and "Oregon Hill" presents a touch of Southern blues. But it's all tempered by Margo Timmins's dusted-with-longing voice. The band is her pack and follows her voice, almost slowing to the vocal pacing. That facet marks the Junkies as a responsive, listenerly unit, touched by a unique rural-country-music bug, one that steers toward clear, patient guitar picking and a lot more to keep things moving with all deliberate quietude. Then there are the tributes that pair the Canadian quartet with Townes Van Zandt, which proves to be a fruitful musical handshake that takes the Junkies up a few notches in their speed (on Van Zandt's "To Live Is to Fly"). --Andrew Bartlett  (less)

Cowboy Junkies, Emmylou Harris, John Prine, Lucinda Williams, Steve Earle and the Dukes and more. Gatefold digipak. 2002 release on Catfish Records.  (less)

and "Oregon Hill" presents a touch of Southern blues. But it's all tempered by Margo Timmins's dusted-with-longing voice. The band is her pack and follows her voice, almost slowing to the vocal pacing. That facet marks the Junkies as a responsive, listenerly unit, touched by a unique rural-country-music bug, one that steers toward clear, patient guitar picking and a lot more to keep things moving with all deliberate quietude. Then there are the tributes that pair the Canadian quartet with Townes Van Zandt, which proves to be a fruitful musical handshake that takes the Junkies up a few notches in their speed (on Van Zandt's "To Live Is to Fly"). --Andrew Bartlett  (less)

song ever. Unfortunately, it also means Miles is frequently too pretty and pleasant for its own good. Think more Sarah McLachlan, less Velvet Underground. Still, gloom reigns supreme. The atmospheric "Blue Guitar" and, presumably, the slow, shattered "At the End of the Rainbow" (a hidden track) mourn the late singer-songwriter and Junkie hero Townes Van Zandt. "Those Final Feet," a lilting, Band-like tune, marks the passing of the 94-year-old grandfather of the Timmins siblings, who comprise three fourths of the band. Translated through Margo Timmins's endlessly haunting vocals, such sentiments keep the Cowboy Junkies' cloudy mystique alive. --Neal Weiss  (less)

Cowboy Junkies, Emmylou Harris, John Prine, Lucinda Williams, Steve Earle and the Dukes and more. Gatefold digipak. 2002 release on Catfish Records.  (less)

Cowboy Junkies, Emmylou Harris, John Prine, Lucinda Williams, Steve Earle and the Dukes and more. Gatefold digipak. 2002 release on Catfish Records.  (less)

Tindersticks, & the Cowboy Junkies. 16 tracks in all. Digipak.  (less)

year before he died, this set has the feel of a farewell note. Throughout its 23 cuts, newly recorded solo versions of Van Zandt's best-known tunes--"Tecumseh Valley" and "If I Needed You" among them--are interspersed with poignant and honest comments. He tells the story of how he wrote "Pancho & Lefty" and explains how Lightnin' Hopkins influenced his music. The Hopkins interview snippet is followed by "Brand New Companion," the memorable tribute tune Van Zandt wrote to Hopkins using many of the Houston bluesman's most identifiable songwriting characteristics. Another highlight is a version of "Cowboy Junkies Lament," a tune he wrote to the Canadian band after a shared tour. The final interview segments offer wonderful insight into how bright and e...  (less)

Tindersticks, & the Cowboy Junkies. 16 tracks in all. Digipak.  (less)

and "Oregon Hill" presents a touch of Southern blues. But it's all tempered by Margo Timmins's dusted-with-longing voice. The band is her pack and follows her voice, almost slowing to the vocal pacing. That facet marks the Junkies as a responsive, listenerly unit, touched by a unique rural-country-music bug, one that steers toward clear, patient guitar picking and a lot more to keep things moving with all deliberate quietude. Then there are the tributes that pair the Canadian quartet with Townes Van Zandt, which proves to be a fruitful musical handshake that takes the Junkies up a few notches in their speed (on Van Zandt's "To Live Is to Fly"). --Andrew Bartlett  (less)

song ever. Unfortunately, it also means Miles is frequently too pretty and pleasant for its own good. Think more Sarah McLachlan, less Velvet Underground. Still, gloom reigns supreme. The atmospheric "Blue Guitar" and, presumably, the slow, shattered "At the End of the Rainbow" (a hidden track) mourn the late singer/songwriter and Junkie hero Townes Van Zandt. "Those Final Feet," a lilting, Band-like tune, marks the passing of the 94-year-old grandfather of the Timmins siblings, who comprise three fourths of the band. Translated through Margo Timmins's endlessly haunting vocals, such sentiments keep the Cowboy Junkies' cloudy mystique alive. --Neal Weiss  (less)

song ever. Unfortunately, it also means Miles is frequently too pretty and pleasant for its own good. Think more Sarah McLachlan, less Velvet Underground. Still, gloom reigns supreme. The atmospheric "Blue Guitar" and, presumably, the slow, shattered "At the End of the Rainbow" (a hidden track) mourn the late singer/songwriter and Junkie hero Townes Van Zandt. "Those Final Feet," a lilting, Band-like tune, marks the passing of the 94-year-old grandfather of the Timmins siblings, who comprise three fourths of the band. Translated through Margo Timmins's endlessly haunting vocals, such sentiments keep the Cowboy Junkies' cloudy mystique alive. --Neal Weiss  (less)