The Cowboy Junkies have stood their ground in a position not quite noticeable but always quietly persistent. Album after album they are there, not on the strength of trend or gimmick but on the strength of rare talent and songwriting ability.
Michael Timmins, brother of vocalist Margo and bassist Peter - who together with drummer Alan Anton shape the band - is a writer who thrives on the deep and inquisitive. He is never content to rely on the obvious or the tired clichés of many of his contemporaries. Coupled with the haunting, sultry voice of Margo and the unique instrumental ability of the band as a whole, the Cowboy Junkies have spelled success once again with their latest release, Open.
The eleventh studio release of a band which has thrived since the mid-eighties, Open opens with a pulsating Kid A (Radiohead) feel and quickly melts into a dusty blues-rock Five Days in July (Blue Rodeo) progression. Strong influences persist from a number of Music's best, but the product is entirely original. The album weaves itself together with an intricate rock hook that emerges stronger than the band's past releases yet somehow remains very melodic, mainly on the vocal stylings of Margo. Says the singer; "I recorded this album with my eyes shut. It was the greatest. As a storyteller, I feel my job is to make a song some alive. That works best by performing it in front of an audience night after night and getting just the right tone, phrasing and inflections. So instead of coming into the studio and reading the lyrics as I sang, the tunes just flowed out of me. Knowing the songs so well gave me the extra confidence to give them that edge, that soul."
Open swims with soul, and will stand as yet another beautifully under-appreciated Cowboy Junkies album. Pleasant, polite and powerful.
By Dave Brosha, CanEHdian.com 2001
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Cowboy Junkies - "Open" 