This came out in 2003 – or at least that’s when I got it. Here’s what I said about it back then (with some minor editing):
I tried. I really did. But it’s just impossible. I know I’m supposed to be vaguely objective about these things — but there’s honesly no way to listen to June Carter Cash’s endearing final album, Wildwood Flower, without being taken hostage by your emotions.
First, naturally, you are saddened to be listening to the last homespun recordings of of Carter, who died May 15 after heart surgery. You feel sorry for her husband Johnny Cash, who duets with her on most of these rustic, unvarnished country classics. You may even be slightly shocked to hear their once-powerful voices eroded by the ravages of time and illness. But soon after, the tragic is overwhelmed by the magic.
Listening to June, Johnny and a slew of friends and relatives joyously and casually revisit Carter Family classics like Keep On The Sunny Side, Kneeling Drunkard’s Plea, Anchored in Love and the title cut, you can’t help but be struck once again by her role at the centre of contemporary country music. And you can’t help but admire the simple beauty of her talent and honest love of her craft, and the way her voice and Johnny’s intertwine with the gentle romance of an elderly couple holding hands. So by the time you get the end of Wildwood Flower, you understand how lucky we all are that Carter left behind such a rich legacy of music — including this final marvellous gift. And that’s all there is to it.
