Jul 30, 2018 The Man Comes Around Johnny Cash American IV: The Man Comes Around ℗ 2002 American Recordings, LLC, under exclusive license to Universal Music Enterprises, a. American Recordings is the 81st album by the country singer Johnny Cash. It was released on April 26, 1994 by American Recordings, after it had changed its.
In May, Universal Muisc Enterprises will release American Recordings, a seven-LP vinyl box set compiling Johnny Cash‘s releases recorded with Rick Rubin for his American Recordings label.
All six of the albums are included: American Recordings, American Recordings II: Unchained, American Recordings III: Solitary Man, American Recordings IV: The Man Comes Around (2LP), American Recordings V: A Hundred Highways and American Recordings VI: Ain’t No Grave.
All six of the albums are included: American Recordings, American Recordings II: Unchained, American Recordings III: Solitary Man, American Recordings IV: The Man Comes Around (2LP), American Recordings V: A Hundred Highways and American Recordings VI: Ain’t No Grave.
The music was recorded during the last decade of Cash’s life and the last two albums were posthumous releases after his death in 2003.
The American Recordings box set will be released on 4 May 2015. The price on Amazon Italy is significantly cheaper than the UK price at the time of writing.
- • UK Pre-order: American Recordings Box Set [VINYL]
- • USA Pre-order: american recordings I-VI LP
- • FRANCE Pre-order: American Recordings Box Set
- • GERMANY Pre-order: American Recordings I-VI [Vinyl LP]
- • ITALY Pre-order: American Recordings Box Set *best price
Summary of albums from the press release:
LP1 – American Recordings (1994)
Released in 1994, American Recordings is a raw, stripped-down album recorded in a living room with just Cash and his acoustic guitar. The album ranks No. 366 on Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list, has earned a Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Folk Album Including Best Ethnic or Contemporary Folk Recording and hit number 23 on the Country Albums chart and number 110 on the Billboard Top 200. American Recordings not only features Cash-penned tracks such as Redemption, Like a Soldier and Drive On, he also puts his stamp on a wide variety of covers such as Glenn Danzig’sThirteen, Leonard Cohen’s Bird on a Wire, Tom Wait’s Down There by the Train and Nick Lowe’s The Beast in Me.
LP2 – American II: Unchained (1996)
In 1996 Johnny Cash teamed up with Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and recorded American II: Unchained which earned a Grammy Award for Best Country Album in 1997 and hit number 26 on Billboard’s Top Country Albums chart and number 170 on the Billboard 200. Included are tracks such asCountry Boy, Mean Eyed Cat and Tom Petty’s Southern Accents. Other songs are cover versions of Beck’s Rowboat, Soundgarden’s Rusty Cage and The Kneeling Drunkard’s Plea written by June, Anita, Helen and Mother Maybelle Carter.
LP3 – American III: Solitary Man (2000)
Once again teaming up with Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Solitary Man was released in 2000 and earned Cash a Grammy Award for Best Male Country Vocal Performance for his rendition of Neil Diamond’s Solitary Man. The album reached number 11 on Billboard’s Country Albums chartand number 88 on the Billboard 200. Other songs presented are Tom Petty’s I Won’t Back Down, U2’sOne and Field of Diamonds featuring backing vocals by June Carter.
LP4 (Double Album) – American IV: The Man Comes Around (2002)
Released in 2002, The Man Comes Around is the last studio album released by Johnny Cash before his death in 2003. It reached number 2 on the Billboard Country Albums chart and number 22 on the Billboard 200. The Man Comes Around earned a Country Music Association Award for Album of the Year and features the single Give My Love to Rose which won a Grammy Award for Best Country Male Vocal Performance. Also featured is his re-defining cover of Nine Inch Nails’ Hurt, which won a 2003 Grammy Award for Best Short Form Video and 2003 Country Music Association Award for Single of the Year and Music Video of the Year. It was nominated for six MTV Awards, winning in the Best Cinematography category. Hurt also reached number 33 on the Modern Rock Tracks chart, number 56 on the Country Singles chart and number 34 on the Hot Digital Songs chart.
LP5 – American V: A Hundred Highways (2006)
Cash’s highly anticipated posthumous album A Hundred Highways was recorded in 2002-2003 and released in 2006. It reached number 1 on the Billboard 200, Country Albums and Top Internet Albums charts consecutively, with the track God’s Gonna Cut You Down earning a Grammy Award for Best Short Form Music Video in 2007. Other performances include a cover of Bruce Springsteen’s Further On (Up the Road) and Cash’s last original, Like the 309, a song about a train taking his casket away.
