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American III: Solitary Man

by Johnny Cash

ALBUM RANKINGS:

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All Time

of 455,466

3,505
2000's

of 265,741

441
2000

of 38,671

32

Ratings and rankings are based on all available critic reviews and awards.

Overall Rating: 3.0220 American III: Solitary Man is ranked overall as 3.0220 out of 4 stars

Avg. Critic Score: 3.0316 American III: Solitary Man has an avg. critic score of 3.0316 out of 4 stars

American III: Solitary Man Album Reviews

Critic Review Summary

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(2)

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Featured Reviews

Entertainment Weekly

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. ...more

Entertainment Weekly

"Is it getting better or do you feel the same?" asks the Man In Black on a stripped-down version of U2's "One." Both: Cash moves while standing still. Johnny Cash's recordings can still stir the soul. ...more

Rolling Stone

The onus here lies on the production... Rick Rubin's work is too timid; mostly, the shy combos of guitar, fiddle and accordion, or Benmont Tench's subliminal contributions on keyboards, make up the kind of severe meal that one is forced to think of as "tasteful. ...more

Rolling Stone

Even the best good ideas can get pushed too far, and for Johnny Cash,American III: Solitary Manis one Rick Rubin-built cover album over the line. ...more

All Music Guide

Like his two previous studio albums, Solitary Man is sparsely produced by Rick Rubin, and continues the themes of love, faith, and loneliness that their previous collaborations have chillingly embraced. ...more

Reviews by score:

See all (5) "Excellent" Reviews

Sonicnet

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....read the complete review at Sonicnet

See all (7) "Very Good" Reviews

Pitchfork

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...read the complete review at Pitchfork

See all (7) "Good" Reviews

L.A. Weekly

I'm assuming the problems began when Rubin presented Cash with a cache of songs to choose from. From there, Rubin's production only makes a bad situation worse, putting Cash's dusty, reverbless voice -- which is beginning to show its frailties --...read the complete review at L.A. Weekly

There are no "Fair" Reviews

See all (2) "Poor" Reviews

The A.V. Club

Many forces conspire to make Johnny Cash's Solitary Man good instead of great: The tame, toothless arrangements are neither as viscerally spare as those on 1994's brilliant American Recordings nor as fleshed out as those on 1996's Heartbreakers-backed...read the complete review at The A.V. Club

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