Celebrating Norman Blake and country music’s roots modern Nashville often forgets.
John Carter Cash has an impeccable heritage in country and roots music being the son of Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash, and the grandson of Mother Maybelle Carter. While John Carter Cash has released several solo albums, and is a singer-songwriter, he has also established a successful career behind the board as a producer. He has worked with his father and kept his father’s recorded legacy alive as well as working with various high-profile artists like Elvis Costello, Emmylou Harris, Kris Kristofferson and Loretta Lynn to name only a few. While “Pilgrimage to Rising Fawn” is nominally a John Carter Cash album, it is a beautifully made celebration of guitarist Norman Blake and presents old-time and bluegrass music freshly for the 21st century, with a multitude of guest vocalists and musicians playing with Norman Blake in his in Georgia home in Rising Fawn. John Carter Cash’s role is similar to that of Hal Willner in his various celebrations of everything from the music of Charles Mingus to that of Disney, where he imagined, produced and curated the albums.
The recording equipment from the Cash Cabin Studio was shipped to Rising Fawn, songs were selected that not only celebrated Norman Blake’s legacy as one the great Nashville and bluegrass guitarists, joined here by his wife Nancy, who has played with everyone from Johnny Cash to Bob Dylan and Robert Plant, but also the roots of country music. Supporting musicians include dobro master Jerry Douglas, bassists John Cown and Dennis Crouch, Native American musician Bill Miller, and modern-day studio wiz and Dan Auerbach cohort Matt Combs, and singers who bring the recording alive and give the timeless songs a modern feel. The singers include various younger members of the Cash and Hartford families, joined by established artists Carlene Carter, Johnny Cash’s stepdaughter, and Jamie Johnson.
It is hard to imagine a modern Nashville country album opening with a song that is nearly 120 years old, and ‘Alabama Jubilee’ features fiddle and acoustic guitars, sung by New Traditionalist Jamey Johnson. John Hartford’s son Jamie is featured on a later Johnny Cash song, ‘Mystery Of Life’, closing a circle because he had played on Cash’s album of the same name. We get a glimpse of the atmosphere during the recording on ‘Cowboy Rules/Boston Boy’ which features part of a tune and studio chatter. John Carter Cash is joined by his wife Ana Cristina on the folky lullaby ‘Hi-Eenktum Daddy O’, which includes a snippet of the Carter Family’s ‘Keep On The Sunny Side’. Jamie Hartford is back on a take of ‘Shady Grove’, first popularised by Doc Watson but with roots shared with the British folk song ‘Matty Groves’.
A solo impromptu take on Gene Autry’s ‘Uncle Noah’s Ark’ featuring Norman Blake’s weathered vocals and fluid guitar reminds listeners what a truly great guitarist he is. Joe Cash covers Johnny Cash’s Sun recording of the story song ‘Give My Love To Rose’, with help from Jerry Douglas’s dobro. Half-sister Carlene Carter joins John Carter Cash on the 19th Century hymn ‘Life’s Railway to Heaven’, bringing modern-day echoes of the Carter Family. John Hartford’s ‘Howard Hughes Blues’ is sung by son Jamie, with Norman Blake reprising the role he had on the original 1972 recording. Finally, what better way to end a celebration of Norman Blake’s music than a version of the State Song of his home state, ‘Georgia On My Mind’, sung by Jamey Johnson, with plenty of country soul.
John Carter Cash has used his knowledge and technical skills to produce and record an important album. ‘Pilgrimage To Rising Fawn’ is a timely reminder to current-day country music listeners of the deep roots of country music, and it celebrates the career of Norman Blake who has done more than most musicians to keep those roots alive.
