Customer Reviews
Very, very suggestive performances - By: Nikica Gilic, 15 Jul 2008 
Not being an expert on country music or on Johnny Cash, I must say this album is moving & very very suggestive; with simple but clever arrangements, beautiful songs & amazing vocal...
Obviously more than merely touched by age & various ailments, mr. Johnny Cash performes with great passion & suggests wisdom no young singer can convey (or even come close to conveying)...
I like it very much!
2nd Best of the American Series - By: gnagfloW, 11 Jun 2008 Of the 5 American Series Cash released during his last years, this album is my 2nd favorite, very close to being IMHO as good as my favorite, A Man Comes Around IV. The main difference is that IV includes a few out of this world tracks that give it the edge over this one.
That is not to say that no stand out tracks are included on this set. No less practically half of the album reaches the status of being exceptional. Tom Petty sings along with Cash on the opening two tracks, the first being a Petty cover, I Won't Back Down. Petty's version is good but somewhat dated (Jeff Lynn produced it), Cash's version is more straight forward & much better. A similar analogy can be made of the next track, Solitary Man, a very straight forward version with a silent despair.
U2's One is another track which Cash does much much better (I am a huge U2 fan & think that their version is great). The text shinesin this version & actually adds a different dimension to the song itself. After a solid & powerful start the set slows down somewhat with I See Darkness & The Mercy Seat. The latter track is a Nick Cave coverin which Cash interprets the anguish someone feels being on death row & about to be electrocuted; very powerful song & the end where the admission of guilt is followed by bar room piano playingin a macabre fashion is not to be missed.
Mary of the Wild Moor & Wayfaring Stranger are the main tracks at the latter half of this album. Although most of those tracks are not as good as the first tracks of the album, none of them have any filler feel to them.
Although I prefer IV, this album is also a must purchase for any Cash fan & those who would like to add some Cash to their collection should not let this album pass them by. Of the American Series, this may even be the most even album & probably has the most direct straight forward production, brimful of guitars & solid tracks.
Perhaps the best late Cash album - By: S J Buck, 20 May 2007 This 3rd albumin the 'American' series of recordings is amongst the best things Johnny Cash has ever done. As with all the late Cash recordings there is a running thread of passionate honesty & realism that runs throughout the entire the album.
Typical of this is the opening track "I Won't Back Down". Cash is defiant on this track: "Well I know whats right, I got just one life,in a world that keeps on pushing me around, but I stand my ground & I won't back down". This track like the rest is stripped down to a bare minimum. Accoustic guitar with some extra backing vocals on the chorus is all you get, & of because of Cash's fantastic livedin voice, this works to perfection.
Its Cash's voice & the sparse arrangements on this album that make all the covers sound like they were written for him. Neil Diamonds "Solitary Man" & U2's "One" being perhaps the best examples of this. However the best track full stop is Cash's great cover of Nick Caves "The Mercy Seat". Here Cash again restates the running theme through his final albums "I am not afraid die". Full credit to producer Rick Rubin for the arrangement on this track which adds to the already powerful lyric.
I've only just purchased this & I haven't stopped playing it.
The best album I've heard in years - By: A. E. Holmes, 10 May 2007 I have bought American 2, 3 & 4 so far & this is my favourite. The selection of songs is second to none & Cash rises to the occasion to give a powerful set of performances despite his ailing health. What I love about this album is the passion, humour & defiance of a man nearing the end but determined to go out fighting.
I have bought a lot of albums over the years & I have a reasonably eclectic tastein music & for me this CD stands out because there is no hype, nothing to prove & no showing off, its just an honest portrait of a man latein his career warts & all.
One of his finest - By: A. J. Holmes, 13 Apr 2006 
From start to finish, this album is fantastic & is a superb example of Cash's unique voice. This album has a distinctly more modern feel than his earlier work - 'Solitary Man' presents us with guitar ballards rather than the 'country + western' music which brought him worldwide fame. However, this album never loses sight of what Cash's music is about: perhaps most clearly shownin his version of Nick Cave's 'The Mercy Seat' - here, Cash's deep & frail voice complements a very lyrical song perfectly. One of the great things about this album is that, although the majority of songs on it are covers, Cash has arranged & performs themin a distinctly personal way & consequently the album has a refreshingly origional feel to it. If you liked 'The Man Comes Around', you'll love this album.
