The Cowboy Junkies' Black-Eyed Man is an excellent return to form following their disappointing third LP, The Caution Horses.
Where Michael Timmins' songwriting was stilted and overly self-conscious on the previous record, here his character studies are literate and finely-etched; like Robbie Robertson before him, Timmins' Canadian roots allow him to view the rural American experience with unique objectivity, and narratives like the opening "Southern Rain" and "Murder, Tonight, in the Trailer Park" are told with compassion and cinematic detail.
Black-Eyed Man also broadens the Junkies' musical horizons: "If You Were the Woman and I Was the Man," a duet with John Prine, is like a '50s-era love song intercepted from an alternate reality; while tracks like the lilting "A Horse in the Country" push the group closer to the folk-pop territory of 10,000 Maniacs.
At the same time, their country roots are further reinforced by a pair of outstanding Townes Van Zandt covers, "Cowboy Junkies Lament" and "To Live Is to Fly"; sandwiched between them is Timmins' own tribute, "Townes' Blues.".
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Southern RainMichael Timmins | Cowboy Junkies | Play | 04:50 | 11 MB | 27 MB |
| 2 | Oregon HillMichael Timmins | Cowboy Junkies | Play | 04:53 | 11 MB | 28 MB |
| 3 | This Street, That Man, This LifeMichael Timmins | Cowboy Junkies | Play | 03:14 | 7 MB | 16 MB |
| 4 | A Horse in the CountryMichael Timmins | Cowboy Junkies | Play | 03:52 | 8 MB | 23 MB |
| 5 | If You Were the Woman and I Was the ManMichael Timmins | Cowboy Junkies | Play | 03:13 | 7 MB | 17 MB |
| 6 | Murder, Tonight, In the Trailer ParkMichael Timmins | Cowboy Junkies | Play | 04:33 | 10 MB | 28 MB |
| 7 | Black Eyed ManMichael Timmins | Cowboy Junkies | Play | 03:15 | 7 MB | 18 MB |
| 8 | Winter's SongMichael Timmins | Cowboy Junkies | Play | 03:00 | 6 MB | 16 MB |
| 9 | The Last SpikeMichael Timmins | Cowboy Junkies | Play | 04:24 | 10 MB | 21 MB |
| 10 | Cowboy Junkies LamentTownes Van Zandt | Cowboy Junkies | Play | 03:08 | 7 MB | 17 MB |
| 11 | Townes' BluesMichael Timmins | Cowboy Junkies | Play | 03:13 | 7 MB | 18 MB |
| 12 | To Live Is to FlyTownes Van Zandt | Cowboy Junkies | Play | 04:52 | 11 MB | 26 MB |
| 46 mins | 106 MB | |||||
| 46 mins | 259 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dave Allen | Fiddle |
| 2 | Alan Anton | Bass |
| 3 | Jeff Bird | Harmonica, Mandolin |
| 4 | Matthew Cooper | Illustrations |
| 5 | Colin Couch | Tuba |
| 6 | Cowboy Junkies | Mixing, Primary Artist |
| 7 | Jaro Czerwinec | Accordion |
| 8 | Bob Doidge | Cello, Engineer, Guitar (Acoustic) |
| 9 | Spencer Evans | Clarinet, Piano |
| 10 | Tom Henderson | Mixing |
| 11 | Dave Houghton | Art Direction, Percussion |
| 12 | Lewis Melville | Banjo |
| 13 | Rex Miller | Photography |
| 14 | Peter Moore | Mastering, Mixing |
| 15 | Ken Myhr | Guitar |
| 16 | John Oliveira | Engineer |
| 17 | John Oliviera | Engineer |
| 18 | John Prine | Vocals |
| 19 | Tony Quarrington | Guitar |
| 20 | Kathy Robinson | Assistant Engineer |
| 21 | Rob Summerville | Trombone |
| 22 | Margo Timmins | Guitar |
| 23 | Michael Timmins | Composer, Guitar, Producer |
| 24 | Peter Timmins | Drums |
| 25 | Townes Van Zandt | Composer |
| 26 | Tom Walsh | Trombone |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |