Search - Various Artists, Carter Family :: The Unbroken Circle - The Musical Heritage Of The Carter Family

Fine collection drawn from Carter Family songbook

hyperbolium | Earth, USA | 09/25/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"The greatest of American songbooks gets another run-through from a variety of country music luminaries, and the results, unsurprisingly, are very good. In addition to four Cashes (Johnny, June Carter, Roseanne and producer John Carter), the album sports tracks from George Jones, Emmylou Harris, Willie Nelson, Ricky Skaggs, and many others. Like most such collections, it's not uniformly fine (nor, even in its fineness, uniform in how it achieves its quality), but there's a lot of great music here.



Jones kicks off the album with a wonderfully loose take of "Worried Man Blues," buoyed by a deft, bluesy combination of guitars, bass, fiddle and drums. Sheryl Crow follows with over-the-top yowling on "No Depression in Heaven," and Emmylou Harris warbles somewhat unsteadily with the charming Peasall Sisters for "On the Sea of Galilee." From here, the album picks up with Johnny Cash's nearly-spent reading of "Engine One-Forty-Three" and really hits its stride with Marty Stuart's creepy march-time arrangement of "Never Let the Devil Get the Upper Hand on You."



Additional highlights include Norman and Nancy Blake's string-rich (guitar, cello, bouzouki, fiddle, autoharp) "Black Jack David," John Prine's acoustic rockabilly "Bear Creek Blues," The Whites' (with Ricky Skaggs) "Will My Mother Know Me There," and Roseanne Cash's "The Winding Stream." Kris Kristofferson and The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band's close the album with "Gold Watch and Chain," successfully pitting the former's craggy voice against the latter's polished acoustic picking and smooth harmonies.



These aren't definitive renditions (for that, original Carter Family recordings can be found), but like the Dirt Band's "Circle" albums, the reinvention and handing-down found among and between these generations say as much about the music as the songs themselves."

The Carter Family Revisited

H. F. Corbin | ATLANTA, GA USA | 12/19/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"John Carter Cash, the son of June Carter and Johnny Cash, has produced here a fitting tribute to the original Carter family. First he has managed to select some of the less often recorded songs and has gathered an interesting, talented group of entertainers to pick and sing these A. P. Carter numbers. Additionally he has written a thoughtful, insightful introduction on the relevance and influence of the Carter Family on bluegrass/folk/country music, whatever you choose to call it. There are some really beautiful numbers here. It's difficult to pick a favorite from so many. Emmylou Harris' rendition of "On The Sea of Galilee" with Randy Scruggs' acoustic guitar sounding so much like Maybelle Carter's style, however, is as good as this kind of music gets. Willie Nelson accompanies himself on guitar in a soulful "You Are My Flower" reminiscent of his "Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain," that was such a big hit years ago. Janette and Joe Carter's (A. P. and Sara's children) arrangement of "Little Moses" complete with Janette's lacy autoharp playing is quite beautiful. These two singers are almost in a time warp and have a sound closer to the original Carter family than anyone else on this CD. "Gold Watch and Chain" by The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band and Kris Kristofferson rounds out my favorite four. The two cuts I like least are "Worried Man Blues" by George Jones and "Hold Fast To The Right" by June Carter Cash with vocal backup by her husband. Jones, whose velvety tenor voice I love appears to have pitched this one one key too high; June Carter, although she co-wrote a country classic, "Ring of Fire," and was a great comedienne, was never known for having a beautiful voice. Sad to say, here she basically sings off-key. Perhaps Mr. Cash should have selected another number by her since she does some much better A. P. Carter on her previous solo albums.



There are 15 selections here, certainly something for every bluegrass/Carter Family fan. Wouldn't it be a fine day for music if Emmylou Harris did an all A. P. Carter album, along with Dolly Parton and Linda Ronstadt!"

Family, friends and special guests pay tribute; Johnny Cash'

Sanpete | in Utah | 08/24/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Part of what makes this album special brings both technical weaknesses and what some see as a greater overall power. I'll explain below, after some background. Though the album is a tribute to the Carter Family, it's also in a way a memorial of Johnny and June Carter Cash, who died around the time it was being made, who have their last/near last recordings on it, and whose family and friends performed much of the music.



The Carter Family were the most important forerunners and shapers of modern country music. In 1927 A.P. Carter brought together his wife Sara and his sister-in-law "Mother Maybelle" Carter to record with him. A.P.'s genius for finding and arranging songs was supported by Sara's fine singing and Mother Maybelle's unique style of playing both melody and rhythm at once on guitar.



One of Mother Maybelle's children was June Carter, who grew up performing with her family, and married Johnny Cash in 1968, her third marriage and his second. Their only child together is John Carter Cash, a musician and record producer. In 2002-3 he produced an album of his mother singing Carter Family and original songs, Wildwood Flower, which won a Grammy.



