Customer Reviews

Cowboy Junkies - Open Road (Includes Audio CD)

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This DVD covers the tour in America and Europe, that the Cowboy Junkies made to promote their Open CD. So, this DVD and CD set (also recorded on the Open tour) is really the best present that any Cowboy Junkies aficionado could receive this year, especially if one happens to live in Europe and spend most of ones time in a country which the CBs haven't toured so far. The contents of the DVD are split into four separate programs: 1. Cowboy Junkies live from the Quebec city summer festival (by the time you get to the last song on this section, "anniversary song", you just want to go back and hear them all again); 2. a documentary in music, ones and zeros, which follows the CBs on the road in music, video and pics; 3. Margo Timmins and brother Michael live at the Temple; and, 4. an open conversation with Margo and Michael.

The sound and video quality are very good, the production is more than acceptably excellent and the songs, as always, are simply brilliant. Being a CB'holic myself I just love being able to see Margo singing those great CB songs, and the CBs, of course, are a joy to see in action, even if it is just on a big screen. If you are a CBs fan I could not recommend this DVD more highly.

The accompanying CD is grand too, and contains some of the new CB classics, as well as a couple of tracks I hadn't heard until I got this DVD/CD set. Those new tracks (for me) are Witches and Escape is so simple. Another truly wonderful CD.

Best regards

Martyn

I noticed in the 3 reviews for this DVD none noted THE one flaw. The disc is not encoded in 5.1digital surround sound. If you don't know what this means don't worry about it. That's the only flaw, everything else is perfect and Amazon.com should do more to say "is in 5.1 surround" or "is not in 5.1 surround sound" That's my bone I'm picking, thanks for reading.

This DVD/CD set chronicles the Cowboy Junkies' 2001 "Open Road" tour, in support of their album "Open". The DVD has four segments: a picture slideshow of sorts, a plugged-in performance in Quebec, an acoustic performance in Toronto, and an interview segment. The CD has a few live tracks recorded on the tour.

The first segment of the DVD is the picture slideshow. It is instantly forgettable. If you simply put it in for background music, it's fine (after all, the songs are all live from the tour), but there is really no reason to pay attention to the video. It's like watching someone's vacation pictures set to music. It's not bad, really, but it's not something that needs to be watched again.

The second segment of the DVD is the performace of the full band in Quebec City. One of the best parts of this segment is the inclusion of the complete River Trilogy: the lilting "River Waltz", the sad "Bea's Song" (this is one of my favourite songs, and this version is perfect), and the haunting "Dragging Hooks".

The third segment of the DVD is an acoustic performance, featuring just Michael Timmins and Margo Timmins. This gives us a view into another side of the Cowboy Junkies, and one that is just as essential as with the full band. Here, the music is stripped back to the bare bones: Michael on an acoustic guitar, and Margo singing the always-insightful lyrics. They included "Thousand-Year Prayer" on this segment as well as the previous plugged-in segment, which gives us two different perspectives on that song.

The interview segment with Margo and Michael is interesting enough, although I'm not sure that it is the sort of thing that would stand up to repeating watchings. The questions that are asked are insightful, and Margo and Michael seem reasonably comfortable as they answer the questions, but I'm not sure that I will ever watch it again. They perform a handful of tracks from "Open" during this segment, including a lovely version of "Small Swift Birds".

The CD is quite lovely. The version of "Bread and Wine" is a strong one, and "Escape Is So Simple" is gorgeous and sad. I'm very glad that they included this CD. I only wish that the audio from the DVD were included here, if only to save me from having to figure out how to get it off of the DVD and into my iPod.

I have a few complaints about this release. First, a certain word in "Small Swift Birds" is blipped out in both performances of the song. Second, the documentantary slideshow really isn't all that interesting. Third, the audio quality is good, but it would be so much better if it were recorded in surround sound. Fourth, the camera work on the interview segment isn't the best; it was obviously done by someone with a single handycam mounted on a tripod. These complaints are small ones, but it's what prevents me from giving this DVD/CD set a fifth star. If Amazon allowed me, I'd give it 4.5 stars. It's close to that fifth star, but it's just shy.

I would like to add to the other reviews that while allof this is great, the highlight which stands out for me is the chance to see the River Trilogy performed all together in sequence. A truly chilling experience as the romance/life goes from its early heights to its final depths. Having seen the Junkies live I can confirm that they are even better live than on record - this DVD isn't quite like being there, but it is the second best thing.

The power of comunication these days gives us the chance to see,listen and share performances like these.
A perfect DVD/CD set of pure Cowboy Junkies sensitivity.

Just what you would expect, great live footage of the band, good interviews, glimpses behind the scenes with the band. If you love the band you'll love the DVD. The bonus CD is very good, but not great. If you're new to the band start with the Lay It Down CD or The Trinity Sessions. After you fall in love with them, come back and buy the DVD (and the rest of their CD's).

The Cowboy Junkies are an extremely unique band and they're definitely worth commemorating through a DVD like this one. In my mind, their style could be defined as "mellow edge" and I've enjoyed most of the CDs that I've heard. Margo Timmons has one of the most haunting, seductive voices in the history of music and even when the band is average she excels.

If you love their songs you will definitely appreciate this CD. It's a concert video and documentary wrapped into one. However, in all likelihood, there's no way you could sit through this if you weren't a fan of the Cowboy Junkies music. It's not a film for the disinterested. The recent Wilco documentary can be juxtaposed with this one as that was the type of movie that the uninitiated could still enjoy.

My one complaint about this DVD is that it was in need of some serious editing, unless, of course, you're a diehard. A diehard fan will find any moment that the Junkies are on stage to be riveting, but there was too much minutiae for me. You meet everybody connected with the band via various introductions and one guy was even drawn into a cartoon still as a Detroit Red Wing. Too much extraneous detail, but the music is stellar.

Open Road shows Cowboy Junkies at their best whether on CD or DVD. Not their absolute best concerts appearences (Long Journey Home, again a combo CD and DVD of them in concert, is I think better) but no CJ fan will be disappointed by Margo, Michael and the rest of the Junkies in performance. The performances are from their tour promoting their "Open" album. The DVD in addition to Cowboy Junkies in concert has lots of extras including interviews with the band members and an acoustic performance with Mike and Margo Timmin. No fan of the group will be disappointed by this 2 disc set.