Cowboy Junkies - At The End Of Paths Taken

Facing the final curtain?

The oh-so-hushed tones of Cowboy Junkies records past has seen them unfairly derided in some quarters of the press (one standing joke being that it was only a matter of time before they toured libraries). But while they have frequently returned to the pin-drop whispers of their 1988 breakthrough, The Trinity Sessions, the Canadian folksters are not averse to a little adventure.

The eclecticism of three consecutive tracks on this, their 15th album in a little over 20 years, may surprise some. Cutting Board Blues is probably the closest Margo Timmins will ever get to delivering anything akin to a Janis Joplin blues wailer, with brother Michael rocking out on a crunchy guitar part reminiscent of early 70s Jimmy Page. But then they’re straight into the almost funereal folk of the string-led Spiral Down, before there’s a dalliance with a sort of rural backwoods version of trip-hop on My Little Basquiat.

If there is a unifying theme, it’s the constant allusions to a long journey nearly completed. Chief writer Michael Timmins says he’s been preoccupied with “inevitability and finality, a sense of running out of choices”. Should this be considered the Junkies’ farewell? Hopefully not. On this evidence they still have a great deal to offer.

Cooking Vinyl | COOKCD 401

Reviewed by Terry Staunton
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