About the time he was working on his mother's album, seeing how many Carter Family songs are little known today, and no doubt seeing that some of the carriers of their legacy might not be around much longer, John Carter Cash decided to assemble a collection of new recordings of Carter Family songs. While he had suggestions ready, he let the artists pick the songs and arrange them as they wanted. The production is simple and spare, with few overdubs and a lot of first takes. The vocals are often on the rough side, in keeping with the old style, and with the age of some of the singers. The instruments are mostly acoustic, but a few use electrics.



This was in some ways a very personal project for John Carter Cash. His mother June's contribution, "Hold Fast to the Right," is one that she sang to him as a child. It's a mother's last advice to a departing son, and must have been one of her last recordings. She's joined by his father Johnny doing backing vocals, with two acoustic guitars accompanying. Their voices, especially hers, are very worn, and not always on pitch. That will bother some people, while for some the rawness adds to the emotional power. I normally find such singing hard to enjoy, but when I recall the circumstances and history, I do appreciate it.



The same applies to Johnny Cash's contribution. He was ill and his voice was diminished, but his rhythm and sense of the story were sharp. It was his last recording, made just a couple weeks before he died. The song is about a train engineer glad to die on the train he loved, ending with the words "Nearer my God to Thee." According to tradition, Sara was singing "Engine One-Forty-Three" in the yard when A.P. heard her for the first time. June performed it as a child, and Johnny sang it in the '60s while he was performing with her family. (A recording of it from 1964, just him and his guitar, is now a bonus track on his Orange Blossom Special CD.)



Two of A.P. and Sara's children, Joe and Janette Carter, who sang together for many years at the Carter Fold at the old family compound in Virginia, sing "Little Moses." She was nearing 80 and he was about 77, and of course you can hear that in the recording. Both have since died. (Janette's daughter Rita continues to operate the Carter Fold, where people can go any weekend of the year to hear live Carter Family music.)



Another family member to do a song is Rosanne Cash, Johnny's daughter with his first wife, Vivian Liberto. Her rendition of "The Winding Stream" is sweet, subdued, and soulful. It's easy to believe that this was a tender time for her. The song was said to be her father's favorite Carter Family song. Mother Maybelle's granddaughter Lorrie Carter Bennett sings some fine harmonies. Randy Scruggs' acoustic guitar has an especially prominent role here, gently loping along with Pat McLaughlin's mandolin.



Marty Stuart, once married to Cindy Cash, another of Johnny and Vivian's daughters, and who now wears black in tribute to the Man in Black, performs one of those gruesome folk songs about a man murdering his lover, "Don't Let the Devil Get the Upper Hand of You." The arrangement, done with some electric instruments by his band The Fabulous Superlatives, is suitably dark and eery.



Some of the greats and old-timers of country music who aren't related to the Carter Family, but who all have close connections to Johnny Cash, also contributed songs. George Jones gets the album off to a rousing start with an electric-instrument version of "Worried Man Blues." His voice is thinner than it used to be, but he doesn't miss a beat. Willie Nelson takes the opposite tack, giving "You Are My Flower" an intimate performance with only his acoustic guitar. Kris Kristofferson joins the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band to give a heartfelt and welcome rough edge to their sweet rendition of "Gold Watch & Chain," which closes the album.



The bluegrass side of country is well represented. Norman and Nancy Blake are joined by Tim O'Brien for "Black Jack David," done in a traditional style with the addition of cello. John Carter Cash plays the autoharp on that one, his only performance credit on the album. The Whites and Ricky Skaggs team up for "Will My Mother Know Me There?" done in straight old bluegrass style, including a backing vocal that repeats the lines. Del McCoury and his band give "Rambling Boy" a fine old-fashioned treatment.



The folk and folk-rock side of country is also well represented. Emmylou Harris and the young Peasall Sisters, who made a big splash with their part in Oh Brother Where Art Thou?, sing "On the Sea of Galilee." Harris is a little wobbly at times, but it's all in the spirit of things. Sam Bush is in the mix on mandolin, and those Peasalls are really sweet! John Prine does a ripping folk-rockabilly acoustic-electric version of "Bear Creek Blues." Shawn Colvin adds her breathy vocals to the instrumental contributions of bluegrass legend Earl Scruggs and son Randy Scruggs on "Single Girl, Married Girl." Haven't quite gotten used to that yet. Finally, Sheryl Crow surprised many with a solid, authentic rendition of "No Depression in Heaven," letting her southeast Missouri roots show. Some nice harmonies and fiddling on that one by Larry Campbell.



Fiddler Laura Cash, wife of John Carter Cash, and guitarist Randy Scruggs are like the house band, playing on many of the tracks. Pat McLaughlin plays mandolin (mainly) on several as well.



My head says some of these recordings aren't up to it, but my heart says five stars."