Ladies and gentlemen, I'd like to propose a good old-fashioned cage match between Johnny Cash and any 50-plus-year-old rocker you can dig up. Round up their latest album and see if it can hold a candle to "American IV: The Man Comes Around."
Cash will whip any and all takers. He's got the credentials to do battle.
Cash does it all here.
There are originals. The title song, "The Man Comes Around" is a haunting take on the second coming from the biblical book of Revelation.
It begins with a scratchy recording of Cash's baritone reading from Revelations: "And I heard, as it were, the voice of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, "come and see," and I saw, and behold, a white horse..."
It's the work of a master craftsman. He explains the conception and birth of this song in the liner notes. To know more, buy the album.
There are also covers from all over the spectrum. The first one, "Hurt" is as dark as any song I've heard in years. It's a Nine Inch Nails song, and I would suggest Reznor just remove this song from his repetoire for the near future. Or at least call Cash out on stage to do the song justice. Cash takes the drug-users lament and turns it into an ode to a life winding down. Powerful.
More? How about Simon and Garfunkel's "Bridge Over Troubled Water," "First Time Ever I Saw Your Face," the Beatles' "In My Life," the Eagles' "Desperado," Hank Williams' "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry," and Sting's "I Hung My Head."
Cameos? How about Nick Cave belting out "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry." Or Don Henley singing along on "Desperado." Or Fiona Apple on "Bridge over Troubled Water." And Randy Scruggs plays along throughout, as does keyboard virtuoso Benmont Tench.
A couple of other notes: This is quintessential Cash. Stripped-down, bare recordings. A vocal, an acoustic guitar, a piano or organ. Even so, you'll be hard-pressed to remember that there are no drums in this recording. It's that good.
A tip o' the hat as well to producer Rick Rubin, who proves he can handle a legend. This one is going to stay in the mp3 player for a long time.
Of course, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the video for "Hurt," which is included on a special DVD with the version of the album listed below at Amazon. Mark Romanek directs the film. Yes, it's a film, not a video. It's stark. Romanek does a clever job of mixing black and white and color videos from Cash's past with new imagery of the 70-year-old legend. The color palette is subdued. When Cash is shown, he's sitting in a sort of yellow-orange light. His museum (closed because of flood damage, not neglect, actually) is seen in blue hues.
When Cash pours wine on a table and sings "You could have it all/ my empire of dirt/ I will let you down. I will make you hurt/If I could start again/ a million miles away/ I would keep myself/ I would find a way," you know he understands all that means.
It's equally touching to see June Carter Cash watching as the man in black sings this plaintive tune. She's visibly moved. It's almost as if she worries that he'll be able to finish the song.
The video really makes the song. The song makes the video. Kudos to Romanek for this powerful piece of creativity.