''Carter Girl'' is the tenth studio album by American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

singer

Carlene Carter Carlene Carter (born Rebecca Carlene Smith; September 26, 1955) is an American country music singer and songwriter. She is the daughter of June Carter Cash and her first husband, Carl Smith. As of 2020, since 1978, Carter has recorded 12 album ...

. It is her first release since 2008's '' Stronger'', as well as her first album for

Rounder Records Rounder Records is an independent record label founded in 1970 in Somerville, Massachusetts by Marian Leighton Levy, Ken Irwin, and Bill Nowlin. Focused on American roots music, Rounder's catalogue of more than 3000 titles includes records by Al ...

. All twelve tracks on the album were written or co-written by a member of

the Carter Family Carter Family was a traditional American folk music group that recorded between 1927 and 1956. Their music had a profound impact on bluegrass, country, Southern Gospel, pop and rock musicians as well as on the U.S. folk revival of the 1960s. ...

, with the majority being composed by Carlene's great-uncle

A.P. Carter Alvin Pleasant Delaney Carter (December 15, 1891 – November 7, 1960) was an American musician and founding member of The Carter Family, one of the most notable acts in the history of country music. Biography Life A.P. Carter was born to Robe ...

Reception

''Carter Girl'' received positive critical acclaim, with

Robin Denselow Robin Denselow is a British writer, journalist, and broadcaster. Education Denselow was educated at Leighton Park School, a boys' Quaker boarding independent school (now co-educational) in Reading, Berkshire, followed by New College, Oxford, wher ...

from UK publication ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' giving the album 4 out of 5 stars and saying "

arter Arter is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Harry Arter * Jared Maurice Arter * Kingsley Arter Taft * Philip and Uriah Arter, after whom Philip and Uriah Arter Farm is named * Robert Arter * Solomon Arter, after whom Solomon Art ...

has done her justice to her history", highlighting how the songs of the Carter Family have been revived with "intensity and emotion", specifically on the track "Long Black Train" which Carter has given "new maturity". Denselow also praises producer Don Was who has "captured the energy

showed in the late 1970s when she recorded in London". Similarly,

Rolling Stone Country Rolling is a type of motion that combines rotation (commonly, of an axially symmetric object) and translation of that object with respect to a surface (either one or the other moves), such that, if ideal conditions exist, the two are in contact ...

reported that "the two original tracks on the record alone are worth the price of admission", calling ''Me And The Wildwood Rose'' a "sweetly moving tribute to Carter's grandparents, Maybelle and Ezra, told through childhood memories".

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...

also chose ''Me And The Wildwood Rose'' as the top track from the album, which was rated 81 based on 10 reviews, indicating universal acclaim.

Mojo Mojo may refer to: *Mojo (African-American culture), a magical charm bag used in voodoo Arts, entertainment and media Film and television * MOJO HD, an American television network * ''Mojo'' (play), by Jez Butterworth, made into a 1997 film * '' ...

called ''Carter Girl'' "unashamedly traditional, committed, personal and really quite perfect". The

Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...

suggesting that "this may be the best album the Carter Girl has ever made". Similarly,

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

explained that "Carlene Carter has confronted the mightly legacy of the Carter Family songbook and allowed it to strengthen her music rather than buckling under its weight, and this ranks with her finest recorded work to date". Regarding the Carter Family,

PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, fi ...

state that ''Carter Girl'' is responsible for maintaining and extending their legacy "without falsehood or artifice of any kind".

Blurt Magazine ''Blurt'' is a music print magazine and online outlet originally based in Silver Spring, MD. The magazine was originally known as ''Harp Magazine'' for over 10 years, also based in Silver Spring, and was considered one of the best music magaz ...

awarded the album 4 out of 5 stars, explaining that Carlene "long ago proved herself worthy of the family legacy", adding that "''Carter Girl'' would be a highlight of her substantial discography regardless of a familial stamp".

Track listing

Personnel

Credits adapted from

. *Jim Bessman – liner notes *Paul Blakemore – mastering *

Joe Breen Joseph M. Breen (April 23, 1897 – October 13, 1978) was a star football player in the Canadian Football League for two seasons for the Toronto Argonauts. Later, he coached at the University of Western Ontario and was a referee from 1935 throug ...

– background vocals *

Sam Bush Charles Samuel Bush (born April 13, 1952) is an American mandolinist who is considered an originator of progressive bluegrass music. In 2020, he was inducted into the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame as a member of New Grass Revival. ...

– mandolin *

– lead vocals, background vocals, acoustic guitar, piano, photography *Marina Chavez – photography *

Bob Clearmountain Bob Clearmountain (born January 15, 1953) is an American recording engineer, mixer and record producer. He has worked with many major acts, including Bruce Springsteen, the Rolling Stones, Toto, Bon Jovi and Bryan Adams, with whom he has a very ...