LP6 – American VI: Ain’t No Grave (2010)
In 2010 American Recordings/Lost Highway Records released American VI: Ain’t No Grave, an album featuring music recorded during the American V: A Hundred Highways sessions. It debuted at number 1 on the Top Digital Albums chart, number 2 on the Top Country Albums chart and number 3 on the Billboard 200 becoming Cash’s third Top 10 in the U.S. Featured are tracks such as I Corinthians 15:55,Redemption Day written by Sheryl Crow, Cool Water by Bob Nolan, and Can’t Help But Wonder Where I’m Bound by Tom Paxton.
Released in 1994, American Recordings is a raw, stripped-down album recorded in a living room with just Cash and his acoustic guitar. The album ranks No. 366 on Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list, has earned a Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Folk Album Including Best Ethnic or Contemporary Folk Recording and hit number 23 on the Country Albums chart and number 110 on the Billboard Top 200. American Recordings not only features Cash-penned tracks such as Redemption, Like a Soldier and Drive On, he also puts his stamp on a wide variety of covers such as Glenn Danzig’sThirteen, Leonard Cohen’s Bird on a Wire, Tom Wait’s Down There by the Train and Nick Lowe’s The Beast in Me.
LP2 – American II: Unchained (1996)
In 1996 Johnny Cash teamed up with Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and recorded American II: Unchained which earned a Grammy Award for Best Country Album in 1997 and hit number 26 on Billboard’s Top Country Albums chart and number 170 on the Billboard 200. Included are tracks such asCountry Boy, Mean Eyed Cat and Tom Petty’s Southern Accents. Other songs are cover versions of Beck’s Rowboat, Soundgarden’s Rusty Cage and The Kneeling Drunkard’s Plea written by June, Anita, Helen and Mother Maybelle Carter.
LP3 – American III: Solitary Man (2000)
Once again teaming up with Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Solitary Man was released in 2000 and earned Cash a Grammy Award for Best Male Country Vocal Performance for his rendition of Neil Diamond’s Solitary Man. The album reached number 11 on Billboard’s Country Albums chartand number 88 on the Billboard 200. Other songs presented are Tom Petty’s I Won’t Back Down, U2’sOne and Field of Diamonds featuring backing vocals by June Carter.
LP4 (Double Album) – American IV: The Man Comes Around (2002)
Released in 2002, The Man Comes Around is the last studio album released by Johnny Cash before his death in 2003. It reached number 2 on the Billboard Country Albums chart and number 22 on the Billboard 200. The Man Comes Around earned a Country Music Association Award for Album of the Year and features the single Give My Love to Rose which won a Grammy Award for Best Country Male Vocal Performance. Also featured is his re-defining cover of Nine Inch Nails’ Hurt, which won a 2003 Grammy Award for Best Short Form Video and 2003 Country Music Association Award for Single of the Year and Music Video of the Year. It was nominated for six MTV Awards, winning in the Best Cinematography category. Hurt also reached number 33 on the Modern Rock Tracks chart, number 56 on the Country Singles chart and number 34 on the Hot Digital Songs chart.
LP5 – American V: A Hundred Highways (2006)
Cash’s highly anticipated posthumous album A Hundred Highways was recorded in 2002-2003 and released in 2006. It reached number 1 on the Billboard 200, Country Albums and Top Internet Albums charts consecutively, with the track God’s Gonna Cut You Down earning a Grammy Award for Best Short Form Music Video in 2007. Other performances include a cover of Bruce Springsteen’s Further On (Up the Road) and Cash’s last original, Like the 309, a song about a train taking his casket away.
LP6 – American VI: Ain’t No Grave (2010)
In 2010 American Recordings/Lost Highway Records released American VI: Ain’t No Grave, an album featuring music recorded during the American V: A Hundred Highways sessions. It debuted at number 1 on the Top Digital Albums chart, number 2 on the Top Country Albums chart and number 3 on the Billboard 200 becoming Cash’s third Top 10 in the U.S. Featured are tracks such as I Corinthians 15:55,Redemption Day written by Sheryl Crow, Cool Water by Bob Nolan, and Can’t Help But Wonder Where I’m Bound by Tom Paxton.
