Music trivia time! What album includes songs written by Trent Reznor, Paul Simon, Tex Ritter, Sting, Hank Williams, and Depeche Mode’s Martin Gore? If you guessed American IV: The Man Comes Around by Johnny Cash, go to the front of the class.
American IV was released in 2002, and was the last album released in Cash’s lifetime. (Though not the last album with new material from Cash.) It’s a real collaborative effort, with appearances by Fiona Apple, Nick Cave, Billy Preston, Don Henly, and others.
Looking through my list of albums, I find Cash is a bit of an anomaly. Almost all of the bands/artists here are performing their own material. Sure, there are covers here and there, but for the most part it’s the singer/songwriter model. (Jacqueline du Pré is the other obvious exception.)
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