– mixing *

Jack Clement Jack Henderson Clement (April 5, 1931 – August 8, 2013) was an American singer, songwriter, and record and film producer. Biography Early life Raised and educated in Memphis, Tennessee, United States, Clement was performing at an early age, ...

– acoustic guitar *Larissa Collins – art direction *

Elizabeth Cook Elizabeth Cook (born July 18, 1972) is an American country music singer and radio host. She has made over 400 appearances on the Grand Ole Opry since her debut on March 17, 2000, despite not being a member. Cook, "the daughter of a hillbilly s ...

– harmony vocals (track 4), background vocals (tracks 1, 5, 6 and 10) *Greg Gartenbaum – engineering *

Vince Gill Vincent Grant Gill (born April 12, 1957) is an American country music singer, songwriter and musician. He has achieved commercial success and fame both as frontman of the country rock band Pure Prairie League in the 1970s and as a solo artist b ...

– harmony vocals (track 8) *

Rami Jaffee Rami Jaffee (born March 11, 1969) is an American musician. He is best known as the keyboardist for the rock band Foo Fighters, whom he initially joined in a touring and session capacity in 2005. Jaffee has contributed to six of the band's studi ...

– keyboard, organ, piano *

Jim Keltner James Lee Keltner (born April 27, 1942) is an American drummer and percussionist known primarily for his session work. He was characterized by Bob Dylan biographer Howard Sounes as "the leading session drummer in America".Howard Sounes. ''Down ...

– drums, percussion *

Kris Kristofferson Kristoffer Kristofferson (born June 22, 1936) is a retired American singer, songwriter and actor. Among his songwriting credits are "Me and Bobby McGee", " For the Good Times", "Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down", and "Help Me Make It Through the Nig ...

– duet vocals (track 11) *

Greg Leisz Gregory Brian Leisz ( ; born September 18, 1949) is an American musician. He is a songwriter, recording artist, and producer. He plays guitar, dobro, mandolin, lap steel and pedal steel guitar. Biography Leisz grew up in the garage band cu ...

– steel guitar, electric guitar, acoustic guitar * Tiffany Anastasia Lowe – personal assistant *

Val McCallum Valentine McCallum (born 10 October 1963) is an American guitarist and singer-songwriter. Career McCallum has toured with, and served as a studio musician for many well-known musicians. He toured with Jackson Browne, and McCallum's musical resume ...

– electric guitar *

Blake Mills Blake Mills (born September 21, 1986) is an American songwriter, guitarist, producer, and composer based in California. Biography Blake Mills was born in Santa Monica, California, United States, and grew up in Malibu, where he attended Malibu ...

– acoustic guitar, electric guitar *

Willie Nelson Willie Hugh Nelson (born April 29, 1933) is an American country musician. The critical success of the album ''Shotgun Willie'' (1973), combined with the critical and commercial success of ''Red Headed Stranger'' (1975) and '' Stardust'' (197 ...

– duet vocals, guitar (track 7) *

Mickey Raphael Michael Siegfried "Mickey" Raphael (born November 7, 1951) is an American harmonica player, music producer and actor best known for his work with Willie Nelson, with whom he has toured as part of The Family since 1973. He has performed or reco ...

– harmonica *Matt Rausch – engineering *Sergio Ruelas Jr – mixing *Wesley Seidman – engineering *Ivy Skoff – production co-ordination * Donna Tracy – photography *

Don Was Don Edward Fagenson (born September 13, 1952), known professionally as Don Was, is an American musician, record producer and record executive. Primarily a bass player, Was co-founded the funk-rock band Was (Not Was). In later years he produced s ...

– production, bass * Clinton Welander – engineering *Gerald Wenner – photography *Chris Wilkinson – engineering *Howard Willing – engineering The Carter Family – duet and harmony vocals (track 10) *

Anita Carter Ina Anita Carter (March 31, 1933 – July 29, 1999) was an American singer who played upright bass, guitar, and autoharp. She performed with her sisters, Helen and June, and her mother, Maybelle, initially under the name The Carter Sisters an ...

Helen Carter Helen Myrl Carter Jones (September 12, 1927 – June 2, 1998) was an American country music singer. The eldest daughter of Maybelle Carter, she performed with her mother and her younger sisters, June Carter and Anita Carter, as a member of ''T ...

June Carter Cash June Carter Cash (born Valerie June Carter; June 23, 1929 – May 15, 2003) was an American singer, songwriter and dancer. A five-time Grammy award-winner, she was a member of the Carter Family and the second wife of singer Johnny Cash. Prior ...

*Lorrie Carter Bennett *

Johnny Cash John R. Cash (born J. R. Cash; February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American country singer-songwriter. Much of Cash's music contained themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially in the later stages of his ca ...

References

{{Authority control 2014 albums Carlene Carter albums Albums produced by Don Was Rounder Records albums