SONGS OF THE RECOLLECTION SEES COWBOY JUNKIES COVERING NEIL YOUNG, GORDON LIGHTFOOT, BOB DYLAN, THE CURE, GRAM PARSON, VIC CHESNUTT, THE ROLLING STONES, AND DAVID BOWIE
OUT TODAY VIA LATENT RECORDINGS
BUY / STREAM SONGS OF THE RECOLLECTION HERE
PURCHASE TICKETS TO COWBOY JUNKIES AT MASSEY HALL ON APRIL 7 HERE
“Songs of the Recollection is a joy to listen to, start to finish. ...a fresh and exciting album that channels the obvious passion these musicians share for the artists being covered." - Exclaim!
“On paper it might sound like filler but to listen to it’s wonderful.” MOJO
“Now, after 17 albums traveling roads of their own making, they’re releasing a collection of songs by others that inspire them. From David Bowie to Vic Chesnutt, the Junkies do not cover their songs so much as create riveting dialogues within them." No Depression
“As you listen to these nine, you find that the band maintains those same endearing qualities that have sustained them for these 36 years. If anything, Margo Timmins has grown more confident and dramatic in her vocals.” Glide Magazine
“It’s an intriguing mix but what all the songs have in common is that the band make them their own, playing them through the filter of their distinctive style and inhabiting them like few bands can. Although they are covers, they’re immediately recognisable as Cowboy Junkies’ songs.” Americana UK
Photo Credit : Heather Pollock // DOWNLOAD HIGH-RES
Listen to Songs Of The Recollection and you’ll hear works originally written and recorded by Neil Young, Gordon Lightfoot, Bob Dylan, The Cure, Gram Parsons, Vic Chesnutt, The Rolling Stones, and David Bowie that the Cowboy Junkies make their own – and make them sound perfectly natural beside each one another.
Out today via Latent Recordings, Songs Of The Recollection finds the band as distinctive and individual as when they started. Long admired for their carefully chosen covers, the new album consists of nine songs by some of the band’s favorite artists. Some of the tracks are newly recorded, while some are collected from earlier projects.
WATCH / SHARE “FIVE YEARS” (MUSIC VIDEO) HERE
WATCH COWBOY JUNKIES PERFORM “FIVE YEARS” LIVE HERE
“Long before we were musicians, we were music fans,” says Michael Timmins. We didn't grow up sitting around the kitchen table playing instruments and harmonizing. We grew up sitting around the record player listening to each other's record collections and having our minds blown. This was the passion that we shared.”
Formed in Toronto in 1985, with siblings Michael Timmins on guitar, Margo Timmins on vocals, Peter Timmins on drums, and Michael’s lifelong friend Alan Anton on bass, the band was an odd fit for the era. In the days of hair metal and rock bombast, the Junkies’ music seemed to spread like a whispered secret. Those who heard it, never forgot it.
In a way, Songs Of The Recollection takes the quartet back to its roots. While the group is known primarily for its original songs, since the band’s beginnings Cowboy Junkies have always offered up favorites by other artists.
Except for one original and a cover of Bruce Springsteen’s “State Trooper”, the band’s 1986 debut album, White Off Earth Now, was made up entirely of songs by great blues artists. When the Junkies broke through to the mainstream with the follow-up album, The Trinity Session, it was the group’s moody rendition of Lou Reed’s “Sweet Jane” that immediately caught the ears of college radio.
In the following years, the group included cover songs on nearly all of their releases, recorded an entire album of songs by the darkly evocative songwriting great Vic Chesnutt, and released two volumes of ’Neath Your Covers series, comprised of songs by other artists.
Cowboy Junkies have never had a break-up or had to take a hiatus because they couldn’t get along or got tired of each other. Instead of battling egos, the band appreciates what the other brings to the table. It’s not surprising that the band still appreciates what their favorite songwriters have to offer as well.
“Our goal has always been to create music that took hold of the listener the way that this music took hold of us. These are some of the songs and some of the artists that found their way into our lives and eventually into our repertoire over the past fifty years,” says Michael Timmins.
SONGS OF THE RECOLLECTION
1. Five Years (David Bowie)
2. Ooh Las Vegas (Gram Parsons)
3. No Expectations (Rolling Stones)
4. Don't Let It Bring You Down (Neil Young)
5. Love In Mind (Neil Young)
6. The Way I Feel (Gordon Lightfoot)
7. I've Made Up My Mind To Give Myself To You (Bob Dylan)
8. Marathon (Vic Chesnutt)
9. Seventeen Seconds (The Cure)