- • UK Pre-order: American Recordings Box Set [VINYL]
- • GERMANY Pre-order: American Recordings I-VI [Vinyl LP]
- • ITALY Pre-order: American Recordings Box Set *best price
'The Man Comes Around' | |
---|---|
Song by Johnny Cash | |
from the album American IV: The Man Comes Around | |
Released | May 24, 2002 |
Genre | |
Length | 4:26 |
Label | |
Songwriter(s) | Johnny Cash |
Producer(s) |
'The Man Comes Around' is the title track from Johnny Cash's American IV: The Man Comes Around, released in 2002. It was written several years prior to the release of the album; however, Cash updated it for the album. It is one of the last songs Cash wrote before his death.[4] Both sung and spoken, the song makes numerous Biblical references, especially to the Book of Revelation.[5]
Symbols and references in the lyrics[edit]
There are numerous biblical references in the lyrics.[5] A spoken portion from Revelation 6:1–2 in the King James Version[REV 6:1-6:2] introduces the song.[6] The passage describes the coming of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, each heralded by one of the 'four beasts' first mentioned in Revelation 4:6–9. The musical portion then begins with Cash reciting that 'the man' (Jesus Christ) will one day come to pass judgment. The chorus indicates that these events will be accompanied by trumpets, (as in Revelation 8, 9, 11), pipers (Rev.18:22), and 'one hundred million angels singing'. The voice of the Lord in Revelation is often likened to the sound of a loud trumpet (Revelation 1:10; 4:1; and 8:13). Revelation 5:11 states that John saw that there are millions of angels in Heaven.
The song also alludes to the Parable of the Ten Virgins from the Gospel of Matthew (25:1–13) with the lyrics 'The malcy’s are all trimming their wicks,' a reference to the virgins' preparation of the Second Coming of Christ. The phrase, 'It's hard for thee to kick against the pricks' cites Acts 26:14, where Paul the Apostle describes meeting Jesus while traveling to Damascus. It is a reference to a Greek proverb where a kicking ox only injures himself by attempting to kick against a goad, intended to represent the futility of resisting the Lord.
Elsewhere, the song mentions the wise men who bow before the Lord's throne, and cast their 'golden crowns' at the feet of God. Revelation 4 refers to elders who worship the Lord and 'lay their crowns' before Him (Revelation 4:10). 'Alpha and Omega' refers to God himself. (Rev.1:8,11, 21:6, 22:13), but also to the cries of the newborn and the dying. 'Whoever is unjust... etc' is a quote from Revelation 22:11.
Music[edit]
The arrangement of the song is sparse (although not so much as in some of Cash's later compositions, such as 'God's Gonna Cut You Down'); two guitars, piano (played in the bass register), and an electric organ.
History[edit]
Of the album's fifteen tracks, only three were written by Cash, with 'The Man Comes Around' the sole song specifically penned for it, and the only song Cash wrote in its entirety.
The song was inspired by a dream Cash had about Queen Elizabeth II in which the queen compared Cash to 'a thorn tree in a whirlwind.' Haunted by the dream, Cash became curious if the phrase was a biblical reference and eventually found a similar phrase in the Book of Job.[7]
An alternative 'early take' of the song appears on the Unearthed box set (2003) and The Legend of Johnny Cash (2005). The 'Legend' version omits the spoken word intro and outro.
Legacy[edit]
The song was listed as the 296th best song of the 2000s by Pitchfork Media.
In popular culture[edit]
- The song was used during the opening credits of the 2004 remake of Dawn of the Dead.[8]
- The song is used in the last episode of the first season of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles.
- The song was used in the ending sequence for the final episode of the 2008 miniseries Generation Kill.
- The song was used in the trailer and soundtrack for the 2012 film Killing Them Softly[8]
- The song is used in the eleventh episode of the first season of NBC’s The Blacklist.
- The song was used during the ending credits of the movie Logan.
- The song is used in the wedding scene of the 2008 film My Best Friends Girl.
- The song was used during the end credits of the 2003 film The Hunted, which also featured opening credits voiceover by Cash himself.
References[edit]
- ^
- ^American IV: The Man Comes Around album review - PopMatters Retrieved 10 February 2015
- ^Johnny Cash Joins Gospel Hall of Fame - Country Weekly Retrieved 10 February 2015
- ^Brinkley, T. (October 15, 2006), 'Walking the Line', The New York Times (review),
one of his last original compositions
. (login required) - ^ abIn the album's liner notes, Cash states that the song is 'based, loosely, on the book of Revelation, with a couple of lines or a chorus, from other biblical sources'.
- ^Beckett, Colin (1 September 2003). 'Johnny Cash - American IV: The Man Comes Around'. Stylus Magazine. Retrieved 2 December 2013.
- ^Kamp, David (October 2004). 'American Communion'. Vanity Fair. Retrieved 2 December 2013.
- ^ abLewis, J. S. (27 October 2014). 'Movie Music Moment: Dawn of the Dead ('When the Man Comes Around')'. Cineflect. Retrieved 2016-08-09.
External links[edit]
- Lyons, William John (2009). Lyons, W.J.; Økland, J. (eds.). 'The Apocalypse according to Johnny Cash: Examining the 'effect' of the Book of Revelation on a contemporary apocalyptic writer'(PDF). The Way the World Ends? The Apocalypse of John in Culture and Ideology. Sheffield: Sheffield Phoenix Press: 95–122. Retrieved 2 December 2013.
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