So the onus here lies on the production: I can’t believe I’m making this complaint of a country record — they’re usually so overproduced — but Rick Rubin’s work is too timid; mostly, the shy combos of guitar, fiddle and accordion, or Benmont Tench’s subliminal contributions on keyboards, make up the kind of severe meal that one is forced to think of as “tasteful.”, It takes Nick Cave and Mick Harvey’s overpoetic “The Mercy Seat,” smack in the middle of the album, to represent what the album could have achieved: The song has a layered production, with organ, regular and tack piano, and accordion swelling and receding under Cash’s onrushing, Leonard Cohen-like delivery. Solitary Man is good — better than good. But the real highlights of the album are those reminiscent of his American Recordings songs; they feature just the man and his guitar, with nothing else to clutter the story. I had to turn the volume almost down to nothing. Cash also lays his lonesome hands on U2’s “One” and reunites with fellow outlaw Merle Haggard on the stubborn “I’m Leavin’ Now.” These duets and well-known covers show an inviting side of Johnny Cash. 2 Country based on the title cut. ", Rolling Stone gave a mixed review, saying that "the onus here lies on the production...Rick Rubin's work is too timid; mostly, the shy combos of guitar, fiddle and accordion, or Benmont Tench's subliminal contributions on keyboards, make up the kind of severe meal that one is forced to think of as tasteful." At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 80, which indicates "generally favorable reviews", based on 15 reviews. I was never 'into' Johnny Cash until I discovered this set of CDs. Something we hope you'll especially enjoy: FBA items qualify for FREE Shipping and Amazon Prime. October 17: Johnny Cash – American III: Solitary Man was released in 2000, October 17: The Rolling Stones recorded the Brussels Affair in 1973, October 24: Bob Dylan – 10 great live versions of “One Too Many Mornings”, Nina Simone – Ballad of Hollis Brown – The Best Dylan Covers, October 24: Laura Cantrell released her debut album Not The Tremblin’ Kind in 2000. Graeme Thomson has characterized "Solitary Man" as an act of emotional preservation.[1]. I worked on these songs until I felt like they were my own.”. In 1994 made "man in black" Johnny Cash a striking comeback with the austere solo album American Recordings, which was produced by Rick Rubin and released on his American Recordings label. On American III: Solitary Man is Cash back to the acoustic sound of the first American-plate, but he did not make him single-handedly. I will now make sure I hear the other two albums that accompany this one. They are posted here for PROMOTIONAL PURPOSES ONLY. A review from Sonicnet praised Cash's ability to interpret songs and make them his own, saying, "When a tune falls into the jurisdiction of the venerable country-folk troubadour, the accumulated details of any previous readings or associations are stripped away, and its core brilliantly revealed." The Man in Black shows hints of gray on American III: Solitary Man, his first studio album since being interrupted by a series of serious illnesses in 1997.While the inevitability of aging has been the downfall of many of his contemporaries, Johnny Cash's dark convictions and powerful presence have gone from rough hardwood to solid stone. What a terrific album! The album was notable for being Cash’s highest charting (#11 Country) solo studio LP since his 1976 One Piece at a Time, an album that reached No. Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 28, 2002. All at Mid Price, these albums deserve to be in any serious record collection, For younger generations of musicians, having their song cut by Johnny Cash must be a little like scaling the Washington Monument. If you're a seller, Fulfillment by Amazon can help you grow your business. Partnering once again with Tom Petty, the two join together on Petty's own "I Won't Back Down" and the Neil Diamond-penned title track. This version is the best way to hear this album, Music On Vinyl did it again!!!! Even the best good ideas can get pushed too far, and for Johnny Cash, American III: Solitary Man is one Rick Rubin-built cover album over the line. When he quavers, with Oldham singing backup, “Is there hope that somehow you can save me from this darkness?” the effect is absolutely devastating. Partnering once again with Tom Petty, the two join together on Petty’s own “I Won’t Back Down” and the Neil Diamond-penned title track. The point is that Cash’s baritone (still able, despite the onset of a neurological disorder) is elemental, the marrow of sadness; simply to bestow that dark voice on moody songs by a range of songwriters is statement enough. This album contained Cash's response to his illness, typified by a version of Tom Petty's "I Won't Back Down", as well as a version of U2's "One". We give credit to artists when we can find the source. But the real highlights of the album are those reminiscent of his American Recordings songs; they feature just the man and his guitar, with nothing else to clutter the story. Prime members enjoy FREE Delivery and exclusive access to music, movies, TV shows, original audio series, and Kindle books. On American III: Solitary Man is Cash back to the acoustic sound of the first American-plate, but he did not make him single-handedly. ): American III: Solitary Man, just like Cash’s two previous albums produced by Rick Rubin, was a Grammy winner, taking home the award for Best Male Country Vocal Performance for Cash’s version of the Neil Diamond classic “Solitary Man”. --Don McLeese. While the inevitability of aging has been the downfall of many of his contemporaries, Johnny Cash's dark convictions and powerful presence have gone from rough hardwood to solid stone. I see a darkness (with guest Will Oldham, the composer of the song): Cash, solemn and ponderous, is the same in all