The Musical Heritage Of The Carter Family - Reviews in English language

# Audio CD
# Original Release Date : August 24, 2004
# Number of Discs: 1
# Label: Dualtone (Red) Nashville, TN

Tracklist

1. Worried Man Blues - George Jones
2. No Depression In Heaven - Sheryl Crow
3. On The Sea Of Galilee - Emmylou Harris with the Peasall Sisters
4. Engine One-Forty-Three - Johnny Cash
5. Never Let The Devil Get The Upper Hand Of You - Marty Stuart and the Fabulous Superlatives
6. Little Moses - Joe and Janette Carter
7. Black Jack David - Norman and Nancy Blake with Tim O'Brien
8. Bear Creek Blues - John Prine
9. You Are My Flower - Willie Nelson
10. Single Girl, Married Girl - Shawn Colvin with Earl and Randy Scruggs
11. Will My Mother Know Me There? - The Whites with Ricky Skaggs
12. The Winding Stream - Rosanne Cash
13. Rambling Boy - The Del McCoury Band
14. Hold Fast To The Right - June Carter Cash
15. Gold Watch & Chain - The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band with Kris Kristofferson

Comments from Independent Artists Company

http://iacmusic.com/songs.aspx?SongID=14036&ArtistID=28389

Straight.com - Review by Mike Usinger

The liner notes to The Unbroken Circle ask a simple question: what if a young woman named Maybelle Addington had never picked up the guitar? Considering that legends from Chet Atkins to Doc Watson to Jerry Garcia to Keith Richards have cited her playing as a seminal influence, the world would have indeed been a less interesting place.

Born in a sleepy hollow in the Appalachian mountains, Addington would go on to marry into the Carter family, eventually forming a band with her brother-in-law, A.P. Carter, and his guitar-playing wife, Sara. The three would come
to be known simply as the Carter Family, and the 300 songs they recorded between 1927 and 1941 would be studied religiously by everyone from Hank Williams to Johnny Cash.

The Unbroken Circle finds a cast that ranges from Shawn Colvin to Willie Nelson paying their respects to the first family of Americana. All performers take a rough-hewn approach to the material, rendering it entirely unfit for modern country radio but guaranteed to resonate with Uncle Tupelo disciples. Sheryl Crow's plaintive-but-perfect version of " No Depression in Heaven " finds her backed by nothing but an acoustic guitar, making one wish she'd ditch her band and retire to a porch in Hiltons, Virginia. George Jones lays off the bottle long enough to rip up "Worried Man Blues" with old-school grit, John Prine lights out for shit-kicker heaven in"Bear Creek Blues", and Emmylou Harris teams up with the Peasall Sisters to melt the coldest of cold, cold hearts with "On the Sea of Galilee". Members of the extended Carter family--the Man in Black, June Carter Cash, Roseanne Cash--also clock in with dirt-simple but effective numbers, turning The Unbroken Circle into one of the year's most essential collection of covers. If you've ever wondered where country music comes from, the answer starts with these genre-defining landmarks.

Best of New Orleans - Review by Alex Rawls

This collection of Carter Family songs opens with a fine take on "Worried Man Blues" by George Jones. If anyone understands the chorus, it's Jones, whose voice continues to mature and gain nuance. It's followed by Sheryl Crow's version of "No Depression in Heaven," which suggests that she ought to stop playing coy and finally become a country singer once and for all. The album is produced by John Carter Cash, and Crow is the biggest surprise in the choice of artists, but it pays off because the song sounds more her than songs about following the sun when she's 40.

There's no sense, though, that Cash is looking to startle. In fact, the album feels like a family affair, with kindred spirits like Willie Nelson, John Prine and Emmylou Harris contributing songs as well. Norman and Nancy Blake, the Del McCoury Band and Shawn Colvin with Earl and Randy Scruggs add bluegrass notes, but they also add to the family feeling as Norman Blake and Randy Scruggs play on others' tracks as well.

