American IV: The Man Comes Around (Bonus DVD)

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Editorial Reviews:

Amazon.com
On first thought, the idea of The Man in Black recording such covers as "Bridge Over Troubled Water," "Danny Boy," and "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" might seem odd, even for an artist who's been able to put his personal stamp on just about everything. But American IV: The Man Comes Around, which also draws on Cash's original songs as well as those by Nine Inch Nails ("Hurt"), Sting ("I Hung My Head"), and Depeche Mode ("Personal Jesus"), may be one of the most autobiographical albums of the 70-year old singer-songwriter's career. Nearly every tune seems chosen to afford the ailing giant of popular music a chance to reflect on his life--and look ahead to what's around the corner. From the opening track, Cash's own "The Man Comes Around," filled with frightening images of Armageddon, the album, produced by Rick Rubin, advances a quiet power and pathos, built around spare arrangements and unflinching honesty in performance and subject. In 15 songs, Cash moves through dark, haunted meditations on death and destruction, poignant farewells, testaments to everlasting love, and hopeful salutes to redemption. He sounds as if he means every word, his baritone-bass, frequently frayed and ravaged, taking on a weary beauty. By the time he gets to the Beatles' "In My Life," you'll very nearly cry. Go ahead. He sounds as if he's about to, too. Unforgettable. (This special 2003 version includes a bonus DVD with the music video for "Hurt.") --Alanna Nash

Album Description
Bonus DVD contains the music video for "Hurt", directed my Mark Romanek.

Customer Reviews: Read 70 more reviews...

5 out of 5 stars

Ragged Glory June 1, 2003
43 out of 43 found this review helpful

I don't listen to a whole lot of country music, but when I do I generally like it undistilled. There are a few C&W artists I like without reservations and then there are those who are enigmatic enough that you never know what to expect from them. Johnny Cash fits into both categories.
Cash's "American" series has been interesting and I was eager to hear what was on offer here after his tremendous Solitary Man album. For once, here's an album which lives up to industry hype. I'll be hard pressed to improve on amazon's adulatory paean to Cash's latest work.
I was floored by the ragged glory of Cash's interpretations of this eclectic material the first time I heard it. Very little of it has any connection to traditional country, but with Cash behind the mike, the country just seems to burst forth.
Some of the more familiar songs I heard with new ears. Songs like Hurt, In My Life and Desperado have a whole lot more meaning when sung by a man of Cash's age as he can look back on life's triumphs and disappointments and sound as if he really means what he's singing.
I like the entire CD, but my favorites are the hellfire and brimstone The Man Comes Around, the mournful Hurt, the remorseful I Hung My Head, the reflective In My Life, the swaggering Sam Hall, the plaintive classic Streets of Laredo, and an uplifting rendition of We'll Meet Again.
The video of Hurt is well worth the extra buck fifty. Watch it...again and again and again! Cash's beloved wife appears in it and her recent death gives it a poignancy money couldn't buy.
I agree with the reviewer who said that Johnny Cash is every bit as important to American music as Elvis Presley. In the autumn of his life, he proves with American IV: The Man Comes Around that he still has what it takes to take his place in the pantheon of American music greats

5 out of 5 stars

OH MY GOD May 22, 2003
25 out of 25 found this review helpful

I have heard both Trent Reznor's and Johnny Cash's versions of HURT. Trent's version speaks from a young person's point of view and is fine...but in the hands...and voice...and soul of Johnny Cash, it takes on a resonance and meaning that NIN can't even begin to touch. I have seen the video and listened to the song numerous times and I cry every time. It is particularly heart wrenching now that June has passed...Everyone I know goes away in the end...how much more than one man take?

The other songs are good...and the album is superior...but I honestly listen to it for HURT. This album is the crowning touch to a phenomenal career but HURT is the diamond in the crown...his whole life in one song. People need to get over categorizations. This is brilliant MUSIC, no matter what the genre. This is a brilliant musician. He does not have the best singing voice, but his vocals have more soul in them than ANYONE else out there now. I would put him with Billie Holliday when it comes to singing from the very core of being.

Singers like Johnny come our way so infrequently...we need to hold on to him as long as we can.

5 out of 5 stars Incredible!! May 27, 2003
24 out of 32 found this review helpful

If your reading this review, I presume you are trying to choose whether to purchase this album with or without the Bonus DVD (or buy it again with the DVD this time, or buy it for all your friends, DVD included...) Essentially, you should spare no effort or money trying to obtain your copy of the "Hurt" video. It captures the very core of Johnny Cash's presentation of Christian values and meaning in life. Reznor's music converted me to Christianity by causing me to think through an articulate definition of my worldview. Cash recreates one of Reznor's finest songs and uses it to illustrate the meaning of true Christian devotion. The video is classic and one of the most evocative pieces of art I've ever come across; if the painting "The Scream" by Edvard Munch could be music, this would be it. And the music here is as beautiful and astounding as "The Scream." I heard somewhere that Cash said that Hurt was something he would have written in the '70's "if he was a good songwriter." I'm sure happy he decided to cover it! I have converted my brother into a Cash fanatic with this album, and when he came to visit recently I showed him this video. He is aspiring to become a studio engineer/technical sound person, and said that the video made him aspire even stronger to create the best art he possibly could. Enough said.

5 out of 5 stars Johnny will always be the man September 21, 2003
22 out of 24 found this review helpful

I feel bad for getting this just the other day, because it was after Johnny had tragically passed away. And it made me feel like I was one of the millions that got his albums just because he died. But it was on my wishlist for months, and I was just now able to find the version with the DVD. I didn't know much about Johnny Cash before hand, and I don't care for country, but Johnny is his own genre of music.

And I have not a single regret after getting this album.

When I played the CD, and Johnny started talking, I got goosebumps. His voice is just so powerful. "The Man Comes Around" is a great song to start this album off with. The lyrics and guitar work blend together perfectly. The next track, is the one that got to most people. "Hurt". I can't stand Nine Inch Nails, and when they performed the song, it didn't mean a thing. But when Johnny sings it, it gets to you. Really to me, that was a "good bye" song. It's almost like Johnny knew he wouldn't be around much longer when he covered it.

I don't want to waste your time by going on about how perfect this album is, because it is. Johnny Cash is a legend, and on this album he really shows off that he can still write, sing, and play music. Not a single track on here is bad. There's not a point when listening to this that I wished that the track I was hearing would end.

Stand-out tracks (to me) are:

The Man Comes Around
Hurt
Give my love to Rose
Hung my Head
Personal Jesus
Sam Hall
Desperado
We'll Meet Again

'heck, all the tracks are good, but I feel that I could relate to those best.

The DVD just contains the video for "Hurt". But that's just fine with me, as that's the most powerful video for any song that I've seen in my life. It's like his life is flashing before his eyes. You see how far Johnny's come in life, and you see his wife watching him. That makes it even more powerful since she passed away not too long ago.

If you're a fan of Johnny Cash or not, give this a try. I'm usually into more "heavy" music, but I was impressed with this and will be getting his other albums as soon as I can get the money for them. He's done more for music than anyone else, and deserves only the up most respect. Johnny Cash, may you rest in peace.

5 out of 5 stars "Hurt" will likely be the most honored music video ever. August 26, 2003
20 out of 31 found this review helpful

I've always respected Johnny Cash's work but I can't say I've been a fan. Still can't say I really am. But, I will say that the "hurt" cover is astounding and the video is the best music video ever made. Period.

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