Album Review: Anchored In Love: A Tribute to June Carter Cash
Anchored In Love: A Tribute to June Carter Cash is the long due tribute to June Carter Cash. The album’s release coincides with the release of her biography/memoir written by her son, John Carter Cash, and includes songs that June wrote, made famous, or saved from being lost to time.
Willie Nelson croons the opening words “If I were a carpenter and you were a lady” to get the ball rolling on his duet with Sheryl Crow. Both artists sound wonderful singing their respective parts, but it almost sounds like they sang solos and then had the audio mixed together in post production instead of participating in a conversation through verse. Ronnie Dunn and Carleen Carter do a better job at bringing out the playful attitude and conversation aspect to “Jackson”, but still lack the chemistry that Johnny and June exude in their version.
The amount of talent present on the album is amazing and shows the influence that June Carter had on her family, peers, and fellow musicians. One such talent, Loretta Lynn, delivers nothing less than a Lorettaesque performance on “Wildwood Flower”. Kris Kristofferson echoes her performance by adding an immeasurable amount of authenticity to “Far Side Banks of Jordan” as he sings “I believe my steps are growing wearier each day / I got another journey on my mind.” The words slammed into me as I came to the realization that there won’t be many more opportunities to see one of the two remaining Highwaymen perform live.
Next up is Brad Paisley as he pays homage to traditional country music and June Carter on his faithful rendition of “Keep On The Sunny Side”. Following Paisley, Roseanne Cash delivers another fitting tribute and one of the stand out tracks on the album with her spiritually influenced version of “Wings of Angels”.
“Ring of Fire” has reached such climatic heights that it seems sacrilegious for anyone else but Johnny Cash to sing the song penned by June. To be honest I hated Elvis Costello’s version when first heard it. Then I went and listened to June’s version, and then Costello’s again. After I got over my own personal vex of hearing someone else sing the song I actually enjoyed it a little. Costello brings a Marty Robbins vibe to his interpretation as he tips his hat to June’s version of the song.
Billy Bob Thorton does a satisfactory job on “Road to Kaintuck”, but his pacing feels a little fast. Luckily he’s working with the brilliant Peasall Sisters. Elsewhere, Grey De Lisle haunts the listener as she quietly saunters through “Big Yellow Peaches”, a song that June wrote for actor Lee Marvin. Like Kristofferson on “Far Side Banks of Jordan”, Billy Joe Shaver adds his immeasurable authenticity to “Kneeling Drunkard’s Plea”–a song that could have very well come from the pen of Shaver himself.
Ralph Stanley introduces his bluegrass flavor on one of my favorite versions of “Will the Circle Be Unbroken”, and concluding the album is June Carter…I mean Emmylou Harris channeling June Carter on a lump-in-your-throat inducing rendition of “Song to John”.
June Carter Cash’s impact on country music is underappreciated and perhaps overshadowed by the man she married, but with this album we get a glimpse, a small understanding of the influence she had on the music that we’ve come to love and who June Carter Cash was as a person. If we knew nothing about Carter Cash except what this album presents, one would be able to infer that she was devoted to her faith, deeply in love, strong-willed, and an overall beautiful person, so in that sense, the album succeeds and provides a fitting tribute.
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June 6, 2007 at 10:02 am Permalink
I haven’t heard this album yet, but I want to! I loved when Willie and Sheryl sang that song at the Johnny Cash Tribute. Too bad if they weren’t in the studio to record it together for this album. I wish they would do a whole album together. Their CMT Crossroads show was so good, especially when they reprised the Johnny/June songs.
June 6, 2007 at 10:08 am Permalink
That has got to be the quickest comment ever.
Wille and Sheryl very well could have been in the studio at the same time, it just didn’t sound like they were singing to each other to me. It’s a miniscule point to make, but I still enjoyed the song and their performances.
June 6, 2007 at 5:38 pm Permalink
Great review. Just got it today and will review soon and will try and not let Ronnie Dunn ruin the whole thing for me.
June 7, 2007 at 12:16 pm Permalink
Did you get the Porter Wagoner and Marty Stuart albums as well? I’ve listened to a little of both and enjoy what I’ve heard so far.
June 7, 2007 at 3:07 pm Permalink
There are a couple problems — well, maybe more than a couple — with this recording.
First, while June Carter Cash was clearly a presence in country music for a half century or more, she wasn’t exactly a particularly prolific or influential performer. Her first #1 in 1949 was as a tag-along on a Homer & Jethro record. She didn’t have another big hit for nearly 15 years when she started teaming with Johnny Cash. On those duets, Cash was clearly the driving force — his personality, his band, his musical key.
As last year’s “Keep on the Sunny Side” demonstrated, she did write and sing some musically interesting material during her decades as a fringe performer. But somehow, little of that shows up here. (Seriously, how could someone not cover “Time’s A-Wastin’”, her pivotal song in the “Walk the Line” movie?) So, you have Carter Family songs (”Wildwood Flower” and “Will the Circle Be Unbroken” are not a June Carter, they’re Maybelle Carter songs), Johnny Cash songs and just a handful of songs associated solely with June Carter. .
Second problem: For a tribute album to work, the artists should have some artistic parity with the singer they’re honoring. We care about what Emmylou Harris, Sheryl Crow or Brad Paisley can bring to a June Carter song. But, Grey DeLisle (a grade B alt.country singer better known for her voiceover work in Clifford the Big Red Dog)? Billy Bob Thorton? Do these performers provide testimony to June Carter’s oeuvre? Or, did they just happen to be friends of the producer (John Carter Cash) or signed to the same record label?
Two songs here demonstrate what this album could have been: Rosanne Cash’s “Wings of Angels” and Carlene Carter’s “Jackson” (with Ronnie Dunn). These takes seem so personal, it makes me think an album entirely by June’s family — Carlene, Rosanne and John Carter — might have been a more effective tribute to a woman who was a true musical matriarch.
June 7, 2007 at 4:35 pm Permalink
“while June Carter Cash was clearly a presence in country music for a half century or more, she wasn’t exactly a particularly prolific or influential performer”
Pardon me while I screw my eyes back into their sockets…
You do realize that June was most important as a member of the second (or so) incarnation of the Carter Family, right?
June 7, 2007 at 9:08 pm Permalink
From what I can recall, Billy Bob Thorton is a big country music fan, especially of the traditional sounds that originated in the Appalachian Region. He supports a lot of causes that are related to country music:
http://www.billybobthornton.net/Citizen.html
This also isn’t the first time he has appeared on a tribute album of a great country legend.
Also, back when he was married to Angeline, they donated quite a bit of money to one of the Appalachian colleges for their music programs.
So Mr. Sandy, before you ask why they put Billy Bob Thorton on this album, take a look at his previous work and his love for traditional music.
June 8, 2007 at 10:39 am Permalink
Having a high status in country music doesn’t mean that you’re invincible to creating crappy music, so to suggest that in order to pay tribute to someone you have to have parity with that person is gibberish. If someone has influenced you as a person in some way, then you should be able to pay tribute to that person no matter how low on the totem pole you are.
Here’s an quote from John Carter Cash that provides a little insight on the chosen artists:
“Almost all of the people who participated in the album were family or friends who knew her personally. Everyone who appears on the record, whether they knew her or not, respected her and loved her dearly. Emmylou Harris was a close friend for years and years. Mom was a close friend with Billy Bob Thornton, Kris Kristofferson, Sheryl Crow, Ronnie Dunn and Willie Nelson. It’s just a gathering of loved ones, really, to pay homage to her music. She wrote some of the songs, like ‘Ring of Fire,’ and the very personal ‘Song to John,’ which Emmylou sings; most of the rest are songs that she perpetuated or made famous like ‘Wildwood Flower’ (sung by Loretta Lynn) and ‘Will the Circle Be Unbroken.’”
June 8, 2007 at 12:49 pm Permalink
Haven’t listened to the album yet, but a tribute to June Carter Cash has to spectacular. Wildwood Flower is my favorite song of all time. It is very touching and it reminds me of my late grandfather who had his own bluegrass band. He is my hero, he acomplished so much in his day, just like the artists of the country music in today’s world. Bluegrass music is the heart and soul of all country music!
June 9, 2007 at 8:16 pm Permalink
Lindsay, you won’t be disappointed with the Loretta Lynn version on this album. I think it’s one of the special recordings on the album. BTW, if you don’t mind me asking, who was your grandfather?
June 24, 2007 at 9:13 pm Permalink
“You do realize that June was most important as a member of the second (or so) incarnation of the Carter Family, right?”
Don’t get me wrong, I really do like June Carter. But the “second or so incarnation” of the Carter Family really didn’t have a significant impact on the history of country music. The first incarnation…definitely. But the second?
“So Mr. Sandy, before you ask why they put Billy Bob Thorton on this album, take a look at his previous work and his love for traditional music.” I’m aware of his previous work (I have a copy of his first CD), and I assume he had a fondness for traditional music or he wouldn’t have appeared on the CD. Still don’t understand why though.
June 25, 2007 at 10:10 am Permalink
Mr. Sandy, if you refer to the quote I pasted above think it’ll provide a little insight into why Thorton was chosen–”Mom was a close friend with Billy Bob Thornton…”
I would assume that he wanted to to do it, and since he was close friends with June, then John thought it would be a fitting tribute as well.
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