Roseanne Cash's lovely "The Winding Stream" reminds you she put a career on hold to take care of her parents. The songs by Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash must be their last recordings, and they're heartbreaking. Their voices are sadly fragile, and their deaths make the lyrics all the more poignant. Johnny's "Engine One-Forty-Three" is his version of going out with his boots on, singing about the deathbed salvation of an engineer caught in a train wreck. June's voice is almost unrecognizable, but she still sings, "I'll never cease praying for you," like it's the most loving thing she could say.

The Daily Sentinel (Aug. 21st, 2004) - Review by Rock Cesario

The CD is 15 tracks from a who's who of country music and artists from other genres covering a group whose style has been mimicked and covered over the years, but none could come close to the originals. Dualtone made the right choice for producer of this project when it chose Johnny and June's boy John Carter Cash.

The entire CD is fantastic; here are a few of my favorites:

The late great June Carter Cash on "Hold Fast To The Right" with Johhny Cash harmonizing. Another treasure is Johnny himself doing the haunting "Eighty One-Forty-Three" and his daughter Roseanne lending her wonderful voice on "The Winding Stream."

Willie Nelson and his amazing guitar styling are perfect for "You Are My Flower," John Prine's unmistakable vocals on "Bear Creek Blues" are wonderful, and the voice of George Jones sounds as good as ever on "Worried Man Blues."

The two that are surprisingly refreshing are Sheryl Crow with an incredible rendition of "No Depression in Heaven" and Shawn Colvin with Earl and Randy Scruggs on the laid-back melody "Single Girl, Married Girl."

Marty Stuart and His Fabulous Superlatives paint a dark picture on "Never Let the Devil Get the Upper Hand On You."

Of course, any tribute to the Carter Family would not be complete without family members such as Janette and Joe Carter on "Little Moses."

As important as the music of the Carter Family is, I think it is equally important to keep this music alive for future generations. From the documentary on CMT and the efforts of Dualtone, this collection should help keep the musical heritage of the Carter Family going strong for years to come. However, with only 15 songs on this CD, here's hoping Dualtone will release a second volume.

You can and will experience a wide range of emotions from listening to this captivating collection, which deserves to enjoy the same popularity as the soundtrack to "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" and go to the top of the charts.

Fort Worth Weekly

By Jeff Prince

Tribute albums are always iffy, but few artists are more deserving of accolades than the pioneering Carter Family. Not only were the songs on The Unbroken Circle guaranteed to be classics, but the roster of artists included some of my favorites — John Prine, George Jones, Willie Nelson, Emmylou Harris, Roseanne Cash, and the final recording sessions of both June Carter and Johnny Cash.

The album’s first song is a longtime fave, “Worried Man Blues,” delivered by George Jones. Startling, however, is the age showing in his voice. The Possum’s well-documented hard life appears to have finally caught up with his pipes — he sounds older than the hills in that scratchy, weak-breathed way that old men sing. Still, vocal weariness is perfectly suited for “Worried,” and this track is one of the c.d.’s highlights. Prine, of course, sounded ancient in his twenties, but Nelson and even Harris are sounding more ragged (but right) than ever. Harris, famous for her exalted tenor, sings one of the deepest harmony lines in her career on “On the Sea of Galilee.” Perhaps producer John Carter Cash recorded these musical warriors in such a way as to highlight the years and tears; after all, hard times were a part of the Carter Family sound. Johnny Cash sounds like he’s literally singing from his deathbed on “Engine One-Forty-Three,” and it’s a moving, beautiful moment. I’m suspect of Sheryl Crow’s attempted crossover to country music, but she does a decent job on “No Depression in Heaven,” and at least Kid Rock’s nowhere to be found here. This album owes its poignancy and brilliance to the 15 songs (many of them written during the dust-covered Great Depression when gospel tunes shared a logical place with songs about desperation and murder) and to the old stalwarts singing and playing them, including Norman Blake, Earl Scruggs, Ricky Scaggs, and Del McCoury. The album is a wonderful homage to the past and promises a pleasant future spent listening over cold beers and memories.

