Johnny Cash: American IV: The Man Comes Around

Johnny Cash's 1994 classic American Recordings spawned one of the decade's most heartwarming creative comebacks, as Cash, armed only with an acoustic guitar and the hands-off production of Rick Rubin, recorded some of the most powerful music of his amazing, imposing career. Today, the album has lost none of its power or grace, and it remains undiminished by the diminishing returns that followed. Unchained was a solid but unspectacular full-band outing, while on 2000's Solitary Man, Cash seemed to lack energy, his voice in apparent decline. He sounds better on The Man Comes Around, but his song selection has rarely made less sense. The album's track listing is littered with bad ideas: A Nine Inch Nails cover ("Hurt") should be expected from a singer who's reinterpreted the likes of Soundgarden and Danzig, but he also dabbles in lite-pop schmaltz ("First Time Ever I Saw Your Face") and a brutal cover of "Desperado" that features a guest vocal by Don Henley. The more famous the song, the worse he tends to fare—"Personal Jesus" and "Bridge Over Troubled Water" don't work, either—with the notable exception of "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry," which benefits from the presence of guest Nick Cave. More problematic than the selection is the persistently bleak tone: American Recordings' brooding dirges were leavened by humor, mischief, and a strong undercurrent of faith and redemption. Here, a cover of Sting's "Hung My Head" merely wallows in shame and regret, which makes the similarly murder-themed but unrepentant "Sam Hall" sound strangely refreshing by comparison. In its best moments, The Man Comes Around merely serves as another reminder of the enduring importance of great source material.