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77 of 84 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Would You Lay With Me In A Field Of Stone?, October 18, 2000
This review is from: American III: Solitary Man (Audio CD)
There's something irresistable about an old, wise rebel singing songs of despair and melancholy. Johnny Cash has carved out this niche for over 45 years. He's walked the line and gone down in a burning ring of fire. He's surpassed illness and critics. "American III: Solitary Man" follows "American Recordings" (1994) and "Unchained" (1996) as Cash's third cd produced by Rick Rubin (Beastie Boys et al.) Cash shines on remakes like Tom Petty's "I Won't Back Down", Neil Diamond's "Solitary Man", U2's "One", Nick Cave's "The Mercy Seat". When Cash is dark, he's very dark like the lyrics in "I See A Darkness". He can turn on a dime and produce sad, painful comedy like "Nobody" and "Country Trash". He never loses the heart and soul of country/folk playing and singing. At 68, Cash is the oldest, coolest artist in my collection, and I look forward to each of his recordings because it seems like he always has some new way of seeing life and relationships. Some artists have nothing to say or make a few cds and then have nothing to say, but Johnny Cash continues to show the wisdom of age and experience and its value in our lives. I don't like country music much, but I sure do dig Johnny Cash. "American III: Solitary Man" stands on its own.
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30 of 32 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Another Stellar Effort From An American Treasure, October 19, 2000
This review is from: American III: Solitary Man (Audio CD)
Faced with his own mortality, Johnny Cash is still rediscovering his artistry. "American III: Solitary Man" is his third solid release in the last six years. Working in collaboration with Rick Rubin, Cash has produced another thoughful and moving album. Johnny contributes for songs, while covering the likes of Tom Petty, David Alan Coe, U2, Nick Cave, Bert Williams, Will Oldham (!) and Neil Diamond (don't laugh, its a great song). Cash and Rubin once again take chances, and the result is wonderful. If Cash's vocals are a little rougher than last time out (1996's "Unchained") it just adds to the emotional wallop of the music. This man has made such great music for so many years. I've been listening to Johnny Cash for almost all my life and, even during the long period in which he was phoning it in in the recording studio, Cash was more interesting than almost any other musician. The fact that Johnny Cash is still making great music is a marvel, and I hope everyone that reads this gets to hear this terrific album.
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22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A late life Cash convert, November 6, 2005
I never liked Johnny Cash, and I've been a music fan for most of my 55+ years. Then, a year ago, I was in a used record shop in Norwich, England, when I heard something that stopped me in my tracks. "Who the hell is that?" I asked the kid behind the counter. "It's Johnny Cash," he said. And so it was, Johnny Cash singing "Spiritual", from one of the American records. I was stunned and overwhelmed by the lean beauty of that song, and the courage of the man singing it. Since that trip, I've bought all the American albums. This one, though, is simply my favorite. Cash's cover of Neil Diamond's Solitary Man is brilliant. And "The Mercy Seat" is just overwhelming in its emotional intensity and its deep ring of the truth. Was I ever wrong for all those years about The Man in Black. This music, spare, lean, intense, haunted, and brave, is unlike any American music I have ever heard. It comes closest to the raw intensity of the best of the blues. But it's all Johnny Cash, the one and only. Hear it, weep, and rejoice. This is a consummate artist at the peak of his career, even at its end.
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