Weekly > Reviews
Cowboy Junkies - Early 21st Century Blues
Ooooh cover albums….funny old things them cover albums, they can go one of two ways.
Hmmm concept albums….funny old things those concept albums, they can go one of two ways.
Concept cover album….just not even funny….that can’t work can it?
Yes you have just witnessed the slow ticking of my brain (that’s what the noise was) as I try to get my head around this release by a band I’m not that too familiar with if truth be know, ok I’ve heard the odd track by them but I’ve not heard an album and certainly not a concept covers album.
Ok so I haven’t entirely got my head round this still, but despite my feelings of dread and worry when I read that this wasn’t just any old covers album, this was in fact a collection of tracks that “relate to war, violence, fear, greed, ignorance and loss, to create our own small document of hope�. I have to say that it’s actually pretty good on the whole, which considering they have been quite brave with the artists they’ve tackled is some achievement (I had to worry when you saw the list, Springsteen, Bob Dylan, U2 etc).
The reason that they get away with it is two fold. The vocals of Margo Timmins which take on a honey-soaked, light air to them, perfect to accompany a candlelit dinner, she has a soft warm glow to her voice. The second reason is that the band have tackled the songs in their style, they haven’t tried to be faithful to the original in every sense, instead they’ve realised that to do that would be pointless, so each track is garnished with their trademark rhythm.
The album opens with Bob Dylans License To Kill, a track that begins with a gentle guitar line, before shuffling full steam into the afore mentioned vocals, it’s a glorious opening and one that instils you with confidence that they really can pull this off. This well known track is then followed by one of two traditional songs that have seen various versions throughout the years, including this one that Dylan himself has tackled previously. Two Soldiers is a fairly straightforward acoustic strum, the other traditional track is No More, which early fans of the band may have seen them play at the very first gig they performed back in 1985.
- Cowboy Junkies
- Early 21st Century Blues (2005)
- Category: Album
- Label: Cooking Vinyl
- Reviewed by: Kev
- Published on: 30 Jul 2005
- Photography by: Susan King
- Comments: 0
- Beat Surrender Rating:
Weblinks
Add to favouritesI’ve probably sold this a touch short really in describing it as a covers album as it does feature two new compositions from Michael Timmins. December Skies sounds strangely familiar to me, I cant put my finger on why, it’s apparently inspired by the Timothy Findley novel The Wars, not sure of the relevance of that to you, but to me it’s the best song on the album, a harrowing song, that is set to a beautiful melody. The other new track is This World Dreams Of, it meanders in a similar way to a jazz jam rather than a structured song, once again though it’s the vocals that pull it through as Margo turns in a smoky lounge style performance to mirror the track.
As mentioned previously, Bruce Springsteen is covered on Early 21st Century Blues, this is somebody I’ve never been a fan of at all, however listening to the Cowboy Junkies versions of Brothers Under The Bridge and You’re Missing, the lyrics take on a more poignant feel to them in these delicate surroundings, they are not only a success but have also given me food for thought on Springsteen. The Beatles solo material is plundered twice as George Harrison’s Isn’t It A Pity and Don’t Want To Be A Soldier by John Lennon are given the Junkies make over. The biggest surprise though turns up on the latter as Rebel (Kevin Bond) turns up to add hip-hop vocals to the looping drum, it does sound like nothing else on the album and I’m still not sure if that’s a good thing or a bad thing, it is though another brave move on the bands part.
The final track is without doubt my favourite U2 song and definitely Bono’s best moment to date. It’s probably better known than any song on this album and has been covered countless times already by everyone from REM to Johnny Cash. This version though is right up their, it’s an admirable attempt and ties up the sentiments of the album as a whole perfectly.
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We waffle on enough without letting you lot do it too. Comments are limited to 300 characters.
Try and keep on topic if you can and no insulting the contributors. All hate mail can be addressed to Kev.