Ring of Fire

Anita is one of the most underrated singers of all time. There are a couple of Anita's songs I would have liked to seen included on this album that weren't. That is the only reason I gave 4 stars instead of 5.

I'm French and didn't grow up with country music at home at all. My taste for the genre came with curiosity, passion for music, heartful songs, moving voices. I'm devastated by singers such as Hank Williams or George Jones, Patsy Cline or Steve Young, Lucinda Williams or Iris DeMent, Townes Van Zandt or Tompall Glaser, and so on (and I only talk of country/folk music here). I didn't know anything about the Carter Family, either daughter Anita. My first listen of Anita was on the net, she looked beautiful and her voice sounded heavenly, so I purchased this. This CD collects two original albums of the early sixties, but not in their original sequencing. To my ears, the first one released in the end of 1962 or early in 1963, which was called "Anita Carter Sings Folk Songs Old and New" is the treasure here. The other one released two years later doesn't have anything special. As the title of the first album suggests, it's not a country album, though it does feature some country songs. It seems, to me, that Anita, with the support of Mercury's boss at the time, was following the wheels of the rising Joan Baez, new folk icon of the age, who sang with the voice of a siren (did you ever hear the voice of a siren? too bad!), and had released her first two or three albums then, covering some Carter Family songs in her broad, open-minded approach of songs from various musical fields. So Anita might have thought she could return the favor by doing folk stuff for a change. What's different from her country stuff? Well: Anita uses her voice more like another siren herself, stretching it like the enchanting flow of a river, echoing her lines endlessly on the horizon. And it works wonderfully at the border of country and folk music actually, since the songbook is top-notch. If Joan Baez is better at songs that caress your skin and vanish in your dreams, Anita has a way of shouting the melodies beautifully, that keeps her more haunting and mysterious, like a kind of western Yma Sumac, at least with these inspired recordings of 1962.

Excellent CD. Enjoying it very much

A was interested in this because of a cut I heard "Ring Of Fire". Of course, I have grown more fond of the whole Carter Family, and this was unexpected. This is an outstanding CD, and her voice is simply amazing. How I never heard her music before is beyond me! Then I found out she once sang with Hank Williams SR on TV and saw the video, and others. That did. I purchased this immediately. It is also important to know she has been recording from the early 50's to the eighties, and was the leading voice of the "Mother Maybelle" daughters who became the next generation. Highly recommend roots music.

One of the best voices in any music genre. The reason for 4 stars is that some songs are just way to folksie and kinda boring. I wish bear family would release a single CD of her early to late 50s output. Still a great CD.

Where was i when Anita made these wonderful recordings? Altho i was a Carter Family fan from way back,(yes, the Original) and listened to folk music in the 1960's, i never heard any of these numbers by Anita.I love all but 4 of them, (1963), and only because of the accomanyment; her singing never fails perfection. I've heard her voice compared to a bird (June's word)and often as an angel's. Angel, I don't know, never heard one; bird, well, most birds don't sing as well as Anita does. A musician asked me who i thought was the best female singer. I said Anita Carter. And i still say so.The instrumental backing on the 1964 numbers is particularly nice, and tasteful, allowing Anita's natural beauty to shine all the more. She chose a variety of familiar Carter Family tunes, mixed in with mostly tunes unknown to me. All very meaningful and beautiful songs.I am thrilled to now own this terriffic Bear Family cd.

How Anita Carter has not gone down in history as country music's greatest singer is a mystery I will never solve. She had it all - tone, pitch, range, meter and the conviction of a knowing soul. She could handle any kind of music and maybe that's part of the trouble, in a way. She could do it all, but she never seemed to have a strict individual identity, other than the instantly recognizable sound of her voice. As a part of the venerable Carter Family, her place in history is certainly reserved and this collection of songs is a nice snapshot of Anita, with minimal production and very sparse instrumentation. The other side of the coin would be her work with full production and full band, which is just as nice. But that's for another time. This is five star material, acoustic style.

I was impressed with her angelic voice and wish a cd of country music singing Hank Williams and other standards would be produce.

I'm surprised to see only 3 reviews (at time of writing) for this album: I hope this does not mean that this beautiful album is almost completely unknown.I must agree wholeheartedly with the reviews of A. Hansen & Big Tom: this is a simply beautiful collection of songs, sung by a lady with the most beautiful voice.I did not experience any issues with tracks jumping; it played perfectly throughout.

great voice for her era

this CD surpassed my expectations. I only recently came across Anita Carter, and I am so glad that I am now aware of this lady with the achingly beautiful voice.

This is an outstanding album of folk songs from one of the greatest voices of the era, lively, fun and inspiring, Anita Carter at her best

Eine sehr schöne Zusammenstellung von teils bekannten, teils unbekannten Titel dieser fantastischen Country-Music-Sängerin.