By Darryl Smyers, Dallas Observer

A tribute collection must be judged not on the reverence for the source material but on the overall quality of the new product. However great the influence the Carter Family had on folk country and even rock, this gathering of the usual suspects (Willie Nelson, George Jones, the late Johnny Cash, Emmylou Harris, etc.) paying homage to the songs of A.P. Carter must answer one simple question: Can you listen to it more than once?

Well, yes. Surprisingly, even dubious contributors such as Sheryl Crow and Kris Kristofferson detract nothing from the brilliance of the tunes. Each artist invests his or her tracks with both respect for the song and a willingness to add their own spirit to the proceedings. Crow actually makes "No Depression in Heaven" sound as if it had been written with current world events in mind. Shawn Colvin's take on "Single Girl, Married Girl" is more vital than nearly anything she's recorded. This may prove that it's awfully hard to mess up a truly great song (though many have surely tried). Rural, rootsy, engaging and nearly great, the circle is sturdy in these hands.

rikksrevues.com

If you look back through the history of Country Music I believe there is not much dispute that in one way or another, The Carter Family have influenced (directly and indirectly) more country artists and songwriters than any other group. The way A.P. Carter could take complex, or simple issues of life, it's loves and tragedies and put them into song. The unique harmonies and the beautiful, almost mystical music accompaniment have been mimicked over the years, but none could come close to what the originals offered us from the beginning. When Dualtone Music Group decided they were going to put together this tribute, well monument really, who better to produce this project than Johhny & June's boy John Carter Cash.

With such an extensive catalog to choose from, the music wasn't hard to come by, choosing just the right tracks was the easy part. Now, who do we get to perform these classic tracks by the legendary Carter Family, well simply put, a who's who of Country Music, and artists from other genres jumped at the chance to put together this amazing collection. Of course any tribute to The Carte Family would not be complete without a few family members like Janette and Joe Carter on "Little Moses", the late June Carter Cash on "Hold Fast To The Right" with Johhny Cash harmonizing, another lost treasure is Johnny Cash himself doing the haunting "Eighty One-Forty-Three" and his daughter Roseanne Cash lending her take on "The Winding Stream".

I got to thinking that the injustice that would have been done would have been if the younger generation today were deprived of this wonderful music and this collection should help keep the Musical Heritage Of The Carter Family going strong. With the short list of 15 songs here, I am hoping that maybe Dualtone will be thinking of a volume 2 as this is a truly inspired collection of works by the cream of the crop, you can be brought to tears, lifted in faith, and simply have some Joy added to your day with The Unbroken Circle. This is a captivating disk that deserves to go to the top of the charts. If this doesn't move you, and you are a fan of any music, then I suggest you listen again a bit closer, simply astonishing.

Marty Stuart and His Fabulous Superlatives paint the picture that was meant to be seen fantastically on the dark "Never Let The Devil Get The Upper Hand On You". The entire CD is amazing, but I still have to mention a few of the shining numbers that deserve attention. Willie Nelson and his amazing guitar styling is perfect for "You Are My Flower", John Prine's unmistakable vocals on "Bear Creek Blues" are wonderful, and the voice of George Jones may be a bit worn but sounds as good as ever on "Worried Man Blues". The two that are absolute treats, and maybe the biggest surprises are Sheryl Crow performing the stellar rendition of "No Depression in Heaven" and Shawn Colvin w/ Earl and Randy Scruggs on the melodic and laid back "Single Girl, Married Girl". There is no getting past this one folks, this is simply a must have, for all generations! Stellar.......

( 6 Stars out of 6 )

From Rec.Music.Review - Review by Red Tunic Troll

Various Artists "Unbroken Circle" (Dualtone)

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.

Artwork.net - Jim's Country Review

The Carter Family truly was the tradition that brought us what today we call roots and Americana Music. John Carter Cash has produced a masterpiece that needs little promotion, this is just a great acoustic production. John wrote some great liner notes to go along with the great booklet in this collectors item. Fifteen great songs, fifteen great artists. This is easily one of the best lineups that I have ever seen on a tribute album. Most of the recording was done in the Cash Cabin Studio, on Johnny's property where He recorded til He died.

