Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A real grower - a terrific album, 29 Jul 2007
And so the Junkies continue to develop - for me this album does represent a development over some of their earlier stuff. This album really rewards repeated listening.
Now, a couple of months after buying it, it is now firmly lodged amongst the most played of all my collection right now. Its full of great songs, memorable riffs and hooks and a real sense of coherence.
The themes of love and loss, of the inevitable change of our lives taking place as we go down life's journey , are universal. This album is at once joyful and sad, reflective of the decisions we make and the lives we live, taking in the beauty and the pain.
And Margo Timmins is sounding good, with the band as tight and tuneful as ever. Throw in some nice strings and cello for texture and effect, and you have a very good album.
The Scissor sisters it ain't. Which for me at least, is a good thing !
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A great little gem from the Junkies top drawer, 11 April 2007
WEll, I've been a Junkies fan for longer than I care to remember. The first song I heard by them was 'Cause Cheap Is How I Feel, and I loved Margo's voice there and then. Over the years their songs have been ones I've returned to frequently, and some of them have become old friends.
They took a new, darker, direction with 2001's "Open" which I ranged from hating to loving after a number of listens, then through "One Soul Now" which has some great moments, and some track I can't remember once I've finished the album. The follow up, "21st Century Blues" was an interesting experiment, but I felt it missed in a lot of places. Standout moment though was "September Skies" for the beauty of the song, but also for the sentiment behind it.
So I bought the new ablum blind (They are one of the few groups I have the confidance to do this with,) and put it in my CD player to give it the first listen. I find first listens are an interesting experiance, sometimes you love the album, sometimes you hate it, but it's like a first date, you can never match the moment again. I am glad to say this album didn't dissapoint!
Margo sounds fresh and revitalised, and never so "Grown up" as on songs like Follower 2, Mountain and It Doesn't Really Matter Anyway. I immediatly went back to Follower 2, and I must say it's rare for a song to make me cry straight off. I'm not sure if it was what was intended, but it made me think of my Dad, and miss him. That is the power in really great music, to connect to the listener, and to be personal to them. Well Margo and Michael and the rest of the band, you really managed to do this with the new album.
5 out of 5, but if I could, I'd give it more. Definatly better than Open and One Soul Now, and from me, that's saying something!
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Another great album, 19 April 2007
In the third decade of their career, the Cowboy Junkies have found a new focus and refined their trademark sound. The edgy melodiousness of One Soul Now and the intimate quiet of 21st Century Blues have been combined to produce an intensely beautiful album in At the End of Paths Taken. Soaring string arrangements and interesting percussion add surprising touches to the songs, which explore familial relationships. The first five songs from the whisper to a scream Brand New You to the disturbingly different My Little Basquiat are outstanding in their individual variety; the toe tapping Still Lost, the raging blues grind of Cutting Board Blues, the soft despair of Spiral. The last half of the recording struggles a bit to live up to the introductory songs, but Margo Timmins' extraordinary vocals vivify these compositions to such a degree that the disappointment is very slight. Easily, their best album since Lay It Down.
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