Cowboy Junkies - "At the End of Paths Taken"<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Okay, it's very late, I'm immersed in writing one of the last chapters in my current fiction project. But all I've had to drink is tea and I'm thinking\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/lookingcloser\/2007\/07\/cowboy-junkies-at-the-end-of-paths-taken\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Cowboy Junkies - "At the End of Paths Taken"\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Okay, it's very late, I'm immersed in writing one of the last chapters in my current fiction project. But all I've had to drink is tea and I'm thinking\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/lookingcloser\/2007\/07\/cowboy-junkies-at-the-end-of-paths-taken\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Looking Closer\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2007-07-06T06:31:08+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2013-02-19T16:53:55+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/g-ec2.images-amazon.com\/images\/I\/41AX79AciUL._AA240_.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Jeffrey Overstreet\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Jeffrey Overstreet\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/lookingcloser\/2007\/07\/cowboy-junkies-at-the-end-of-paths-taken\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/lookingcloser\/2007\/07\/cowboy-junkies-at-the-end-of-paths-taken\/\",\"name\":\"Cowboy Junkies - \\\"At the End of Paths Taken\\\"\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/lookingcloser\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2007-07-06T06:31:08+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2013-02-19T16:53:55+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/lookingcloser\/#\/schema\/person\/2675c6d9f6401acd7568e32160e5374e\"},\"description\":\"Okay, it's very late, I'm immersed in writing one of the last chapters in my current fiction project. 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{"id":26662,"date":"2007-07-06T06:31:08","date_gmt":"2007-07-06T06:31:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lookingcloser.wordpress.com\/2007\/07\/06\/cowboy-junkies-at-the-end-of-paths-taken\/"},"modified":"2013-02-19T09:53:55","modified_gmt":"2013-02-19T16:53:55","slug":"cowboy-junkies-at-the-end-of-paths-taken","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/lookingcloser\/2007\/07\/cowboy-junkies-at-the-end-of-paths-taken\/","title":{"rendered":"Cowboy Junkies – “At the End of Paths Taken”"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

$\"\"$
\nOkay, it\u2019s very late, I\u2019m immersed in writing one of the last chapters in my current fiction project.<\/p>\n

But all I\u2019ve had to drink is tea and I\u2019m thinking fairly clearly. So I think I\u2019m clear-headed enough to say this with some confidence:<\/p>\n

I\u2019m listening to the new Cowboy Junkies album, At the End of Paths Taken<\/em>, and\u2026 either I\u2019m just really starved for some good music, or this is the best album they\u2019ve released since The Trinity Sessions<\/em>, and a candidate for my year-end top ten list.<\/p>\n

Since The Trinity Sessions<\/em>, the Junkies have failed to really capture my attention and imagination. I love Marot Timmins\u2019 voice, and at times I love her brother\u2019s guitar work. I fell in love with them, as so many music lovers did, when they conjured that palpable, spooky, holy hush in The Trinity Sessions.\u00a0<\/em>That album became a legend, and in my opinion it deserved all of the respect it got. I still listen to it regularly.<\/p>\n

But then they took on new shapes and sounds and never found anything quite as strong at that smoky Trinity Sessions<\/em> magic. They\u2019ve had flashes of beauty here and there, and the track they contributed to (of all things) the Pump Up the Volume <\/em>soundtrack still sends chills down my spine. But no, nothing that lived up to the expectations set by that breatkthrough record.<\/p>\n

At the End of Paths Taken<\/em> is an unexpectedly engaging work, with rich, resonant sounds and confident songwriting, played with such grace that it makes me think they\u2019ve lived with these songs for a while. It\u2019s a consistently interesting, surprisingly powerful program. Its one of those collection that has that\u2026 that thing. That touch of inspiration, that sense that God showed up and gave them a push.<\/p>\n

These days, as I strive and strive to meet deadlines, I have very little time for review-writing. So I\u2019ll just have to point you to people who are writing great, insightful reviews.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s a PopMatters review<\/a> that I find myself agreeing with, although I may end up favoring a rating of \u201c8\u201d rather than \u201c7.\u201d I need to spend some time with the lyrics (the last track\u2019s rather heavy-handed and ends things on a rather dispiriting note), but the sound\u2019s got me all wrapped up.<\/p>\n

And here\u2019s Thom Jurek\u2019s review<\/a>. Thom\u2019s one of my favorite music critics, and I find myself agreeing with a lot of his words as well.<\/p>\n

Give it a spin. I\u2019m going to be playing it all weekend.<\/p>\n

(Caution: There are some lyrics here that require me to say, \u201cThis album\u2019s not for kids.\u201d)<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"