Press On

June Carter Cash has lived a charmed life: late-night duets with Elvis Presley, a movie appearance with Robert Duvall, a rose from James Dean, and a Grammy Award-winning songwriting career with her husband Johnny Cash. But, to hear her sing such moving hymns as "Diamonds in the Rough" is to enjoy the holy, country hospitality of a simple countrywoman of a pure and spiritual heart. Also on Press On are such gems as a touching, acoustic version of "Ring of Fire," which June co-wrote. The Man in Black himself delicately duets with June on "The Far Side Banks of the Jordan." This is a beautiful acknowledgment of mortality and hope for an afterlife. Throughout this album, June plays the Autoharp. This type of strummed dulcimer lends a light, bouncy feel to these pieces that often contain no traditional rhythm section. She displays a worldly sensibility on such folk-rock numbers as the bitter "Losin' You" and humor mixed with wisdom in "Tiffany Anastasia Lowe." In this piece, the hip grandmother comments on the movies of Quentin Tarantino. June concludes this warm and personal disc as she began it, with a moving spiritual, "Will the Circle Be Unbroken." Her musical forebear A.P. Carter of the Carter Family wrote the piece.