The only artist that seems out of place here is Sheryl Crow, though she does a great rendition of "No Depression In Heaven", Alison Krauss or Kelly Willis would have been a better fit. George Jones starts out with a kickin rendition of "Worried Man Blues" which really makes one wonder why none of these artists other than Crow get any major radio play. Listening to this CD makes you wonder why there are not more recordings of this quality, it sounds like a record from the 70's, rich, clear, not a hint of distortion, easy on the ears. Wish I could answer that, but this really has a much warmer sound than your average clinical, over-amped CD.

As I said, this masterpiece needs no promotion, so I 'll just list the rest of the artists and their songs all written by AP Carter.

3. "On The Sea Of Galilee" - Emmy Lou Harris and the Peasall Sisters
4. "Engine One - Forty Three" - Johnny Cash
5. "Never Let The Devil Get The Upper Hand Of You" - Marty Stuart And The Superlatives
6. "Little Moses" - Janette and Joe Carter
7. "Black Jack David" - Norman and Nancy Blake with Tim Obrien
8. "Bear Creek Blues" - John Prine - this really cooks
9. "You Are My Flower" - Willie Nelson - just Willie and his guitar
10. "Single Girl - Married Girl" - Shawn Colvin with Earl and Randy Scruggs
11. "Will My Mother Know Me There?" - The Whites with Ricky Skaggs
12. "The Winding Stream" - Roseanne Cash - the acoustic texture of guitar and auto harp on this song is nothing less than audiophile
13. "Rambling Boy" - Del Coury Band
14. "Hold Fast To The Right" - June Carter Cash
15. "Gold Watch And Chain" - Nitty Gritty Dirt Band with Kris Kristofferson - this track is really special

In closing, I give thanks to all involved with this great project, John Carter Cash, the good folk at Dualtone Records. You can preorder a copy at Dualtones' website, it is slated for release in mid August.

Cosmic.com - Review by Eric Mertz

Evoking the Carter Family's name brings to mind quickly the image of fog covered Smoky Mountain peaks and sheltered porch fronts where spirituals are exchanged from morning till night. Theirs is an exalted place in Americana, safely established, and a legacy to which everyone on CTV today owes a solemn debt of thanks for legitimizing their craft. As the genre boom evolves, everything from pop to alt-country continues to straddle the dual influences of rock and roll and old time back woods folk. Those family circle roots run deep, and they're given tribute on The Unbroken Circle, a 15 track tribute from some of the biggest names in the business, young and old.

Highlighting The Unbroken Circle is Sheryl Crow's soulful version of "No Depression In Heaven," a surprisingly spirited, successful rendition, one sure to rank among the favorites of not only her growing catalog, but as one of the really definitive of the classic. George Jones sounds tired and ineffective on "Worried Man Blues" though, as does the late Johnny Cash whose, "Engine One-Forty-Three" is weak, showing the legend at his most frail sounding, even more so than on American IV. John Prine and Ricky Skaggs are equally unconvincing, leading one to wonder if country tribute albums will continue to rely on the more substandard work from usually luminescent performers in the genre. As always Willie Nelson is impressive, his "You Are My Flower" showing the deepest reaches of country's roots, as is Kris Kristofferson winding the disk up with the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band on "Gold Watch and Chain."

In between these high points, though, the pickings are slim at best. One look at the roster of contemporary performers and the material performed and one would expect more memorable performances than are yielded on The Unbroken Circle. While the few mentioned are worth a listen and perhaps a place in the country/Americana archive, in the end this celebration of the Carter Family is questionable.

Sharkbitten.com

It's hard to imagine country music without the Carter Family, one of the genre's most influential catalysts to popular acceptance and certainly one of the most heralded acts to ever play. They performed in one incarnation or another for the better part of the 20th century leaving an indelible mark upon all that followed. With the death of June Carter Cash last year, it appeared the last of the Carter Family had left us to our memories.

