This Ain't No Party...

When I think of perfect Sunday morning records I quite often think of Canada's finest, The Cowboy Junkies. I have written a few times in the past about the beauty of their music, in particular 1989's "Trinity Session" which would easily be in a list of my fave albums of all time.

The follow up, "The Caution Horses" is almost as good and includes some of their best songs including "Cause Cheap Is How and Feel", "Sun Comes Up It's Tuesday Morning" and a stunning cover of Neil Young's "Powderfinger". There is a vulnerability and honesty to Margo Timmins vocals that just draws you in and keeps you listening. It was also the album that her brother, Michael, really came into his own as a songwriter, with a collection of lyrics that would not be out of place in the works of some of North America's best short story writers.

Certainly not party music, but for fans of great,timeless songwriting, there are few better.

Where Are You Tonight

Favourite Cover Versions...Part 6

I have previously written of my thoughts here on the exquisite Trinity Sessions album from Toronto's finest The Cowboy Junkies. One of the many great things about that album was the covers they chose to do, which were as good as or in some cases surpassed the originals. This penchant for covering classics continued with the follow up album, The Caution Horses. Once again the music was beautiful and haunting whilst Margo Timmins vocals are as vulnerable and lovely as you would expect.

The cover on the album of Neil Young's Powderfinger is probably the only cover of one of his tracks that I have heard that is better than the original.

Cowboy Junkies - Powderfinger

Heart Like A Gabriel,Soul Like A Lucifer....

Recorded live in 1987 at The Church Of Holy Trinity in Toronto with a single microphone,The Trinity Sessions is very close to being a perfect album....superlatives escape me when trying to describe the sheer beauty of the second album by The Cowboy Junkies....


Opening track,Mining For Gold is sung unaccompanied by the exquisite,mesmerising vocals of Margo Timmins....a couple of years back I saw the band perform the album in its entirety in Edinburgh and during that track the hairs on the back of my neck literally did stand up....

Covers of Sweet Jane,I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry and Blue Moon are quite simply outstanding but for me the stand out track on the album is Misguided Angel,an age old story of falling for the guy that your parents never approved and loving someone despite all their imperfections with some great lyrical imagery courtesy of Michael Timmins whose masterful songwriting perfectly complemented his sister's soft but very effective singing style....

Can be bought here ....

Misguided angel hangin' over me

Heart like a Gabriel, pure and white as ivory

Soul like a Lucifer

Black and cold like a piece of lead

Misguided angel, love you 'til I'm dead