American 3: Solitary Man (Reis)

Cash strikes again! (2010-05-31) : 5/5
Another collaboration with Rick Rubin produces another album that is classic Cash reinvented. After the Nashville record execs thumbed their noses at him by dumping him from Columbia and his new found success with an entirely new audience, he took out a full page add in the Memphis paper flipping them off.
Johnny Cash at his best (2010-04-02) : 5/5
I have always loved folk, old style country and the darker, more acoustic broody side of rock. My husband is a dyed in the wool lover of classic old time Country music and bluegrass, but most of all, he loves pretty much anything Johnny Cash sings. This album is the perfect marriage of our tastes, only Johnny Cash could take songs from such disparate genres and make each and every one of them his own, to the extent that you cannot even recall them belonging to another artist. The spare arrangements work perfectly with his unique voice and the guitar work is a thing of simple beauty. More than anything though, I love the way his gravelly voice forces you to listen to each every word, however painful, however (darkly) humorous. br /br /Anyone with a younger, sweeter voice might have made a song like I Wont Back Down sound like pap teenage rebellion, Cash turns it into a mature declaration of how to sincerely live. The same is true with any number of songs which could be rendered trite or overly sentimental or melodramatic, but which become moving, sometimes disturbing, but always thought provoking thanks to the straightforward delivery of Johnny Cash and the stark, haunting arrangements.br /br /Standouts include I Wont Back Down, Solitary Man, Mercy Seat and Darkness, but all the tracks are well done, an album my husband and I listen to over and over and over.
The Legend (2009-12-29) : 4/5
I can't add much to what the others have said. This is a great album of cover songs. My favorite tracks are "Solitary Man" and "One." Hell, who am I kidding? This whole album is good and the one track that I least like, "I Won't Back Down" is still pretty ok. If you are a fan of the "Man in Black," or just good music in general, then you should get this.
A Great Series of Recordings (2009-08-28) : 5/5
After hearing so many people gush about the Johnny Cash /Rick Rubin American series for several years, I finally got around to giving them a listen. I started with the first one "American Recordings". The first listen was a wow moment. A few weeks later I bought the next three "Unchained", "American III: Solitary Man" and American IV: The Man Comes Around". I had a long day of data entry to do so I ended up listening to these three CDs in one sitting on head phones. Amazingly I did not get bored with them and the time just flew by. br /br /They did everything right on this series, from song selection to what seamed like the unerring production on every track. Be it Johnny with one guitar or a full band it seamed like no mistakes were made. Cash's voice was starting fade a bit on American IV but I found it to be an apt conclusion to his story in music. All four CDs are worth having and I will get American V some time soon. br /br /br /This is a very fitting swansong for Cash. br /
I'm no country fan . . . (2009-01-25) : 4/5
. . . but I am a fan of this. I sought this out after hearing the Johnny Cash version of "Solitary Man" on "Stargate Atlantis" and after hearing Johnny perform "The Wanderer" on one of my U2 albums. I've never owned a Johnny Cash album or a country music album other than Glen Campbell's Greatest Hits, but old Johnny does a fabulous job with all the songs here. Granted, I'm not a fan of all the songs, but you can give this album a listen without constantly wanting to skip ahead. "The Mercy Seat" is a fine song about a guy who ultimately goes to the electric chair. It's a new favorite of mine. I might even seek out some more Cashola after this pleasant experience.