The Trinity Session

Cowboy Junkies

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 25, 1990)
• Original Release Date: November 15, 1988
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: RCA
• ASIN: B000002WCL
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (94 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #14,058 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com essential recording

On their sophomore effort, Canada's Cowboy Junkies manage to make a one-day recording session in an old church one of their most satisfying listens. Featuring the sultry voice of Margo Timmins, the precise musicianship of her brothers Peter (on drums) and Michael (on guitar), and bassist Alan Anton, The Trinity Sessions is a spare, evocative, countrified-rock classic. Their inspired reworking of both "Blue Moon" and "Working On A Building" reveal the Timmins family to be talented interpreters and insightful neo-traditionalists. Mixing the ambitious songwriting of Margo and Michael Timmins with subdued covers of Lou Reed's "Sweet Jane" and Hank Williams' "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry," The Trinity Sessions is an exquisite collection that holds up quite well under repeated listenings. --Mitch Myers

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

45 of 45 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A defining moment for the Cowboy Junkies., May 25, 2004

By	Campbell Roark "tri-zeta" (from under the floorboards and through the woods...) - See all my reviews

The fact that this CD has the most reviews out of ALL the CJ's albums (only 'Open' oddly enough comes close), and it still has an average 5 star rating should speak for itself. For once in my life, I side with the mob, as it were. This is a gem, easily in my top-ten favorite records of all time.

The production is excellent- it sounds like the band is in the room with you, from every whispery note from Margo- to every hushed drum beat. Admiteddly, this is something one comes to expect from the CJ's- even when I don't care for their albums (Lay it down), they still always 'sound' great. On this one it sounds especially great: Everyone clicks on this. Everyone knows their place and does a fine job. This Cd is the perfect mix of country, blues and poetry. From Margo's evocative and ever-soulful voice to Michael's lucid and luminous guitar-work. The steady bass (it must be said that Alan Anton is one hell of an anchor)and drum work, always holding down the fort... Oh, the guest musicians hand in nothing short of exquisite performances. The harmonica is so sweet.

The covers are the heart of this album and they are gorgeous- the cover of Sweet Jane that every would-be hipster from my generation knows by heart, as well as the slooooooooooow-waltzing version of 'Blue Moon Revisited,' (quite possibly my fave song by them) which has one of the most wonderfully understated guitar solos I've ever heard. The not-so-well known cover of Hank Williams' I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry,' that sounds nothing like the original yet demonstrates how reinterpretaion can be an act of creation all its own. Reinvention, not immitation, is the highest form of flattery- the CJ's know this and deftly make whatever they handle their own.

The originals are among the best and bluesiest tunes ever penned by the band (you can tell from their first album- the CJ's were born to play the blues, though it's a night-shade of blue all their own). They segue easily and sweetly into each other. This is one of those Cds that suits damn near any occasion- a date, washing the dishes, driving all night, editing a novel, working out, nostalgic musings... It's just fine for all activities or the lack thereof. 'Dreaming my Dreams with You,' sounds exactly like what it means- a particularly masterful use of titular onomatopoeia. 'Postcard Blues' slips so languidly and sweetly into 'walkin After Midnight'- you almost miss the fact that they're two different songs. 200 More miles is a weary gem of a tune. They're all top-notch. No sleepers. Everything pleases. In the Empty-Vee world we all inahbit CDs like this are beyond rare. They have almost gone extinct: This is the high-water mark of one of the best bands in the last 20 years. If you're gonna get ANY of the CJ's albums- this is the one you want. Start here. I, and every other of the 60-odd five star dropping reviewers will guarantee you- you won't be let down with this. And seeing how cheap copies abound in the used section- how can you not pick one up?

And Hey, for all you die-hard fans out there, if you didn't know- there's a version of 'Me & the Devil' on the 'Pump up the volume' soundtrack (and it's NOT the bare bones version from their first CD- it's a longer more sustained chaotic gypsy-sque, blues-from hell, version) that is one the best songs I've ever heard, hands down, period. It would be completely in place if it were on this CD. I don't know why it hasn't been put out on a comp of some kind- maybe it has but I'm in the dark.

25 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The record that made them famous, July 8, 2000

By	Ernest Boehm (Des Plaines, IL United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I remember in 1989 watching Saturday Night Live and gettingready to shut it off, when the special musical guest came on COWBOYJUNKIES. The first song they sang was Misguided Angel, I saw eight people playing with their entire soul for all to see. I still remember how Margo Timmins trembled with every note. I have been a diehard ever since. Margo has one of the best voices in popular music ( I would say that she is the Billie Holiday or Patsy Cline of our time.)Her bother Mike is songwriter with few rivals, and he is one of the most imaginative guitar players ever. This record is special, recorded in one sitting, no retakes into on single microphone. The Trintiy Church where it was recorded is an accoustic chathedral. It is impossible to describe the effect this had. It brought out the newance of the band well and Margo's voice is at center stage. Great remakes such as Blue moon and So Lonesome I Could Cry and yes Sweet Jane. These cover tunes are done with respect for the artist who first recorded them and with a Junkies flavor that makes them seem like they were recorded for the first time by someone who loved them. Great originals like Post Card Blues and I don't Get it! A must have!

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Sounds Of Silence., January 2, 2004

By	Tim Brough "author and music buff" (Springfield, PA United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

How did so many people make so little noise? The Cowboy Junkies begged that question when this, their classic second album, took the world in a quiet storm. Mesmerizing in an absorbing way, the hushed recording does what so few others can do, it draws you in. It is nakedly intense, and gently unfolds song by song. Margo Timmins sings in a voice that invites comparisons to Patsy Cline and Emmylou Harris, infusing the CJ's country with blues and a huge dose of post-modern melancholy. The result was haunting and spooky, so low key that it barely registers when you turn it up loud. While this may scare a great many people off the Junkies, it will hypnotize many others into following them down this high and lonesome path.

While the Junkies' best known song here was probably their somnambulant cover of "Sweet Jane," the brother and sister writing of Margo and Michael Timmins held its own. "Misguided Angel" could have easily been a Patsy Cline song, as it is, it companions "Walking After Midnight" flawlessly. Like the best of country blues, they know how to make you cry into your beer (or whatever you may have at the bar). The gentle sadness of their version of "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry" could make a room full of Coal Miner's fathers drip tears in their beers.

That "The Trinity Session" came out in 1988 and still sounds idiosyncratic and original should tell you how essential this record remains. It is a quiet treasure.