COWBOYS JUNKIES : SONGS OF THE RECOLLECTION

COWBOYS JUNKIES : SONGS OF THE RECOLLECTION

Five Years
Ooh Las Vegas
No Expectations
Don't Let It Bring You Down
Love In Mind
The Way I Feel
I've Made Up My Mind To Give Myself To You
Marathon
Seventeen Seconds

Label : Proper Records

Release Date : March 25, 2022

Length : 42:49

Review (AllMusic) : When the Cowboy Junkies released their first album in 1986, Whites Off Earth Now!!, eight of the nine songs were covers, and their second, the 1988 breakthrough hit The Trinity Session, introduced them to a larger audience with their interpretations of Lou Reed's "Sweet Jane" and Patsy Cline's "Walkin' After Midnight." Recording other people's songs and giving them a sound of their own is deeply ingrained in the Cowboy Junkies' working method, so it's no great surprise that they've chosen to release an album devoted entirely to covers. 2022's Songs of the Recollection features five new recordings of tunes from artists they admire, along with four previously released tracks that appeared on EPs (Vic Chesnutt's "Marathon" and the Cure's "Seventeen Seconds") or tribute albums (Gram Parsons' "Ooh Las Vegas" and Gordon Lightfoot's "The Way I Feel"). This is very much in the tradition of what we've come to expect from the Cowboy Junkies in the year 2022, and that is not at all a bad thing. As a singer, Margo Timmins has learned to adapt her understated murmur to a wide range of moods and melodic frameworks, and she's consistently lovely here, especially in her rueful takes on David Bowie's "Five Years" and Neil Young's "Love in Mind." Guitarist Michael Timmins has a gift for weaving expressive dissonance and electric accents into the folky vibe common to their performances, and the overdriven finale of "Five Years," the sudden showers of fuzz in Neil Young's "Don't Let It Bring You Down," and the reverb-enhanced feedback on "Ooh Las Vegas" attest to his status as an unsung hero of noise guitar. And the rhythm section of bassist Alan Anton and drummer Peter Timmins are reliable in their excellence, knowing when to rise and fall with the mood of the songs and giving Margo and Michael just the right sort of musical support. In many respects, the Cowboy Junkies have changed very little over the course of 35-plus years, but Songs of the Recollection presents that as a virtue. This band have maintained a creative vision that's served them beautifully, and their commitment to the power of dynamics and finding the details of a song by leaving room to ponder the details and textures has led them to write some great material and also find unexplored landscapes in the work of other tunesmiths. Songs of the Recollection captures them doing the latter with grace and intelligence.

Review (Hot Press) : Covers records are tricky propositions. The more beloved the original recording is, the more you're sticking your arse out and asking for a kick. Torontonian troubadours Cowboy Junkies have form for this kind of thing. They're still, despite decades of recordings, probably best known for their ethereal run at the Velvet Underground's 'Sweet Jane' on 1988's The Trinity Sessions, which also memorably featured on 1994's Natural Born Killers soundtrack. That being said, covering songs as well known and beloved as Bowie's 'Five Years', The Stones' 'No Expectations' and Neil Young's 'Don't Let It Bring You Down' are acts of bravery that should earn anyone medals just for sheer neck. Will they replace the originals in your affections? Of course not, but the keening slide and tasteful drums and piano on what was basically a Stones Robert Johnson cover in the first place is worthwhile - although you should also seek out Johnny Cash's version on 1978's Gone Girl - as are the strings and guitar crescendo and suitably regretful and resigned vocal that close out one of Bowie's finest codas. The tremolo and (what sounds like an) ebowed guitar develop into a fairly rousing freak out for Young's forlorn classic. Gram Parsons' 'Ooh Las Vegas', previously available on the excellent 1999 tribute album, Return Of The Grievous Angel, benefits from a more radical reinterpretation with its scatter-gun slide guitar and the slightly unnerving feeling that the singer is now a ghost haunting the desert after a trip to sin city ended badly. Points for good taste are also earned by selecting what might be the best Bob Dylan song of the last several years - unlikely to be the last cover of this you ever hear - in 'I've Made Up My Mind To Give Myself To You'. Kudos too for adding in some Pat Garrett & Billy The Kid flamenco guitar flourishes. Margo Timmins is in fine voice throughout, as she always is, it's all beautifully played, and lesser-known - to me at least - material from Vic Chesnutt and Gordon Lightfoot fares equally well. Perhaps the most surprising inclusion, however, is a run at The Cure's slight 'Seventeen Seconds' which recasts The Junkies as Crazy Horse on a downer with guitarist Michael Timmins doing a decent impression of a particularly pissed-off Neil Young. Songs Of The Recollection isn't going to change your life, or replace the records they're paying tribute to, but it's a worthy endeavour nevertheless.

