Search - Cowboy Junkies :: At the End of Paths Taken (Dig)

At the End of Paths Taken (Dig)
Cowboy Junkies
At the End of Paths Taken (Dig)
Genres: Country, Alternative Rock, Pop, Rock
 
  •  Track Listings (11) - Disc #1

Despite its title, the new Cowboy Junkies album, At the End of Paths Taken, is as much about new beginnings as it is about endings. It is also about human connections, the struggle to sustain those connections over time...  more »

     
2

Larger Image

CD Details

All Artists: Cowboy Junkies
Title: At the End of Paths Taken (Dig)
Members Wishing: 4
Total Copies: 0
Label: Zoe Records
Original Release Date: 1/1/2007
Re-Release Date: 4/17/2007
Genres: Country, Alternative Rock, Pop, Rock
Styles: Americana, Adult Alternative
Number of Discs: 1
SwapaCD Credits: 1
UPCs: 601143109720, 071129748012, 711297480122

Synopsis

Album Description
Despite its title, the new Cowboy Junkies album, At the End of Paths Taken, is as much about new beginnings as it is about endings. It is also about human connections, the struggle to sustain those connections over time, and the complexities that can arise even when those connections are maintained. It is, in other words, a classic Cowboy Junkies album - a suite of smart, richly textured songs that value subtlety over broad, generic strokes, songs that prize insight and casual revelations over easily digestible clichés. Family lies at the heart of the album's eleven songs, and, of course, that is appropriate, too. Three of the band's members - singer Margo Timmins; songwriter, producer and guitarist Michael Timmins; and drummer Peter Timmins - are siblings, and bassist Alan Anton has been a member since the group formed in Toronto in 1985. Few bands have lasted nearly as long with their original line-up intact, and fewer still have created as consistently satisfying a body of work.

Similarly Requested CDs

 

CD Reviews

Fantastic
Bradley R. Kuhn | Round Rock, TX | 05/01/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)

"I've just listened to this once, so there's probably so much more that I didn't catch yet. But what a fantastic, gorgeous, and enthralling album. This is the Junks 11th studio release - and it's the same band from when they began more than 20 years ago. But this is not the same sound sonically. Michael's guitar playing and approach continues to mature and grow (listen to Cutting Board Blues). Margo's voice has never sounded better, IMO - it's like a fine wine aging to perfection. Peter is here, along with long-time guests Jaro Czerwinec and Jeff Bird. Alan's trademark bass is very under-stated on most of the tracks, though. But the big difference is the presence of strings on nearly all of the songs. It's a great fit with Margo's voice and the tone of the album, which is very oriented towards family. There's a children's choir on the ending song, along with a recording of Father Timmins (which makes up the under-lying element of Mountain).



Highlights of the album are Cutting Board Blues, My Little Basquiat, Follower 2, and It Doesn't Really Matter. The album reminds me of Open in some ways - a big departure in sound from their previous albums. I'd rank it up there with One Soul Now, which is my favourite album of theirs in the last decade (Caution Horses remains my personal favourite).



Buy the album - and don't forget to see the band live if they're coming to your neck of the woods (unfortunately no Texas dates yet - drat)."
The Junkies Just Improve With Age
David M. Green | New York | 06/21/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)

"How anyone could rate this less than five stars is completely beyond me. I have followed the Junkies since their second album, and really got into them with an assigned review of 'Lay It Down', which I still consider a masterpiece. But this recording is something else entirely. I've lived with it now for quite awhile (I think I had it about a month before official release, so add that time to the date of this 'review'), and I'm still awed by its strength in all directions. The writing is superb, Michael's guitar work gets better and better as time goes on, Margo's voice sounds more tuned and better than it did twenty something years ago with 'Whites Off Earth Now', and the arrangements (including strings) are simply amazing. Try listening to 'Brand New World' (the first track), and see if you don't feel optomistic about the world today. By the time the closing track, 'My Only Guarantee' finishes, it's clear that you've reached the end of THIS path taken, but I can't wait to hear where they will go next. I stand up and applaud this grand achievement of the Junkies, quite possibly the finest recording of their long career and one I will treasure for years to come. Now if they would only issue it on vinyl too..."
What a great CD...
M. Disette | Ridgefield,CT | 04/21/2007
(4 out of 5 stars)

"I am a longtime Cowboy Junkies fan. Their sound has taken various twists and turns over their various releases, but overall they still find a way to keep their "signature" sound within each release. "At The End of Paths Taken" is yet another example. They still sound like the Junkies, but again, they have found a way to incorporate something different and new in this release. I love it. The mellowness, the moodiness, the creativity, the complexity. I think it's one of their best. There's something that just grabs you in from the first song, and makes you want to keep listening until the last. It's easy to get lost in this CD. Thanks for more great music, CJ's!"