Looking for a nostalgia fix?
A lot has changed in twenty years and no doubt many of the bands who started at the same time as the Cowboy Junkies have long bitten the dust, although the way the music business chews them up and spits them out, there are probably bands whose musicians are younger than 20 years old who have charted and then split up.
Joined by guests like Ryan Adamas, Vic Chesnutt and Natalie Merchant it’s a good walk down memory lane but should also provide new fans with a reason to check out the band, and the accompanying DVD should seal the deal.
The touching ‘Mining For Gold’ starts off the record on a sombre note but its the woozy and bluesy feel of ‘Misguided Angel’ that provides the first signs of real life on the record and its this style that carries throughout the album, best personified on ‘200 More Miles’ featuring Ryan Adams on lead vocals. The song is perfectly suited to Adams whiskey racked singing and carries the impression of live on the road.
They may have aged but these songs were the sound of a band that had a mature edge to them even back when the original Trinity record came out, with lyrics going further than boy meets girl stuff and the key instrumentation being augmented by harmonicas and mandolins.
One of the best things about this record for new fans are the cover versions and the moments where the band slips in little nods to other songs. Clearly a cover of The Velvet Underground’s ‘Sweet Jane’ is going to invite some strict comparison from this writer but it comes across rather well. The original remains a fantastic version, the way it soars makes it hard to match but thankfully the Cowboy Junkies take it in another direction and manage to impress. A two minute freak-out feedback introduction ushers in the track before that familiar strut and delicate guitar lick comes into the fore. Margo Timmons world-weary delivery fits neatly with the performance and it easily stands out as a highlight of the record. With the inclusion of the bridge that was omitted from the original ‘Loaded’ appearance, the band know they’re rock history and now that they’ve got over 20 years of their own back-pages to look through, its fair to say the Cowboy Junkies are looked upon as a classic band.
The version of ‘I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry’ takes it down to a crawling pace and what it adds in emotion and feelings, it loses in energy and desire and its hard to say if this version works. It’s a timeless track that has saw many great cover versions so its not as if its hard to do a version of it but it does feel like a bit of a missed opportunity. Whether you like this track or not is definitely dependent upon what mood you are in before you listen to it.
The DVD of the performance of the session captures what a fantastic venue they created the album in but in all fairness, its definitely for fans only and wont be getting too many people rushing down to the record store to check out. Then again, its coming with the album as a bonus so its an excellent little freebie.
Sometimes theres no harm in looking back at former glories and the Cowboy Junkies have turned up with an impressive little package this time.