June wasn't the last of the Carters with intent upon keeping the circle unbroken so to speak however. Her son with Johnny Cash, John Carter Cash, has finally lived up to his legendary name by producing The Unbroken Circle: The Musical Heritage of the Carter Family. While he doesn't get headline a single track on the album, his loving treatment of his family's musical traditions and ability to gather such a fantastic lineup clearly show he has the same intuition about music his parents possessed.

The performers on this album also put their best efforts forward in tribute: John Prine, George Jones, Willie Nelson, Marty Stuart, and the Whites stand out as favorites. Prine's version of "Bear Creek Blues" provides a rolling backbeat to the otherwise traditional album with scratchy vocals and percussive guitars--it's quite a gem. George Jones shows his roots on "Worried Man Blues" which lends an air of sincerity only Jones can provide. Marty Stuart and His Fabulous Superlatives are, well, superlative on "Never Let The Devil Get The Upper Hand on You." The Whites with Ricky Skaggs come down from the mountain with "Will My Mother Know Me There?" I could go on forever about Kris Kristofferson, Norman Blake, and all the other performers, but wouldn’t you expect a tribute like this to garner the finest country music has to offer? Altogether, the only track that disappoints is Sheryl Crow's "No Depression" which is wonderful provided you've not heard the stellar version that alt-country heroes Uncle Tupelo did many years ago.

That said, the real star of the album is John Carter Cash who steps out of his family’s shadow to pay tribute to that legendary burden he carries. Perhaps this lasting contribution to the family legacy will earn him the respect he deserves.

Pool.Dylantree.com - Review by Roving Gambler

well, you never can tell

music sweet music

The Unbroken Circle , the musical heritage of the Carter Family - out from a while -, is really an helluva of an album

i'm not a Carter Family expert, but this collection of their songs is truly stunning

First of all, Sheryl Crow, which can be so disappointing on her own albums, she is an oustanding faboulous singer when is about expecially country music, you hardly would tell is Sheryl singing here, a wonderful rendition of No Depression in Heaven.

Emmylou Harris is Emmylou, i mean, she is a goddess, so no wonder this On the Sea of Galilee is a gem, well helped by the nice and sweet Peasall Sisters on vocals

George Jones is still the great George Jones: Worried Man Blues rocks all the way, and you can understand here why rock'n'roll is an american music (unless, like the Beatles and the Clash, you are "an imaginary american")

the rest is great too: shawn colvin, who usually sucks big time, is wonderful so is willie nelson, weird enough

the only problem is with johnny cash and his wife june carter: no matter how great you were, there is a time when you should quit, expecially if you dont have anymore voice (take a note, Bob)

what is great about this album, in the end, is that acoustic music, when is great performed, can be louder and fucking fun more than any electric shit - take that

another nice surprise came to me the other night while i was listening to a 4 year old album, the Jayhawks Smile (he... not the brian wilson crap);

this is a truly pop gem, not like other assholes who think they arer able to do pop music only because your album is named 'Pop'.

Pop music was a great thing, way back then, no one is good enough these days to do that music, but the Jayhawks, here, at least for the first 3 songs, perform the best pop music since the days of Revolver.

Smile, I'm Gonna Make you Love me and What Led me to this Town are perfect, stunning perfect songs: one Bob Ezrin produce, and this guy was behind Lou Reed's Berlin and the Pink Floyd The Wall, no shit.

Is Ezrin first production in about 20 years: he worked also with the Kula Shaker around the same time of the J. but hey, Kula Shaker were such a joke i guess he was in needed of some money

take a tip from one who's tried: those first 3 songs of the Jayhawks Smile album are the best thing you can hear in this Third fucking millennium

god bless me, this was really long

Popmatters.com - Aug. 24, 2004

In 1987 a trio from Illinois calling themselves Uncle Tupelo began making music, which, to oversimplify, combined the melodic twang of country music with the energy of punk rock, and forged what has come to be known today as alt-country. After disbanding, songwriter and guitarist Jeff Tweedy went on to found Wilco, which today is one of the most vital and innovative rock bands around. It is fitting, then, that Uncle Tupelo's watershed album took its title, No Depression, from the song of the same name (dropping "In Heaven" from the end) by the Carter Family. Beginning as a trio themselves in 1926, the Carter Family was among the first groups to bring rural music into the mainstream, and in their 17-year existence (in their original incarnation) created a body of work which drew from the old folk and gospel traditions, and influenced their contemporaries, right on through to Bob Dylan, Keith Richards, and a full 60 years later, three kids from Illinois. The legacy of the Carter Family is as relevant today as it was when their journey first began, which places them alongside the greatest of the greats in the pantheon of musical history.

