American IV: The Man Comes Around

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American IV: The Man Comes Around
American IV: The Man Comes Around cover
Studio album by Johnny Cash
Released November 5, 2002
Genre Country
Length 51:55
Label American Recordings / Universal
Producer Rick Rubin
John Carter Cash
Professional reviews
Johnny Cash chronology
Johnny Cash at Madison Square Garden
(2002)		 American IV: The Man Comes Around
(2002)		 Unearthed
(2003)
American series chronology
American III: Solitary Man
(2000)		 American IV: The Man Comes Around
(2002)		 Unearthed
(2003)

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 last album released by Cash during his lifetime. It was also his first 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.

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. He later said in an interview, "I just lost my girlfriend, because that song isn't mine anymore."[1]

Contents

[edit] Track listing

  1. "The Man Comes Around" (Cash) – 4:26
  2. "Hurt" (Reznor) – 3:38
    Originally recorded by Nine Inch Nails for The Downward Spiral (1994)
  3. "Give My Love to Rose" (Cash) – 3:28
    Originally recorded by Cash for Sun, appears on Sings Hank Williams (1960)
  4. "Bridge Over Troubled Water" (Simon) – 3:55
    Originally recorded by Simon and Garfunkel for Bridge over Troubled Water (1970)
  5. "I Hung My Head" (Sting) – 3:53
    Originally recorded by Sting for Mercury Falling (1996)
  6. "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" (MacColl) – 3:52
    Was a number one hit for Roberta Flack (1972)
  7. "Personal Jesus" (Gore) – 3:20
    Originally recorded by Depeche Mode for Violator (1990)
  8. "In My Life" (Lennon/McCartney) – 2:57
    Originally recorded by The Beatles for Rubber Soul (1965)
  9. "Sam Hall" (Ritter) – 2:40
    Originally recorded by Cash for Sings the Ballads of the True West (1965)
  10. "Danny Boy" (Weatherly) – 3:19
    First published in 1910, previously recorded by Cash for Orange Blossom Special (1965)
  11. "Desperado" (Frey/Henley) – 3:13
    Originally recorded by The Eagles for Desperado (1973)
  12. "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)
  13. "Tear Stained Letter" (Cash) – 3:33
    Originally recorded by Cash for A Thing Called Love (1972)
  14. "Streets of Laredo" – 3:41 (Traditional)
    Previously recorded by Cash for Sings the Ballads of the True West (1965)
  15. "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

[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 film

  • "The Man Comes Around" was used during the opening sequence of the 2004 remake of Dawn of the Dead.
  • "Hurt" was used in the tribute video to late professional wrestler Eddie Guerrero who passed away from heart failure in late 2005.
  • "Hurt" was featured in the closing credits of Episode 8 Season 3 of Smallville
  • "I Hung My Head" was played during the montage of the end of the season 6 premiere of FX's The Shield.
  • "The Man Comes Around" is also used in the closing credits of the 2003 film The Hunted.
  • "The Man Comes Around" was featured in the conclusion of the Season 1 finale of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, featured prominently in an FBI raid sequence and in the final scene, where the female Terminator gets into her car and a bomb is set off.
  • "Hurt" was used in 2008 for a documentary of Amy Winehouse.

[edit] References

  • ^  Alternative Press #194. September, 2004.