American IV: The Man Comes Around (Bonus DVD) [Enhanced]

If you like Johny Cash you will love this last offering. WHen he does a cover song her truly makes it his own. This album is definetly a great last offering from a talented Artist. Highly Recomend it.

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

This CD has been in my collection for nearly two years now. I originally bought it for the novelty of the cover of Reznor's, "Hurt". This particular track and the accompanying video still is the most moving performance I have ever encountered.

What has become the surprise in this album is the power and the message contained in the rest of the tracks. Mr. Cash was obviously a man of strong Christian beliefs. The title track, "The Man comes around", and the undiscovered gem of his cover of, "Personal Jesus", certainly convey this fact. Despite the weakness of his aged voice, his performance on, "Sam Hall", and, "Tear stained letter", evoke the rowdy country singer of his earlier career. I hung my head", "I'm so lonesome I could cry", and, "Streets of Laredo" pay homage to the genre of country music. His love for his wife is aptly displayed in, "Give my love to Rose", and, "The first time I ever saw your face", as it is in in many of the tracks. "Desperado", "In my life", and, of course, "Hurt", practically become autobiographical. "Bridge over troubled water", and, "Danny boy", appear as comforting messages. The closing track, "We'll meet again", seems oddly out of place, yet it is somehow comforting to hear these words from Johnny's voice. After listening to this collection, I cannot think of a more fitting closing to this album, or his career.

In summary, an eclectic collection, a stark, but powerful performance and no disappointments save for the fact we will never get another album from the late, great Johnny Cash