I am a lifelong fan, and enjoyed the two albums a couple of years ago. But this one (“When the Man Comes Around” ) affects me on a whole other level.
Some people I’ve talked to think it relies too heavily on covers of hoary standards (“Bridge Over Troubled Water”, “Desperado”, etc.) But I think it’s cool to hear that famous voice singing those songs, the way Willie Nelson did a couple of years ago.
My favorites, though, are the WW II-era standard “We’ll Meet Again”, and especially, the title track. Both seem to be his way of saying goodbye – he sounds pretty enfeebled.
“When the Man Comes Around” literally and repeatedly, brings me to tears.
Notably, I am a certified athiest for the last 30 years, so there’s zero chance that I’m going to change my views.
But I’ve always thought the strength of really good music was its ability to put you in the emotional state of its creator. And this song makes me understand how it feels to be a Bible-believing Baptist who’s facing death, like nothing I’ve ever heard.
The fact that it’s possibly the last great song by such a brilliant songwriter makes it even more affecting.
I agree - it’s one of the albums of the year, and probably my second favourite of the five American records (after the untouchable, all time masterpiece American Recordings). The opening song is fantastic - I particularly like the almost folky way it starts before getting down to quite a heavy country riff. I always point to Cash’s Were You There … when people say that the devil has all the good tunes, but this song might be even better as a more recent example
I didn’t know that his new album was out, but do you realize he’s won Grammys for the last three albums consecutively? Not many people can say that, for sure.
How many married couples won Grammys for their own, separate albums in the same year? Even fewer.
