[.ca] Black Eyed Man

From Amazon.com:
Black Eyed Man, an album that sounds like an aural facsimile of the parched earth in dead-heat summer, keeps the Cowboy Junkies' quiet, lonesome pop integrity intact. Michael Timmins's guitar threatens to cut loose from the band's low-key mooring, 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

Their best?:
For a very long time, I considered "The Trinity Session" to be my favorite "Cowboy Junkies" album, but once I got this, I had to reconsider. Track after track is just quality music, and Margo has a perfect voice. "A Horse In The Country" is good, "Murder Tonight In The Trailer Park" is great, and "If You Were The Woman, And I Was The Man" is a nice duet. My favorite though is "Cowboy Junkies Lament", it's just really good. Overall it's a great, what I would call alt-country album, and probably their second best. They do have a few collections out too.

One of the Best of CJ:
I received this CD as a promo at the music store I was managing in Indianapolis back in the early 90's when it first came out. I had never heard of CJ until this release. It took me a few listens to get hooked, but once I was hooked, I couldn't stop playing it. Even today, I still return to this CD for some great music. The best attributes of CJ are Margo's amazingly fresh and subtle voice, their impeccable instrumentation, and the wonderful lyrics they write. "Southern Rain" is one of my favorite songs when I'm in a mood to listen to Margo's vocals - it's so soothing. "Oregon Hill" is a very fun, catchy southern-styled tune. "This Street" is one of my all-time favorites; as is "Horse in the Country" - mainly because of the lyrics and Margo's incredible understated delivery of these songs. "Murder Tonight in the Trailer Park" is probably one of my all-time favorite CJ songs and I really can't explain why - it's just a song I never get tired of listening to. "Cowboy Junkies Lament" is another all-time favorite of mine. This was a critically acclaimed release in its day and this started me on the road to becoming a CJ fan. I don't see how anyone can call themselves a CJ fan without having this gem.

• Southern Rain
• Oregon Hill
• This Street, That Man, This Life
• Horse in the Country
• If You Were the Woman and I Was the Man
• Murder, Tonight, In the Trailer Park
• Black Eyed Man
• Winter's Song
• Last Spike
• Cowboy Junkies Lament
• Townes' Blues
• To Live Is to Fly