June Carter Cash Press On CD

PRESS ON won the 2000 Grammy Award for Best Traditional Folk Album.

For the first album in years by an artist with as many famous friends as June Carter Cash, there's a distinct absence of pomp and circumstance here. In fact, PRESS ON has a homegrown, spontaneous feel not dissimilar to Johnny Cash's AMERICAN RECORDINGS. Like that album, PRESS ON sounds like it was recorded live in a single sitting (the songs were in fact captured at a makeshift studio in a log cabin at the "Cash Compound"). The record is a raw, all-acoustic affair featuring country/bluegrass legends like Norman Blake, Rodney Crowell and Marty Stuart, as well as various members of the Cash/Carter clan. Many of the songs are June's, and there's a purity to the blend of gospel, bluegrass and country that characterizes the style. When she lends her pipes to a couple of Carter Family classics, it becomes clear that her place in country history has to do with much more than her famous last name(s).

Includes liner notes by June Carter Cash and Vicky Hamilton.

Personnel: June Carter Cash (vocals, autoharp); Johnny Cash (vocals); Norman Blake (acoustic & electric guitars, dobro); Marty Stuart (acoustic guitar, mandolin, background vocals); Rodney Crowell (acoustic guitar); Hazel Johnson (mandolin); Jason Carter (fiddle); Benmont Tench (piano); Dave Roe (bass); Rick Lonow (drums); Rosie Carter (background vocals).

Rolling Stone (5/27/99, pp.64-65) - 31/2 Stars (out of 5) - "...earthy vocals, chiming autoharp, kooky asides, little flubs and infectious laugh, as well as the players delicious acoustic licks..."
Entertainment Weekly (4/23/99, p.63) - "...Her second solo album--her first was in 1975--is autobiographical, full of dignity and toughness. With ex-sons-in-law Rodney Crowell and Marty Stuart sitting in for some fancy pickin', the circle is unbroken still." - Rating: B
Dirty Linen (10-11/99, p.73) - "...One should listen to this record for its back-porch charm, for her stark voice that sounds great....this is a great record by a rich talent..."