Cowboy Junkies Trinity Revisited on vinyl

[CarlSeibert]

A pair of prodigious platters of plastic. Sorry. Couldn't help myself. An alliterative illiterate.

It's two 180 gram 33.33 rpm disks - beautiful, dead flat, silent, excellent sounding pressings, in proper audiophile plastic-lined inner sleeves (Somehow, when an album costs the best part of fifty bucks, I think a Nitty Gritty sleeve is in order. Thank you very much.)

The sound is head and shoulders above the 44.1 digital version - guitar timber, vocal, just about everything. This is the first Junkies album since way back, Caution Horses or Black Eyed Man maybe, where the vinyl has sounded that much better than the CD for me.

There's a bit of tape pre-echo (print-though) here and there. I don't know if they ran tape at the session or if at some point in the process the master was transferred from high-res digital to tape or what. Or if it's some diabolical digital effect, invented because Shelby Lynne wrote that she thinks print-through is charming. But the net result rocks.

It got a tout on Fremer's 'Heavy Rotation' list in Stereophile. That might make it a bit hard to find. It wasn't in stock at Elusive Disk or Music Direct. It is available at CowboyJunkies.com. At the moment, the exchange rate makes it a better deal there if you're paying in USD anyway.

If the Junkies haven't been your favorite band for twenty years, this may not matter. On the other hand, if they have, you probably seriously want this LP.

-Carl

[tom_hankins]

Thanks for the heads up.

[grawk]

If only Natalie Merchant weren't on it

[tyrion]

Carl, thanks, I just ordered the vinyl.

[morphsci]

Thanks, ordered that plus the SACD of Whites Off Earth Now which I have been meaning to order. Natalie Merchant FTW

[pabbi1]

OK, I really, REALLY like 'Miles From Our Home', but can't get into other stuff as much, including "Whites Off Earth Now" - maybe because I am late to the party, or something. I picked up 5 of their discs after getting MFOH, but they seemed rather, I don't know, cover derivative-ish.

But, I do love Margo's voice.

[grawk]

Their songs are what make them great. The covers are still good, because of margo's voice, but it's their songs that are special. Other than Whites Off and Miles, what do you have?

[CarlSeibert]

Their songs are what make them great.

Agreed. There are bands that sound interesting and even interesting and similar, Hem comes to mind, but without Michael Timmins' songs..........

-Carl

[skullguise]

Agreed on points of songs being great, and Margo's voice. I loved Trinity Sessions when I first got it, and musically, liked The Caution Horses even better; a little more personal, maybe more gritty in the emotional sense....just connected with me more.

I remember they did a Tonight Show appearance, and Jay Leno held their CD up in front of him and announced that the new album "The Cautious Horses" [sic] was now available...

I've enjoyed just about all of their albums since, but none as much as these two. I picked up Whites Off Earth Now after these two, and it was pretty nice, too, coming in a fairly close 3rd place for me. I seem to recall a few critics called Trinity their debut album.

Never got to see them live, though.....bummed about that.

[grawk]

Luckily they're still alive and touring

[pabbi1]

Black Eyed Man, the cautious horses, and One Soul Now, so, maybe I picked some lesser works, but grabbed them all second hand at Half Priced Books.

I'll look for Trinity Sessions, but I'll listen to 'the caution horses' again first..

[grawk]

Check out open, trinity, and rarities.

[pabbi1]

Ah, I remember now - just too mellow... and the cover of 'Powderfinger' is... well... not.

[grawk]

They're definitely not an energy band

[pabbi1]

Yeah, had to follow that up with Drowning Pool... I'll be on the look for Trinity.

[CarlSeibert]

They're touring now, as a matter of fact. No dates in Florida, though.

For a while, they were selling an MP3 of "The Sharon Session" on their site. But I can't find it now. Bummer.

(For those who aren't full fledged Junkie junkies, the Sharon Session was the original recording of Caution Horses, done in the single mike style of Trinity Session, in a place called the Sharon Temple. The band rejected the session and RCA wasn't exactly keen on it either. It wasn't heard for the longest time. It's not the lost masterpiece, but its versions of a couple of the songs are pretty interesting.)

-Carl

[skullguise]

For a while, they were selling an MP3 of "The Sharon Session" on their site. But I can't find it now. Bummer.

Yeah, I heard about this too late, too....didn't check their site, but someone else said the same thing you did (N/A now)

I'll start looking again, will ping you if I find.....

[morphsci]

Ah, I remember now - just too mellow... and the cover of 'Powderfinger' is... well... not.

You are right, it's not Neil Young, but IMO that's a good thing. In this case the cover is better than the original, like a lot of their covers.

[CarlSeibert]

You are right, it's not Neil Young, but IMO that's a good thing. In this case the cover is better than the original, like a lot of their covers.

x2. Dunno why, but their version of "Powderfinger" has always felt right to me.

Some people are outright offended by the Junkies' version. Music is strange and mysterious stuff.

-Carl

[guzziguy]

I'm a huge Neil fan. But I can't see why anybody would have a problem with the Junkies cover of Powderfinger. I like both versions and feel zero need to choose one over another.

[morphsci]

Agreed. When I said it was a good thing it is not Neil Young I wasn't disparaging his version, but that they did the cover, as most they do, in their own way.