June Carter Cash – Wildwood Flower

Her unanticipated death rightly resulted in life summaries in the general press, but even longer ones rarely took in more than a fraction of what she could do, even of the roles she had played. It seems fitting that the most encompassing portrait of her remarkable range of experiences and generous, accepting, feisty sensibility arrives right here, and comes from June Carter Cash herself. She does it in thirteen songs.

For all of the powerful, time-telescoping poignancy of the seven cuts from the Carter Family canon that dominate this final recording (and how often in recent years did we really get to hear her take on those?), the best, most emblematic moment here is in the sheer hilarity of June’s final, self-satirizing duet with Johnny Cash, a turn on Jo Stafford & Red Ingle’s “Temptation”. This was also the last tune they performed together in public, at the Americana Music Association awards just a year ago.

As the intro clip of “Little Junie” cutting up on border radio in childhood reminds us, she was always the Carter known more for firecracker banter than for hitting notes. “Temptation” takes note-breaking to great unnatural limits, and recalls her hits with Homer & Jethro and her long stand as the Opry’s young Minnie Pearl heir apparent — and manages to be a perfect, wonderfully low retelling of the great and fiery romance with her duet partner she’d nailed a little differently in her best-known composition, “Ring Of Fire”.

June’s skills as a hip comic storyteller and actress of considerable reputation are touched on in a remembrance of randy screen warlord Lee Marvin and her own modern cowboy ballad “Big Yellow Peaches”, which sounds as good as something Woody Guthrie might have cooked up in lighter moments.

Her accomplishment as a modern folk-influenced songwriter comes through also on two numbers she contributed to her husband’s repertoire: “Road To Kaintuck”, an epic piece of early frontier Americana to which Johnny adds a spoken narration; and “Alcatraz”, a skillful ballad of San Francisco leave-taking that surprises with sudden rhythmic energy, combining nostalgia for what’s about to be lost and freedom from the hard times being put behind.

June’s straightforward, Mother Maybelle-like evocative autoharp is well abetted on these cuts, and on the Carter Family songs, by acoustic string masters Norman and Nancy Blake, plus Nancy Cash (wife of son John Carter Cash, who produced the disc) on fiddle and guitar. (There are family and near-family contributions throughout, from John’s always-appropriate production to Marty Stuart’s backing vocals to Rosanne Cash’s fitting and touching liner notes.)

And, for one last time, there are the old family songs, most recorded at the Carter Family homestead in Maces Spring, Virginia, where they started out. A.P and Sara’s “kids” Janette and Joe join in and the aura of the classic records is in the air — energetic, heartfelt, deep, yet with that restraint. (Film of these last sessions will be seen on DVD later; a video sampling of the session and June’s thoughts about them are included on this enhanced CD.)

On the always sober “Keep On The Sunny Side” and always rollicking “Cannonball Blues”, June’s voice, deepened and raw and even fragile as it now was, sounds more than ever of a piece with her mother’s and Aunt Sara’s. When family from Johnny to Carlene Carter to Tiffany Anastasia Lowe echo back her question “Will You Miss Me When I’m Gone?”, the weight of the moment and the power of her own performance are overwhelming.

This recording, more heartbreaking than it was ever intended to be, fades out on June’s spare, Carter Fold rendition of “Wildwood Flower”. That flower, rest assured, won’t fade.