johnny was making albums right up until he passed away is nothing to scoff at, and his gentle touch with these songs generates no melodrama.

The more modern or popular covers ("Hurt", "In My Life", and others) are the highlights of this album. Ten years ago, who would have thought Johnny Cash covering Depeche Mode and NIN would be feasible, much less good? While you might suspect my favorite track to be "Bridge Over Troubled Water", due to my love of both Simon & Garfunkel and Fiona Apple (the latter sings with Cash on this track), my favorite is the title track. It's one of the few originals to make its way onto the album, and it probably even outshines "Hurt". Johnny was never shy about his Christian faith, so perhaps this song just suits him more than the others.

So in short, good though depressing album. I really hope to get more of the American series of albums from the library.

In other news:

I've been sore all week. Yesterday I couldn't even use the stairs well. It's great.