Review (XS Noize) : Cowboy Junkies are one of those outstanding bands that just get on with what they do and quietly slip under many people's radars. The Timmins siblings & bassist Alan Anton are now into their fifth decade, rapidly chasing down a haul of 20 studio albums. I recall seeing them play live in their home city of Toronto in 1996 when I had their 'Lay it Down' LP on heavy rotation. Like many Canadian artists, they are truly appreciated and adored in their homeland but rarely met with the same clamour level outside their own borders. When I heard that their latest release, 'Songs of the Recollection', was going to be a set of nine covers, I was mildly disappointed. However, on hearing the signature Junkies guitar of Michael Timmins and Margo's soulful, lucious voice, we are sonically transported to a distant place somewhere between Nashville and Ontario. They have put their own stamp on these tracks with flowing ease and substance. Their version of Bowie's 'Five Years' is served up as the opener. It's the second time that this song has been covered in the past year. Duran Duran performed it back in early 2021 in the lead up to their 'Future Past' album release. It's a damn fine song; whatever way you dress it up, Margo & Co. do not disappoint in their delivery. It may not delve into the extreme, painful depths that Bowie finds on the original; however, the angst and hurt within the Junkies version is not lost. There are a few numbers on here that have seen a previous commercial outing. 'Ooh Las Vegas' appeared on the 1999 Gram Parsons tribute effort - 'Return of the Grievous Angel' and The Cure's 'Seventeen Seconds' appeared on the 'Neath Your Covers' EP in 2004. Originally released in 2003, their take on Gram Parson's folky 'The Way I Feel' is transformed into a funky Timmins guitar adventure. Athens, Georgia singer-songwriter Vic Chesnutt died at the age of 45 on Christmas Day 2009. He had such a profound effect on the band that they dedicated an entire album ('Demons') to some of his finest work. The unhinged guitar by Michael Timmins on 'Marathon' reverberates like the choppers in 'Apocalypse Now.' It is deathly and brilliant. The standout tracks for me are two Neil Young covers, side by side on the album, quite unorthodox in the world of cover songs. There is no doubting the influence that fellow Canuck Mr Young has had on the Cowboy Junkies' musical journey. The powerful 'Don't Let it Bring You Down' from his seminal 'After the Goldrush' LP features heady, fuzzy, feedback-fuelled guitars that Neil himself would be proud of. In contrast, the gentle 'Love in Mind' follows on perfectly. The choice of songs by Dylan ('I've Made Up My Mind To Give Myself To You' from 2020) and The Rolling Stones ('No Expectations' from 1968) on here are unexpected, yet Cowboy Junkies, as they have always done, bring a unique texture to other artist's songs. Dating right back to their breakthrough moment in 1986, singing Lou Reed's 'Sweet Jane', cover songs have been a regular feature from them throughout the years. Yet, their versions never seem lazy nor contrived. With their magic fusion of folk, country and rock, 'Songs of the Recollection' maintains Cowboy Junkies' high standards in creative interpretation and expression.