whitesail

I don’t understand how these things
move the way they do.
Collide the way they do.
Feel the way they do.
When we touch the way we do.

The first of many questions asked on the new Cowboy Junkies album, One Soul Now. This is the best album I have heard in years. Mike Timmins is the song writer, producer, and guitar player. Sister Margo sings, brother Pete is on drums, and lifelong friend Alan Anton is on bass.

Abandon all those precious things.
one soul now
Carry only what twilight brings.
one soul now
Watch the colour drain from the sky.
one soul now
Stillness settles, glides on by.
one soul now

The album opens with One Soul Now. It starts with an acoustic chord progression that reminds me of something other than the Junkies…alt-rock of sorts. The interplay between Mike’s guitar and Alan Anton’s bass is fantastic. The music crescendos with Mike playing a little slide and Alan moving from upper registers of his bass, down to the deep, low bass we’re accustomed to him playing.

I don’t understand how these things
move the way they do.
Collide the way they do.
Feel the way they do.
When we touch the way we do.

The chorus features beautiful harmonies by Margo, to go with lead vocals. A song written by someone who has lived for a while and realizes that he doesn’t know as much as he used to. I can relate.

The second song is Why This One. More questions. The song simply asks why are we who we are, why are we living this life and why are we with these people? Another different sounding Junkies song. Great playing by Alan and strong driving drums by Pete.

Of all the lives to live why this one?
Filled with could-have-been. No fun.
Countless nights of anxious frustrations.
Of all the lives to live why this one?

The guitar sounds very much like U2 in places. The bass is excellent, moving from a distorted sound to the trademark Junkies sound. Very melodic. Yummy. Mike plays a scorching solo that ends abruptly, giving way to Margo’s beautiful vocals. Kind of the trademark of this album. Margo’s beautiful vocals and Mike’s nasty guitar.

A dusty simple-minded piece of fiction.
Strange and odd, twisted as a contradiction.
A glittering jewel of flaws and celebration.

Did I say that Mike has a way with words? He does.

My Wild Child is probably my favorite track so far. An upbeat meditation on the contradictions of having children. How they create so much chaos and yet will ground you when you need it.

Confused. Is the issue.
I’m in need of high rescue.
Another lucky one stunned by too much love.

My wild child
she’s my salvaged shipwreck.
My wild child she’s my stone.
My wild child
she’s my constant reminder.
My wild child she’s my home.

Fantastic drumming by Pete. He just drives this song forward. Mike’s guitar moves effortlessly from acoustic to distorted electric, featuring what may be his best studio solo, yet. Margo’s vocals are pure perfection. Very passionate and poignant. I love this song. The chord changes just grab me…that’s the first thing I noticed when I listened to this song.

My wild child she’s my home.

From Hunting Ground To City is more of a traditional sounding Junkies song. Slower and darker and hypnotic. Very Neil Young/Crazy Horse - like.

To Hunting Ground from City.
That’s where my baby took me with her smile.
To Hunting Ground from City.
I never thought that I’d have to retrace those miles.
It’s been a while since I’ve seen that smile
appear upon her face
and now I find I’m slowly drifting back
from Hunting Ground to City.

Margo’s vocal is….well….Margo. Beautiful and haunting. Alan’s bass is anchoring and melodic at the same time. I think he might be the best bass player out there right now. Mike’s guitar has some distorted, swirling sound to it that’s very cool. These first four songs are probably the best opening four songs on a single album I’ve heard in ages.

From Hunting Ground from City.
The journey down is sure to be a laugh.
From Hunting Ground from City.
At least we’ll have each other to see it pass.
I’ve seen that line of broken minds
and I fear to join it’s ranks,
but still I find I’m slowly drifting back
from Hunting Ground to City.

The Stars Of Our Stars is next. Actually, the idea for the song came from Mike’s five year old daughter. She came up to him and said, “Daddy, let’s write a song.” Mike said, okay what’s the song called. His daughter said, “The Stars Of Our Stars.”

Stars of our stars.
Dreams of my dreams.
You come to me
singing ” The Stars Of Our Stars”.

The song is upbeat and positive, especially for this band. It features a distorted, crunching guitar and Jeff Bird’s overdriven electric mandolin. And this next part of the song was basically thought up by Mike’s daughter:

The stars of our stars
came up the first day.
The moon did set.
The sun comes up.
And all the stars did disappear.

Talent runs in the family, huh?

Notes Falling Slow. Just read those three words again. Probably the best song title I can think of offhand. Notes Falling Slow. Now imagine slow, beautiful, dreamy music and:

My love swears that he is made of truth
I do believe him though I know he lies.
I’ve caught him creeping ’round darkened holes.
I’ve caught him staring at distant skies.

