Forget the DVD half of Long Journey Home, however well
it captures big-haired Margo Timmins' smoldering onstage charisma. Two
decades on, the deceptively complex music of Canada's Cowboy Junkies
can still inspire soul-rattling dread, rendering visual embellishments
unnecessary. On this spine-tingling 2004 live set recorded in Liverpool,
Timmins meditates on sexual betrayal and existential angst with a calm
that borders on eerie. Prodded by the sullen, churning guitar of brother
Michael, she hisses, "Where'd you stay last night?" in the
14 minute lead track "32
20," and you can almost see the cocked-and-loaded handgun drawn
behind her back. Elsewhere, the lulling accordion and tinkling mandolin
of "He
Will Call You Baby" suggest a happy home until Margo asks, "But
will he listen when you cry?" The album eventually tails off into
cozy nostalgia via their signature cover of Lou Reed's "Sweet Jane",
though a formidable chill persists long after the music ends. Jon Young
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