Doc Martian's Lounge: Trinity Revisited - Cowboy Junkies

Friday, April 04, 2008

Trinity Revisited - Cowboy Junkies

Trinity Revisited - Cowboy Junkies

This is a review of the soundtrack album to the Cowboy Junkies film 'Trinity Revisited'. Fortunately they are both packaged in the same case so it'll be easier to find than the Bee Gee's Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. First, a note about the album this is based on. Its one of my favorites. A treasure I carried through me during one of the more physically challenging periods of my life, that period just when you get out of high school where you get a job where you have to walk as well as do 10 hour shifts plus some hours at college. Yes, in a period where I drank way too much coffee and came home exhausted and wired 5 nights a week and just lay there tossing and turning trying to sleep; that album gave me moments of peace and calm that few others could approach. This one? Its as good. I know some purists are like, but... but... but..., and all i have to say to them is take a listen to "Help me, Ronda" (the lp track from The Beach Boys, Today!) and "Help me, Rhonda" (the classic single that we all know and love), there is the same difference in a familiar treasure to be found there. A harmonica wails.

Is it an improvement? Well, here and there. Ryan Adams vocal performance on '200 More Miles' is exemplary, Vic Chesnutt provides an entertaining alternative sort of like one of Dylan's re-interpretations of his own work, and Natalie Merchant does a stirring performance of "To Love Is To Bury". I'm kinda dodging something here though. Its hard to approach. OK. Here. Plop. This album made me cry, or at least the film did which I saw before I listened to the album. All the tension and things you leave behind from your youth, when they come back with added emotional resonance. My gut started quivering, shaking and tears started tricklin' down my cheeks when I heard Margo sing "Mining for Gold" again. You see, when you've done 10s of thousands of hours of human rights work, shit sometimes happens to things you love, they get stolen, wrecked, or damaged, sometimes happens to people you love too. There's always some asshole trying to fuck you up. Junkies albums are one of those things that have gotten stolen a few times. Enough that I don't keep 'em around any more because I love 'em (at least the first few) too much. Some stupid shit will probably happen to this one too, cuz its really good and nazis of various states are always trying to get even with me for exposing their crimes. I hadn't heard Margo sing the songs of Trinity Session for a long time. There was a period of emotional resonance that she provided a central calming end of the day soporific to, and man do I love this band, even though there are a few albums by them that aren't at the top of my list; but then there are albums by Pink Floyd that blow too. This isn't an album that blows. It makes a wonderful companion piece to 'Trinity Session'; and would be a minor classic in its own right. I'm really stoked they did this. Nice advancement in form too. Maybe not as big a leap as "Surfin' U.S.A." to "Pet Sounds", but as big a leap as "Surfin' U.S.A." to "Shut Down, Vol. 2".

Also, a note on the film. Noice.

1 Comments:

Blogger Unknown said...

Natalie Portman? Really?

PS: Great review.

April 5, 2008 at 7:00 AM  

Post a Comment

<< Home