Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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34 of 34 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Same Talent, Different Direction, April 20, 2007
This album is very different from the work the Cowboy Junkies did in the nineties and late eighties (I haven't listened to the 2004 One Soul Now, so I'm not sure how it compares). Their characteristic harmonica has taken a vacation, and drums have a much larger role along with several additional instruments (many that I can't even correctly identify). Further, the music is more complex, layered and psychedelic than in their 80's and 90's albums. Finally, their themes have changed, and instead of being about heartbreak, violence and despair and they are now about "family" (using Margo's term).
I have noticed these same changes in other artists' music as they have matured. In most cases, I have found these developments disappointing (Sting, Annie Lennox, Tori Amos, Peter Gabriel) as it seems like the angst and edge that originally drove these artists' creativity later gave way too something over-worked, something more science than art, something more benignly pleasant than engaging. In this case, however, I am not disappointed for the most part. Margo's hauntingly beautiful voice is still entrancing (although its changed a little too). The family themes are real rather than overly sentimental. The Cowboys still have some edge, as shown in Cutting Board Blues. And there's still some of that forlorn feeling of their earlier work in Spiral Down. It Doesn't Really Matter Anyway has a little of each and is a great song. Someday Soon didn't work for me at all, but maybe its just a matter of taste. Also, even though Mountain could be a great song, I don't like the rambling male voice in the background, its too distracting. And I wasn't hip on the kids' voices in My Only Guarantee, even though it would also be an otherwise great song. (Maybe these two songs waded into the "over worked" category just a bit).
Ultimately, while there are selected albums out there that I like better than any of the Cowboy Junkies albums that I have, I think the Cowboy Junkies could easily be characterized as consistently being the best band of the last three decades. They deserve more recognition than they have received in the U.S, but perhaps a lack of commercial success in the U.S. is part of what has kept them so great over the years. Also, Cowboy Junkies, if you read this - thank you for coming to Idaho to play. I never thought I'd get a chance to see you live and it was wonderful.
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15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fantastic, May 1, 2007
I've just listened to this once, so there's probably so much more that I didn't catch yet. But what a fantastic, gorgeous, and enthralling album. This is the Junks 11th studio release - and it's the same band from when they began more than 20 years ago. But this is not the same sound sonically. Michael's guitar playing and approach continues to mature and grow (listen to Cutting Board Blues). Margo's voice has never sounded better, IMO - it's like a fine wine aging to perfection. Peter is here, along with long-time guests Jaro Czerwinec and Jeff Bird. Alan's trademark bass is very under-stated on most of the tracks, though. But the big difference is the presence of strings on nearly all of the songs. It's a great fit with Margo's voice and the tone of the album, which is very oriented towards family. There's a children's choir on the ending song, along with a recording of Father Timmins (which makes up the under-lying element of Mountain).
Highlights of the album are Cutting Board Blues, My Little Basquiat, Follower 2, and It Doesn't Really Matter. The album reminds me of Open in some ways - a big departure in sound from their previous albums. I'd rank it up there with One Soul Now, which is my favourite album of theirs in the last decade (Caution Horses remains my personal favourite).
Buy the album - and don't forget to see the band live if they're coming to your neck of the woods (unfortunately no Texas dates yet - drat).
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Junkies Just Improve With Age, June 20, 2007
How anyone could rate this less than five stars is completely beyond me. I have followed the Junkies since their second album, and really got into them with an assigned review of 'Lay It Down', which I still consider a masterpiece. But this recording is something else entirely. I've lived with it now for quite awhile (I think I had it about a month before official release, so add that time to the date of this 'review'), and I'm still awed by its strength in all directions. The writing is superb, Michael's guitar work gets better and better as time goes on, Margo's voice sounds more tuned and better than it did twenty something years ago with 'Whites Off Earth Now', and the arrangements (including strings) are simply amazing. Try listening to 'Brand New World' (the first track), and see if you don't feel optomistic about the world today. By the time the closing track, 'My Only Guarantee' finishes, it's clear that you've reached the end of THIS path taken, but I can't wait to hear where they will go next. I stand up and applaud this grand achievement of the Junkies, quite possibly the finest recording of their long career and one I will treasure for years to come. Now if they would only issue it on vinyl too...
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