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 Post subject: [2012-03-26] Cowboy Junkies "The Wilderness: Nomad Series, Volume 4" (Razor & Tie)
PostPosted: Thu Dec 29, 2011 10:15 am 
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Artist's Notes by Michael Timmins:

I began work on many of the songs that found their way onto The Wilderness in late 2007 and early 2008, months before my family and I took off for China, the trip that would inspire Renmin Park, the album that would kick off The Nomad Series. Some friends of mine had graciously given me the use of their writers' retreat, an old crumbling cottage perched high upon the Niagara Escarpment about one hour north of Toronto. I spent several days a month, over the course of that winter, huddled by the enormous woodstove, watching the snow drift and the birds come into the feeders, plunking away on my J200, trying to figure out what direction our next album should take. Some of these songs made it as far as the concert stage, and throughout the spring and summer of 2008 we performed them on tour. But, I could never get a handle on the collection of songs that was beginning to emerge. They never felt part of a single "piece"; I couldn't figure out what tied them all together and therefore, had no direction to chase them. Without a direction it seemed pointless to try and form them into a defined collection of songs. But then my trip to China intervened and with that came a whole set of new ideas and the preliminary concept for the Nomad Series. From the outset it was determined that many of the songs that we had been working on before China would be set aside until Volume 4. We figured that with the luxury of time and distance we would be able to get some perspective on these songs and so, we put them away.

The title, The Wilderness, in some odd way seemed to define what these songs were actually "about": fragility, emptiness, loneliness, beauty, chance, loss, desperation, the delicate balancing act that makes up a life. They are about being lost in the wilderness of age, the wilderness of parenthood, in the wilderness of just trying to find meaning and substance, happiness and truth in one's day to day life. They are about standing alone in middle of it all, breathing in the cold still air and wondering.

1. Unanswered Letter
2. Idle Tales
3. We Are The Selfish Ones
4. Angels In The Wilderness
5. Damaged From The Start
6. Fairytale
7. Staring Man
8. The Confession Of Georgie E
9. I Let Him In
10. Fuck, I Hate The Cold

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0077FM4FA/?tag=imwan-20

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 Post subject: [2012-03-26] Cowboy Junkies "The Wilderness: Nomad Series, Volume 4" (Razor & Tie)
PostPosted: Thu Dec 29, 2011 10:16 am 
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Message posted by Michael Timmins on 12/16/2011:

Quote:
Last year we announced that we were about to undertake a four album project called The Nomad Series and that the project was going to be completed in 18 months. Well, depending on how you do the calculation, today is the 18 month anniversary. The way I figure it, we officially released volume 1 (Renmin Park) on June 16th, 2010, so I count that as the official start of the ticking clock. Projecting 18 months forward from that day lands us squarely in the middle of today. So what can I say...oops...we tried, we failed...mea culpa.... My excuse is that the reality of earning a living got in the way of our ambition and I had to suspend production on Volume 4 when I got offered to do the music score for a very interesting documentary project called My Father And The Man In Black (more on that in the months to come). This set the production schedule back by about six weeks. In any case, the good news is that all of the recording for Volume 4 (The Wilderness) has been completed and we have just started mixing. We aim to have the album finished and mastered by mid January and to have the finished goods in hand when we start touring again in February. Once we have the finished master (in mid-January) we plan to have a one day listening party for the new album on the website, so that we can claim that we only missed our deadline by a few weeks (we’ll give everyone a lot of notice about the date when we finalise the details). Ultimately, the whole point of the project was to put out four albums that forced us to stretch our imaginations and talents and to pull on the experience that we have accumulated in our 25 plus years as a band. We also wanted to make sure that we pushed the expectations of those of you still listening. We think we have done that and we hope you agree. Quality first...right? We think Volume 4 will be a fitting capper to the whole project. I’ll start blogging about the making of the album and posting audio in the New Year, so don’t wander too far. We will also be having a blowout sale in the Junk Store starting right after Christmas so keep your eyes on the site.

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 Post subject: [2012-03-26] Cowboy Junkies "The Wilderness: Nomad Series, Volume 4" (Razor & Tie)
PostPosted: Thu Dec 29, 2011 12:45 pm 
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Great news. This band may have hit their commercial peak with "Sweet Jane" years ago, but they've been amazingly consistent since then. The Nomad series has been really interesting.


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 Post subject: [2012-03-26] Cowboy Junkies "The Wilderness: Nomad Series, Volume 4" (Razor & Tie)
PostPosted: Fri Dec 30, 2011 3:28 am 
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I love Music & hate brickwalled audio

Joined: 27 Sep 2006
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Location: The Pasture
I still have to open & play my volume 1 of the series!

