Cowboy Junkies - Open
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CD Details
Artist: Cowboy JunkiesEdition: Music CD
CD Release Date: 2001-05-15
Music Label: Zoe Records
Soundtracks:
- I Did It All for you
- Dragging Hooks (River Song Trilogy: Part III)
- Bread and Wine
- Upon Still Waters
- Dark Hole Again
- Thousand Year Prayer
- I'm So Open
- Small Swift Birds
- Beneath the Gate
- Close My Eyes
Music reviews of Open
Music Review: Slow Sinking Feeling
Rating: 4 Stars
Ranging from their all time best album, Lay It Down, to their new release of Open, the Cowboy Junkies flex their musical muscle by showing us they’re capable of jamming sessions similar to those of Dave Matthews Band and The Grateful Dead. Although their sophisticated, refined and reflective sound differs from most mainstream bands they reach down inside your soul and capture those lost emotions. Cowboy Junkies have been known for their slow, soothing and reflective sound and if you’re an avid fan of Cowboy Junkies you’ll recognize the live recording sound of Open which is characteristic of their albums Caution Horses and Trinity Sessions. The poetic lyrics provided by Michael Timmins combined with the soothing, yet rich voice of Margo Timmins provides an ambiance equivalent to that feeling of being wrapped in a velvet blanket on a cold rainy day. It appears, however, that Open is a new beginning for Cowboy Junkies as they explore and experiment with some dark lyrics and aggressive sounds. The beginning of the CD starts with some feedback Junkies style, as it’s thrown at you and then quickly taken away, but then reappears to complete the album. The feedback characterizes the whole album by giving you this feeling that something is not right; this irritating, boiling feeling that gets under your skin. The soft velvet blanket seems to be covered with needles. Although the title of the CD is Open, a bright and soft word, the feeling is much different. There’s a dual sense to the term. It’s always good to be open by expressing yourself but at the same time your vulnerable to all the bad things around you. The goal is to remain open. Therefore the album lyrically begins with death but eventually leads to hope. The front cover of the CD encapsulates this theme by providing a picture of a Venus flytrap, a beautifully coloured and seeming harmless plant, which at the same time is dangerous and menacing. Beautiful yet Menacing!
The first song, I did It All For You, lyrical is about death and murder, which is felt musically through a hypnotic, bittersweet melody but as we move through the tracks the sensual and energetic sound characteristic of Cowboy Junkies, returns in I’m so Open. The interplay of elements are felt in the second track, Dragging Hooks, as the Junkies’ jam for the first 2 ½ minutes with help from Jeff Bird (Bass, Harmonica, Mandolin, Percussion, Electronic Mandolin) and Linford Detweiler (Organ, Piano, Wurlitzer). This is the third part of the river song trilogy, the river being a metaphor for life, where everything collapses in a song written about an elderly couple coping with the loss of each other. The first part, River Waltz on Rarities, is the man’s perspective of his loss, the second part, Bea’s song on Lay It Down, is the woman’s perspective, and the third is death for both of them. Alan Anton provides a bass sound in both Bread and Wine and Upon Still Waters, two songs that complement each other lyrically as well as musically, and give biblical references related to certain points in peoples lives that become tougher than normal; the pop-culture term of, “mid-life crisis”. The 5th track, Dark Hole Again, expressed through the soft-penetrating voice of Margo overpowered by metallic static, is about being at the bottom and finally being able to pull yourself up again. We begin to hear a brighter tune as Thousand Years Prayer slows you down to a reflective state and reminds you of popular Junkies songs such as Common Disaster, Sweet Jane, and Murder in the Trailer Park. Life and the feeling of hope returns in I’m So Open through an aggressive guitar solo by Jeff Bird and a passionate, fearless and heartfelt vocal cry from Margo. Lyrically this song seems to stand beside the theme of the whole album, that we must remain open to capture all the good as well as the hurt that flows through our lives. With their shift from dark to bright, Michael writes about the beauty of birds flying freely through the air, maybe representative of how we don’t realize something is beautiful until it’s gone in track 8, Small Swift Birds. Margo receives some backup vocals from Karin Bergquist in, Beneath the Gate, which is peaceful and beautiful and lyrically it refers to a baby found abandoned at the bottom of a gate but represents how that baby will be in a search for his dreams throughout his entire life. The last track, Close My eyes, completes the album with a gentle, wistful, yet speedy sound the ends with the echo of waves splashing. There’s a duality in closing one’s eyes that Michael expresses in his lyrics. You can close your eyes when you want to ignore something versus closing your eyes when your praying for something therefore this song represents a reflection on whether on not one should move on in life or stay and work things out. Rejoice with what you have or revel with what’s in front of you.
The Cowboy Junkies are music masterminds. They encapsulate what it is to be a band. The three family members are each musical gifted and with the addition of Alan they become the Cowboy Junkies. Their sound on Open is distinctive, penetrating and dirty which is reflected through the obscure sounds of Jeff Birds’ electric mandolin and Linford Detweiler’s wurlitzer. If you want an album that speaks to you, gives you comfort, and provides you with some unknown feelings than make sure you pick this up.
Description of Open
Our Seller Notes and Fine Print Department :..Very good shape, on original CD....From Zoe....All items are double bubble wrapped for safe trips....Alternative Rock CDs
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