Customer Reviews

Miles From Our Home

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(9)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

Most Junkies' fans think "Trinity Sessions" was their best release, (I disagree - I think "Lay It Down" is their best) and most Junkies' fans think that with "Miles from our Home" that the Cowboy Junkies changed their sound too much and are playing music too loud and too hard. Well, granted, they DO shine the best with their acoustic ballads, but this CD isn't all that bad!! I actually was IMPRESSED that they could play this kind of music and it works!! While there are a few songs on this release that I don't listen to much, there are quite a few songs on this disc that are some of my all-time favorite Cowboy Junkie songs. "Miles from our Home" was probably a good single to release to radio, it's ok, but the 5-star songs are "Hollow as a Bone" and "Summer of Discontent". "No Birds Today", "Those Final Feet", and "Blue Guitar" are also excellent songs. Man, the piano in "Those Final Feet" is breath-takingly beautiful - wish they made sheet music for it so I could play it!! Yes, this release is a harder-sounding Cowboy Junkies (and let's face it, I'm sure GEFFEN RECORDS were putting pressure on CJ to make a release that was going to sell!), but they are such incredibly talented artists that they pull it off spendidly. This disc is worth buying even though I only listen to about half of the songs, but those half are very awesome!!

As a big Cowboy Junkies fan, I certainly agree that this album is a bit of a departure for the band. Influences by Townes Van Zandt, the band has always been a country-blues-rock band with quiet, gloomy and laid back rhythms and movements. Miles From Our Home puts much more emphasis on the rock and electric guitar than their past six or so albums, and may be a bit of a disapointment for fans raised and weaned on The Trinity Session through Lay it Down.

But there's really nothing wrong with this new style. Margo Timmins' voice is as strong as ever, although a bit more up tempo and upbeat. It sounds more like early October than late November if you ignore the seasonal metaphor. The lyrics are as cynical as ever, and the songs are certainly as good as any that the band has produced. "New Dawn Coming","Miles From Our Home","Good Friday" & "Darkling Days" are some of the best songs the CJ have ever recorded, and there's the usual tribute to Townes Van Zandt with "Blue Guitar."

I suppose if you were expecting the band to produce an exact replica of "Lay it Down" then you may be disapointed by this album. But if you've been a Cowboy Junkies fan for years and own all of their albums like I do, then you'll welcome this slight departure and change. I don't care if its not what you were expecting...its STILL one of the bands strongest albums. I, for one, listened to nothing but this album for a week straight. Heck, maybe the band NEEDED or WANTED to do something a little different. Its not like they put out a speed metal album or anything...

This album differs from other Cowboy Junkies works in that musically it is much popier. It is far from mainstream pop in that the lyrics are some of their best yet, this is stuff you can think about. The music has a sharper edge than their previous works, but it is clean and interesting. The Cowboy Junkies had to grow and diversify, this album shows their wings starting to truly stretch.

As I age and find fewer and fewer current releases to my liking, I find this to be catchy and for the most part very listenable. For that reason, I agree with many of the four and five star reviews. Still, it bugs me in a nagging way each time I listen. Its not just that "Somewhere Out There" makes me cringe, which it does. I find offensive and sophmoric the CJ's reference to God as "that f**ker up there". Even if this album is about personal loss, that lyric is just not ARTFUL. And unfortunately, that is emblematic of why this album falls so far short of "Trinity Sessions" and "Black Eyed Man". They were sublime and artful. This is just a solid album.

I'm not sure what the lamenting about the Cowboy Junkies exploring new territory is about, I frankly embrace the changes and continue to adore the previous material and live concerts. The "Miles From Our Home" album is a nice, more upbeat change adding variety to their repetoire. "Blue Guitar" is an aural dream which foreshadows the almost psychadelic trips the band makes in concert. I also enjoy the third and fourth tracks a great deal. If one wants to really experience the craftsmanship of the band, see them live or listen to their recent live recordings. Michael Timmins guitar work stands out superbly and Margo's vocals are wonderful. The rest of the band is outstanding, too. Check out their website for worthy titles not available elsewhere which are fully supported by the band.

Whether this new sound is attributed to the influence of producer John Leckie or a desire by the Cowboy Junkie matters not a whit to me. I happen to like this rather astringent style, which is not to say there is anything wrong with the group's minimalist soundscapes typical of earlier recording.

Margo Timmins' haunting voice seems to float in songs such as "Good Friday" or "Hollow as Bone." But her delivery on the cynical "Someone Out There"---a lament to a god who has forsaken humanity---proves disconcerting (as it should). Songwriter and lead guitarist Michael Timmins has delivered a stout set of tunes, and his guitar work is stellar and inspired throughout the CD, though when paired with some gritty keyboards the sound really swells.

That songs such as the title track and "The Summer of Discontent" failed to grabbed the attention FM programmers shows what a disgraceful state radio has lapsed into under the reign of the corporate suits and consultants. For as much as I like this CD, I still find some tracks, particularly "Those Final Feet," a dirge about the death of Timmon's Grandfather, too painfully private to listen to on some days.

Try to accept this CD on its own terms instead of condemning it as lamentable break in the Cowboy's Junkies legacy.

This was the first CJ album I had purchased, and it has led me to purchase just about everything they've recorded. It definitely has a fuller, more commercial sound than their other albums. Margo Timmins' voice is extraordinary regardless of the material. She could sing ANYTHING and it would be interesting. The one dud is "Someone Out There," in which the supreme being is referred to by the big "f" word in the unedited version and by what sounds like "booger" or "bugger" or something in the edited version. Anyway, it's a song which is certainly not unlistenable but is unworthy of the CJ. I'd probably just buy the unedited version -- the "f" word is probably less bothersome than whatever she's mumbling in its place. The rest of the album is excellent.

I don't think of this CD as "pop" but maybe I'm less particular about music than some of these other reviewers. I love this CD, I love the variety on it, I love the way it slips into the background or comes to the fore when I want to actively listen. And it always reminds me of my best Junkies experience: lying on the lawn at Wolf Trap outdoor concert venue in Virginia, with the moon up above, and Margo singing Blue Guitar, and the sound enveloping me and transporting me somewhere else...

Most of the time when one finds a new artist they like, one can't wait to find more material by them. For some strange reason it was just the opposite with me and this band. "The Trinity Sessions", with the special way it was recorded, was such an influential work for me that I truly felt nothing could compare with it. I listened mildly to a few of their later releases, but it was like, it's no "Trinity Session", so why not just put on "Trinity Session".

So I decided to give this one a serious listen, and am very glad I did. OK, it's still no "Trinity Session", but this work contains song after song of the things I like about the band. Margo Timmins sultry singing, backed by subtle, yet rich instrumentation, which probably has something with a new producer.

These are not songs you snap your fingers to. They are songs you immerse yourself in. I'm glad I gave them another try.

Ranks right up there with the Trinity Sessions, although the production values are significantly different. The introspection of the lyrics shows a maturity unusual even in Folk-Rock circles, the music and lyrics ring together like a Woodstock Chime. And, without a doubt, there is no one in the industry who can outsing Margo Timmins.