the different rooms on this album, whether he’s covering Neil Diamond or David Allan Coe or Will Oldham or the vaudevillian Bert Williams or himself. The choice of songs is extremely varied and brilliant, often with their minimalistic approach/arrangement manages to shed a whole new meaning for me and the songs are fresh/new again; their quality and meaning often surpasses the original arangements; as far I am concerned anyway. On his third album for producer Rick Rubin's American label, Cash makes Tom Petty's "I Won't Back Down" sound like a companion classic to "I Walk the Line." I Won't Back Down 2. Reviewed in the United States on February 28, 2016. Tom Petty and his friends are back in, just like among others Sheryl Crow, Merle Haggard, Will Oldham and his wife June Carter Cash. A review published by Billboard said the album "may lack the immediate impact of its predecessors but is no less a masterpiece." The stark beauty of his 1994 release American Recordings and the warm, friendly collaborations on 1996’s Unchained combine to create two distinct moods: one of living-room jam sessions with invited friends, and another of stark solo (and near-solo) songs highlighting Cash’s years and stories. Gave it a spin, it sounds all right. My perception of Johnny cash was that of a predictable good ole boy who had built himself a macho image that appealed to some elements of American country music. American III: Solitary Man ist das dritte Musikalbum in der „American-Recordings“-Serie des Country-Sängers Johnny Cash. October 23: Watch Bob Dylan Performing a Wonderful “My Back Pages” in Minneapolis, MN 1998. His illness forced Cash to curtail his touring. Cash takes songs & makes them his own - stunning, Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 26, 2018. It is the third album in Cash's American series. American III: Solitary Man received mostly positive reviews from critics. Containing ten cover versions of other people's songs plus four Cash originals, for me, Solitary Man scores particularly highly in respect of the covers that Cash managed to fashion here, many of which rank right at the top of those he recorded on this outstanding set of albums. Description provided by Wikipedia under Creative Commons Attribution CC-BY-SA 4.0 There’s nothing wrong with drawing-room performances; I can quickly think of a dozen country singers who ought to make a record like this. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. © Copyright 2020 Rolling Stone, LLC, a subsidiary of Penske Business Media, LLC. 2 Country based on the title cut. Find album release information for American III: Solitary Man - Johnny Cash on AllMusic AllMusic. The album American III: Solitary Man contained Cash’s response to his illness, typified by a version of Tom Petty’s “I Won’t Back Down”, as well as a version of U2’s “One”. To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Tom Petty and his friends are back in, just like among others Sheryl Crow, Merle Haggard, Will Oldham and his wife June Carter Cash. While the inevitability of aging has been the downfall of many of his contemporaries, Johnny Cash’s dark convictions and powerful presence have gone from rough hardwood to solid stone. With all of the massive hype around at the moment regarding Johnny Cash, largely due to the movie 'Walk The Line', the time is right that these fantastic American Recordings titles are available again. The 3rd in the series of American recordings - Solitary Man is possibly my favourite, it’s just a fabulous collection of tracks and his take on U2’s One is pure magic. Great performance, but dynamic range is compressed and recorded at too high a level. Das CD-Album "American III: Solitary Man" von Johnny Cash (2000) - Alle Infos, Songs und mehr He transforms U2's "One" into a sturdy testament of plainspoken faith, while he plumbs the netherworld of Nick Cave's "The Mercy Seat" and Will Oldham's "I See a Darkness." Sign up for our newsletter. Rick and John's collaboration on the last albums, are incredibly well done. You won’t listen to the song the same after this. Nonetheless, if you own the rights to any of these images, videos, lyrics or music and do not wish them to appear on the site please see the ABOUT page and contact us, and they will be promptly removed. Reviewed in the United States on December 2, 2007. Cash's American Recordings albums were critically acclaimed, and captivated a younger audience than his previous albums - they inspired a whole new legion of Johnny Cash devotees. Doing this sucks the life out of music, since natural music includes the entire range of sounds from soft to loud. I bought my copy a couple days ago. Reviewed in the United States on June 16, 2003. Please try again. To the present day, Cash’s studio albums for American have continued to sell & chart extremely well, as evidenced by the platinum #22 POP, #2 C&W American IV: The Man Comes Around (released one year before his death) and the gold, #1 on both charts, American V: A Hundred Highways. While the inevitability of aging has been the downfall of many of his contemporaries, Johnny Cash's dark convictions and powerful presence have gone from rough hardwood to solid stone. In addition to a number of own songs plays Johnny Cash songs by Tom Petty (I Won't Back Down), Neil Diamond (Solitary Man), U2 (One) and Nick Cave (The Mercy Seat). 'One' from U2 had past me by (to say the least; NOT a U2 'fan') until I Heard Johnny's version; incredible! That disk remains my favorite, but on American III, once again, Johnny Cash hits a home run. But I was very disappointed that it came without a printed dust jacket or insert sheet. 11 on the US Billboard Top Country Albums chart and No. It was released on October 17, 2000, by American Recordings. That song’s transcendent power also stems from its production, which, although still sparse, is relatively lush. Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 9, 2009.