For the delicate task of paying proper homage to such figures, John Carter Cash stepped up to the plate as producer -- his parents are none other than country legends Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash (daughter of founding member Mother Maybelle Carter). His pedigree alone bodes well for the project, and the fine job he's done with this tribute would make his kin proud. Right down to the purple and sepia, old-time, 78-style packaging, The Unbroken Circle: The Musical Heritage of the Carter Family hits as close to the mark as any could hope for.

As good as a tribute album can be, historically the results tend to range somewhere between respectful and catastrophic, never quite crossing into the arena of excellence. In contrast, the collection at hand displays a uniform vision and several tracks are, indeed, excellent. Apart from the involvement of John Carter Cash, which no doubt guided the artists along a certain path, the nature of the songs themselves, arranged (and sometimes penned) as they were by the thoroughly unpolished Carters, almost demand to be rendered in as spare a manner as possible. George Jones effectively dulls down his shiny croon for an excellent "Worried Man Blues". Sheryl Crow, whose appearances on tribute albums seem always to outshine any of her other work, turns in a faithful performance of "No Depression in Heaven". She sheds her smooth, even voice and adopts a slightly off-key, nasal twang, set against a stripped-down country musical arrangement that could almost have been recorded fifty years ago. Emmylou Harris, likewise, plays up the warble in her voice for "The Sea of Galilee", and, as usual, turns in a fine traditional country tune.

Adding to the album's worth is the strong presence of Carter genes; Janette and Joe Carter (daughter and son of A. P. and Sarah) not only do justice to their kin with a stark rendition of "Little Moses", but it actually sounds like a genuine lost track from a 1927 recording session. Janette's deep, lead vocals creep thick and heavy as molasses over the spare autoharp and guitar underpinning, featuring Joe's slightly higher tenor as harmony. The recording was done digitally in the otherwise rustic Cash Cabin Studio across the way from the Cash family compound in Hendersonville, Tennessee, but the rudimentary sound suggests an Edison wax cylinder recording. Johnny Cash's rendition of "Engine One-Forty-Three", a John Henry-type tale of Georgie the engineer who is, in fact, thankful that he perishes (by the flames of the engine) on his beloved train. June Carter Cash, with her unique, raw delivery further substantiates her Christian morality with the mother-to-child advice to never stray from the path of righteousness in "Hold Fast to the Right". Death and salvation are common themes throughout the Carter Family's catalog and as a result, most of country music.

Folkie couple Norman and Nancy Blake team up with contemporary bluegrass musician Tim O'Brien for a wonderful version of the early-American shantey "Black Jack David" -- a traditional, early American or English shantey rearranged by A. P. Carter. John Prine works "Bear Creek Blues" up into a rowdy gallop of country rock, while Willie Nelson takes "You Are My Flower" down to the border with a delicate Spanish guitar supporting his sleepy outlaw croon. Pop-folk singer Shawn Colvin whispers her way through "Single Girl, Married Girl" which, despite featuring the incredible talents of Earl and Randy Scruggs, is uninspired. Rosanne Cash gives "The Winding Stream" a syrupy sweet, distinctly feminine, Linda Ronstadt feel -- pretty but not particularly compelling. Album closer, "Gold Watch and Chain" by the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band is reimagined with an accordion and the slightly polished huskiness of Kris Kristofferson on vocals.

