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While some critics take issue with Rubin's underproduction, none of the songs on American III require ornate instrumentation. Whether they've been fluffed up or stripped raw, at the core of each is a compelling statement from one of our greatest humanists.
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Greying at the edges, its tremor more pronounced, his voice is sober, honest, defiant. And it turns rock songs into something that sounds as old as the hills.
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All in all, as resonant and dignified a covers album as you'll ever hear.
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Though the Man in Black has rarely sounded blacker, producer Rick Rubin frames that deep sea voice with harmonies and churchly organs, making for a dark angel beauty of an album that's austere but welcoming.
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"Solitary Man" may lack the immediate impact of its predecessors but is no less a masterpiece.
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Though the covers on American III will attract the majority of listener attention, Cashs own material steals the show.
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Mostly downbeat, the album feels, at times, as if it were created beneath a black cloud.
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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.
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If one wanted to quibble, one could say that the Cash-Rubin collaboration is starting to feel just a little formulaic.... yet Cash continually surprises with his ability to completely inhabit material by writers much younger than him.
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So at 68 he's still able to churn out songs that are immediately likable, if not instantly classic. For a man who's seemingly suffered from every ailment imaginable in the past few years, his signature baritone remains as strong and expressive as ever, too.
Awards & Rankings
User score distribution:
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Positive: 11 out of 13
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Mixed: 1 out of 13
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Negative: 1 out of 13
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Sep 19, 2011
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Sep 6, 2022A solid effort with some remarkable recordings, Wayfaring Stranger feels like he's leaving a message to us all.
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Jul 26, 2012