June Carter Cash – Press On

June Carter Cash surrounds herself with top-notch musicians on this all-acoustic CD, including Rodney Crowell, Marty Stuart, Norman Blake, and even Mr. June Carter Cash himself, who sings on “The Far Side Banks Of Jordan”. But this isn’t one of those albums that piles on talent and forgets about both the singer and the songs. Carter Cash offers a few well-chosen covers, revisits several Carter Family standards (including the rousing “Meeting In The Air” and the poignant “Diamonds In The Rough”), and adds a healthy dose of songs from her own catalog, including the classic “Ring Of Fire” (which she co-wrote with Merle Kilgore).

Carter Cash’s trademark country spunk shines through on “Losin’ You”, a lighthearted lament written with her late sister Helen, and “Gatsby’s Restaurant”, a bouncy track that gradually builds into a bona fide country hoedown. The bizarre “Tiffany Anastasia Lowe” finds Carter Cash toeing the line between silly and dumb, ultimately landing solidly on the silly side. Heck, June even breaks up midway through it. You probably would too if you sang a song warning your granddaughter to “run and find an earthquake, girl, go jump in a crack/Just don’t let Quentin Tarantino find out where you’re at.”

With its mix of reverence and playfulness, Press On has an intimate, folksy feel that implores you to hang out on the porch, kick your shoes off, and let June show you a good time.