The music builds up, in frustration and Margo sings:

I would have seen it coming but I’m blind with age.
Too much time on the battle line.
Shut it all out just let the notes fall slow.

Slow.

Another adult song, written by someone who has seen much, but is “blind with age.” This should be required listening for anyone wanting to create music. Incredible.

My love lives inside a haze of gloom.
He fears today, what might come tomorrow.
Seeks the shadow, shuns the light.
Bleeds for knowledge, prepares for sorrow.

Another nasty guitar solo by Mike…that swirly, distorted sound again. And then:

This ain’t no depression, just notes falling slow.
An early snow and notes falling slow.
Do I have the strength to bear their passion?
An early snow and notes falling slow.

No Long Journey Home is easily my least favorite song from the album. It just doesn’t fit for me. An upbeat number, complete with handclaps. It just doesn’t elicit a response from me. Yet.

He Will Call You Baby is Neil Young meets the Blues. I’m warning you. It’s slow. I mean sllllloooowww. When the mixing engineer first heard it, he told Mike, “No one plays this slow.” Mike responded, “We do.” And they do it well.

He will call you baby
but will he listen when you cry?
He will call you sweetheart
but always seem apart.
He will tear all your fences down,
trample all into the ground.
He will call you baby.

Total blues. Margo smolders and Mike plays a tasty guitar solo. The song was recorded when they were just practicing and learning it. The “practice” take was so good, it made it to the album. How many artists today can say that?

She will call you honey
and leave you twisting in the wind.
She will call you darling,
keep you stunned and wondering.
She will take you to another world
where the winds of confusion swirl.
She will call you honey.

A song written about manipulative people in relationships. Why do we treat each other like this?

Simon Keeper is a ballad about irony, about selfishness and greed, about losing everything.

Jesus was a carpenter he died nailed to a wooden cross.
Irony oh irony upon me it is never lost.

After the opening line, the song goes into a story about Simon Keeper. A not-so honest husband and father and employee “cooking the books for the shills that grease the skids.” He got “caught with my hand in the cookie jar and brother that was it. Fifty-four and a big black mark upon my resume…”

And from there, in typical Cowboy Junkies fashion, everything unravelled:

Next it was a letter from my darling one,
“what’s yours is mine, what’s mine is mine”,
sealed with a hug and kiss.
One by one my children closed their lives to me.
Lesson learned on Daddy’s knee,
“give no quarter to the weak”.

It’s very eery listening to Margo sing these lyrics…singing as a man who’s lost everything…a man named Keeper. Irony. She could sing the phone book and I’d listen. To hear her whisper……

Irony oh irony upon me it is never lost.

The Slide ends this amazing album. A upbeat sounding song with some more pointed questions.

Jesus, sweet Jesus if you’re listening
can you pass me to your pa.
I’m having a hard time understanding
why he’s so cruel and demanding
with his love.

I don’t really get this song yet. I like it, but I haven’t reached an understanding of it yet. I also know that it has something to teach me. I guess I’m just not ready.

Grab on to this moment, inhale it
and hold it inside.
Savour its sweetness,
yearn for the slide.

The music is beautiful. Basic guitar, backed by great drumming and Alan’s beautiful basslines. Margo is Margo. Perfection on vocals.

Jesus, sweet Jesus if you’re listening
can you pass me to your pa.
I’m having a hard time understanding
why he’s so discriminating
with his love.

She repeats “with his love” a few times in a pleading yet positive way, as if even through her doubts, she knows He’s there and loves her. Great ending.

This is a classic Cowboy Junkies album, yet also different from anything they’ve done before. It took me about four or five really good listens to really appreciate this piece of work. Only one song that doesn’t do anything for me, but that will probably change. Three songs that are in the Neil Young/Crazy Horse groove. More upbeat songs than the norm for Junkies. An incredible ballad. It’s fantastic.

Mike’s songwriting is, I think, the best around right now. No one in music can touch him right now. Every album has multiple gems that just stand out and shine. I think that his guitar playing is the strongest it’s ever been on this album. The solos on My Wild Child, Why This One and Notes Falling Slow are beautiful and savage, at the same time. Particularly on Why This One….just vicious. Alan Anton is the best bass player in rock right now. He anchors the songs and plays so beautifully and melodically. Very innovative, I think. I love an active, melodic bass though. Pete’s drumming is the best he’s done, IMHO. He pushes and drives My Wild Child and is equally good on the first two songs. Also understated and steady on the slower numbers.

And Margo…what can I say? No one can sing the way she does. Soft, beautiful. Just the way she phrases the lyrics…caressing them. Giving them more meaning than you can see on this page. Occasionally showing strength and determination, alongside the frustration and despair. She is wonderful. And just wait til you hear me sing her praises on what she does on the EP of covers that came with this album.

Okay….you’ve read all this. Now go out and buy this album, okay?