American IV: The Man Comes Around
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| American IV: The Man Comes Around | |||||
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| Studio album by Johnny Cash | |||||
| Released | November 5, 2002 | ||||
| Genre | Country | ||||
| Length | 51:55 | ||||
| Label | American Recordings / Universal | ||||
| Producer | Rick Rubin John Carter Cash |
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| Johnny Cash chronology | |||||
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| American series chronology | |||||
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American IV: The Man Comes Around is the fourth album in the American series by Johnny Cash, released in 2002. The majority of songs are covers which Cash performs in his own sparse style, with help from producer Rick Rubin. For instance, for the song "Personal Jesus", Rubin asked Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist John Frusciante to re-work an acoustic version of Martin Gore's song, which featured a simple acoustic riff that stripped down the song to a blues style. He receives backing vocal assistance from various artists, including Fiona Apple, Nick Cave, and Don Henley. American IV was the final Cash album released during his lifetime; though the Unearthed Box Set was compiled prior to his death, it was not released until two months later. It was also his first non-compilation album to go gold (selling over 500,000 copies) in thirty years.
The video for "Hurt", a song written by Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails in 1994, was nominated in seven categories at the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards and won the award for Best Cinematography. In February 2003, mere days before his 71st birthday, Cash won another Grammy Award for Best Country Male Vocal Performance for "Give My Love To Rose," a song Cash had originally recorded in the late 1950s. The music video for "Hurt" also won a Grammy for Best Short Form Video at the 2004 Awards. This album won "Album of the year" award at the 2003 CMA awards.
Nine Inch Nails frontman Trent Reznor admitted that he was initially "flattered" but worried that "the idea [of Cash covering "Hurt"] sounded a bit gimmicky," but when he heard the song and saw the video for the first time, Reznor said he was deeply moved and found Cash's cover beautiful and meaningful.[1]
Contents |
[edit] Track listing
- "The Man Comes Around" (Cash) – 4:26
- "Hurt" (Reznor) – 3:38
- Originally recorded by Nine Inch Nails for The Downward Spiral (1994)
- "Give My Love to Rose" (Cash) – 3:28
- Originally recorded by Cash for Sun, appears on Sings Hank Williams (1960), also appears on At Folsom Prison (1968)
- "Bridge Over Troubled Water" (Simon) – 3:55
- Originally recorded by Simon and Garfunkel for Bridge over Troubled Water (1970)
- "I Hung My Head" (Sting) – 3:53
- Originally recorded by Sting for Mercury Falling (1996)
- "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" (MacColl) – 3:52
- Was a number one hit for Roberta Flack (1972)
- "Personal Jesus" (Gore) – 3:20
- Originally recorded by Depeche Mode for Violator (1990)
- "In My Life" (Lennon/McCartney) – 2:57
- Originally recorded by The Beatles for Rubber Soul (1965)
- "Sam Hall" (Ritter) – 2:40
- Originally recorded by Cash for Sings the Ballads of the True West (1965)
- "Danny Boy" (Weatherly) – 3:19
- First published in 1910, previously recorded by Cash for Orange Blossom Special (1965)
- "Desperado" (Frey/Henley) – 3:13
- Originally recorded by The Eagles for Desperado (1973)
- "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry" (Williams) – 3:03
- Originally recorded by Hank Williams; previously recorded by Cash for Now, There Was a Song! (1960)
- "Tear Stained Letter" (Cash) – 3:41
- Originally recorded by Cash for A Thing Called Love (1972)
- "Streets of Laredo" – 3:33 (Traditional)
- Previously recorded by Cash for Sings the Ballads of the True West (1965)
- "We'll Meet Again" (Charles/Parker) – 2:58
- Most famously a hit for Vera Lynn (1939)
[edit] LP bonus tracks
Various editions of the album were released. Some include an extra interview disc or a DVD of the video for "Hurt". The vinyl edition of the album featured a slightly different track list and two bonus tracks which were subsequently released on the box set Unearthed:
[edit] Personnel
- Johnny Cash - vocals, guitar, acoustic guitar, arranger, adaptation
- Don Henley - drums, keyboards, vocals
- Fiona Apple - vocals
- Nick Cave - vocals
- Mike Campbell, John Frusciante, Randy Scruggs - acoustic guitar, guitar
- Thom Bresh, Jeff Hanna, Kerry Marx, Marty Stuart - acoustic guitar
- Smokey Hormel - acoustic guitar, slide guitar, guitar
- Jack Clement - Dobro
- Joey Waronker - drums
- David Ferguson - Ukulele, engineer, mixing
- Laura Cash - fiddle, production assistant
- Terry Harrington - clarinet
- Benmont Tench - organ, piano, harmonium, keyboards, Mellotron, vibraphone, pipe organ, Wurlitzer
- Roger Manning - piano, Tack Piano Harmonium, Mellotron, Chamberlin, orchestra bells
- Billy Preston - piano, keyboards
[edit] Additional personnel
- Rick Rubin - producer
- John Carter Cash - producer, engineer
- Thom Russo, Andrew Scheps, Chuck Turner - engineers
- Vladimir Meller - mastering
- Christine Cano - art direction, design
- Martyn Atkins - photography
- Lindsay Chase - production coordination
- Dwight Hume, Jimmy Tittle - production assistants
[edit] Charts
Album - Billboard (North America)
| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Country Albums | 2 |
| 2002 | Pop Albums | 22 |
[edit] Use in television and film
- "The Man Comes Around" was used during the opening sequence of the 2004 remake of Dawn of the Dead, as well as the closing scenes of Generation Kill. It was used in the soundtrack to the "Elephant's Memory" episode of Criminal Minds. It was used in an episode of The Sarah Connor Chronicles. "The Man Comes Around" is used in the closing credits of the 2003 film The Hunted, as well in a scene in the 2008 film My Best Friend's Girl. It was also used in the end credits of the film Insomnia with Al Pacino and Robin Williams.
- "Hurt" was used in the tribute video to late professional wrestler Eddie Guerrero who died from heart failure in late 2005. It was also used in the same Criminal Minds episode as "The Man Comes Around". The song was also featured in a documentary on Amy Winehouse. "Hurt" was also featured in the closing credits of the eight episode of Smallville`s third season.
- "I Hung My Head" was played during the montage of the end of the season 6 premiere of FX's The Shield.
[edit] References
- ^ Alternative Press #194. September, 2004.