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 Post subject: [2012-03-26] Cowboy Junkies "The Wilderness: Nomad Series, Volume 4" (Razor & Tie)
PostPosted: Fri Dec 30, 2011 8:29 am 
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The Last Hippie

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The Human Top wrote:
Great news. This band may have hit their commercial peak with "Sweet Jane" years ago, but they've been amazingly consistent since then. The Nomad series has been really interesting.



you hit that proverbial nail right on the head.

another band i fell in love with and have slowly become "used to". By that I mean that everything has just started to get very mundane and monotonous. I know that's "their sound" but a little bit of spice once in a while would be very nice.

the last CD i bought by them was the first in this nomad series, and during last summer's purge i came very close to cleaning them out except for the greatest hits.

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 Post subject: [2012-03-26] Cowboy Junkies "The Wilderness: Nomad Series, Volume 4" (Razor & Tie)
PostPosted: Fri Dec 30, 2011 8:35 am 
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I love Music & hate brickwalled audio

Joined: 27 Sep 2006
Posts: 37652
Location: The Pasture
I still really like Trinity & Caution Horses. I lean towards Renny's opinion on the other 15 CJ cd's & 5 singles that I own.

If it wasn't for the fact that music's financial value is at an all time low (& movies also), I would probably consider a major purge also. I don't have enough years left to play the majority of what I own again, & really have no one appropriate to leave them to in my will.

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 Post subject: [2012-03-26] Cowboy Junkies "The Wilderness: Nomad Series, Volume 4" (Razor & Tie)
PostPosted: Fri Dec 30, 2011 10:50 am 
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Hmm. By consistent I didn't really mean boring. :) I actually think their recent stuff is wonderful and exciting.

I think they suffer from what I call "Elvis Costello Malaise". Like Elvis Costello they've been good for so long that people sort of take them for granted. IMO of course.


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 Post subject: [2012-03-26] Cowboy Junkies "The Wilderness: Nomad Series, Volume 4" (Razor & Tie)
PostPosted: Fri Dec 30, 2011 9:07 pm 
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Who are those guys?

Joined: 25 Nov 2006
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The Human Top wrote:
Hmm. By consistent I didn't really mean boring. :) I actually think their recent stuff is wonderful and exciting.

I think they suffer from what I call "Elvis Costello Malaise". Like Elvis Costello they've been good for so long that people sort of take them for granted. IMO of course.


That.

I think there's no better band in the world right now. Nothing they do is remotely poor, and much (maybe most) of it is exceptional. It's all very tasteful and soulful and done with first-rate musicianship and passion -- and commitment to their art.

And if you think their stuff all sounds the same these days, I recommend you see them live and then see what you think.


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 Post subject: [2012-03-26] Cowboy Junkies "The Wilderness: Nomad Series, Volume 4" (Razor & Tie)
PostPosted: Sat Dec 31, 2011 8:36 am 
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The Last Hippie

Joined: 26 Jun 2006
Posts: 28459
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Greg Carrier wrote:
The Human Top wrote:
Hmm. By consistent I didn't really mean boring. :) I actually think their recent stuff is wonderful and exciting.

I think they suffer from what I call "Elvis Costello Malaise". Like Elvis Costello they've been good for so long that people sort of take them for granted. IMO of course.


That.

I think there's no better band in the world right now. Nothing they do is remotely poor, and much (maybe most) of it is exceptional. It's all very tasteful and soulful and done with first-rate musicianship and passion -- and commitment to their art.

And if you think their stuff all sounds the same these days, I recommend you see them live and then see what you think.



greg,

i agree with you, an excellent band, with an obvious passion for their art.

they just have mix it up a little, just a little.

renny

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 Post subject: [2012-03-26] Cowboy Junkies "The Wilderness: Nomad Series, Volume 4" (Razor & Tie)
PostPosted: Sat Mar 24, 2012 8:12 pm 
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Who are those guys?

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I downloaded this one this morning, and it's superb, the best of the Nomad Series, I think. This one is quieter and more reflective, with lots of acoustic guitar, but with some nice splashes of electric guitar, too. It's more song-driven.

Have you ever had the experience of seeing an act that you thought were just OK play live, and afterwards all their material sounded better? Like you needed the live experience to really get them? I think the Cowboy Junkies are that kind of band. Their approach is pretty restrained, and even when they experiment a bit, it's tasteful and reigned in. This stuff can fly right by you unless you really focus, then it comes alive. That's what happened when I saw them live. There was not a boring minute. I actually think a lot of their early stuff, like Caution Horses and Black Eyed Man are the least interesting.


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 Post subject: [2012-03-26] Cowboy Junkies "The Wilderness: Nomad Series, Volume 4" (Razor & Tie)
PostPosted: Sun Mar 25, 2012 3:59 pm 
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I love Music & hate brickwalled audio

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Location: The Pasture
Funny, Caution Horses is my 2nd favorite!

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 Post subject: [2012-03-26] Cowboy Junkies "The Wilderness: Nomad Series, Volume 4" (Razor & Tie)
PostPosted: Sun Mar 25, 2012 5:36 pm 
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I like the title of the last song. Straightforward and direct!


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