The roots of many traditional songs remain uncertain to this day. "Will the Circle Be Unbroken", for one (strangely absent from this tribute), is commonly thought either to be of unknown origin or to have been written by A. P. Carter, when the fact is it was a gospel song written by Charles H. Gabriel and Ruth Ada Habershon in 1907 -- over twenty years before Carter got ahold of it. But musicologists and historians seem not to mind Carter's technically false claims, because without A. P.'s versions of this and many other old songs (some dating back, not just decades, but a century or more), they might have been lost forever, never to become such vital parts of our great American folk tradition. Long before bands like Uncle Tupelo crossed genre-lines with alt-country, the Carter Family did their own tampering with the musical styles available to them at the time and established the very first folk-gospel-country band the world had ever seen. As Otis Redding said of Aretha Franklin's definitive version of his song "Respect": "She done stole my song". Yes, but would it ever have been the anthem that it is without her? Unlikely. So we can look at A. P. Carter in the same light. A. P.'s versions of traditional songs became definitive and, along with Mother Maybelle's often-imitated but unsurpassed guitar picking, and Sara's rhythm guitar, autoharp, and arresting vocals, generations have been exposed to this music. So, as a tiny snapshot of the Carter Family's reach and influence, The Unbroken Circle is a reverent, well-executed, at times excellent, at times flawed, but always enjoyable, tribute album. But if this music is of real interest to you, then the original Carter Family recordings are the only place to start.

Indieworkshop.com - Review by Steph Haselman

It seems what’s left of old country music has split into two different points of reference. The first being the traditionalists who either stick to playing old cowboy music or continue to draw heavily from the past. The other much more popular facet of the genre is alt country, many of whose primary figures feel influenced by the past but also create with a more independent, punk sensibility. They seem to be more creative, revolutionary types who look ahead as much as they look back. The one thing that draws both groups together is, obviously, the past. That’s perhaps one of the most respectable traits of country music, it’s appreciation for it’s own history and the way its current artists revere those who started it all.

The artists who make up its timeline not only paved the way musically but they left behind a trail of tradition and values along with a high regard for what influenced them personally. Most of them also left behind what remains some of pop cultures most interesting legacies. Between David Allen Coe, Gram Parsons, Dolly Parton, Loretta Lynn, and Hank Williams there are many dramatic and remarkable stories to be told. The history of country music is full of so much mystery and tragedy that it not only rivals that of rock music but, perhaps, surpasses it in intrigue.

While the stories behind The Carter Family may not be as controversial as others, their impact on the music that would follow is perhaps far greater. Their songs of God, love, family and tragedy have so endured that they’re still sung regularly and treated as the time-honored traditions that they are. The Carter Family’s songs are simple classics but they’re certainly a lot more than that.

Featuring contributions from Emmy Lou Harris, George Jones, Norman and Nancy Blake, John Prine, Willie Nelson and Shawn Colvin among others, The Unbroken Circle: The Musical Heritage of The Carter Family remembers the influence they created and honors it with a high quality collection of covers. Providing an even more personal, sentimental touch, the album also features several descendents and in-laws of the Carter Family. Included are June Carter Cash, Johnny Cash, Janette and Joe Carter and Rosanne Cash, all who have personally felt the deep history of the music.

The son of Johnny and June, John Carter Cash, also produced the album. His grandmother, Mother Maybelle Carter, played guitar for The Carter Family.

With such an impressive cast of characters, the collection rarely falters. There is, however, always an exception and The Unbroken Circle has not been spared from that rule. Sheryl Crow’s cover of No Depression in Heaven is an absolute embarrassment to the rest of the album. With her overacted faux twang and inauthentic take on the music, her track acts like a big blemish on the nose of the otherwise beautiful collection. I honestly couldn’t stomach it for another listen if I tried. It hurts far too much.

Luckily, one oops is definitely not enough to disregard such a deserving tribute. This is one of those albums fans of traditional country and alt-country can and will certainly agree upon readily. If listening to traditional songs in their pure form makes you feel like a big faker, such an album is a great way to start. Most of these artists have enough history of their own that you can easily dabble in several generations of work all at once. It’s an effortless history lesson…you just lean back and soak it in.

Bondage.com