Best Cowboy Junkies Podcasts (2024)

1
50. Sweet Jane 23:11

1y ago23:11

23:11

Welcome to the 50th episode of "Music Is The Drug", and we're marking the occasion with Michael Timmins and Alan Anton discussing perhaps the Junkies' best known recording, "Sweet Jane", from "The Trinity Session". A song that was in the repertoire as far back as "Whites Off Earth Now!!", we look at the reasons why "Sweet Jane" and the Velvet Under…

1
49. Such Ferocious Beauty - Part 3 1:00:14

1+ y ago1:00:14

1:00:14

Welcome to the third part of our special series of podcasts to mark the release of Cowboy Junkies’ new album, “Such Ferocious Beauty”. With the help of music from the album, some demos and an excerpt from an as yet unreleased track, this time we’re talking to Alan Anton to get his take on the record, its writing and production and playing it live. …

1
48. Such Ferocious Beauty - Part 2 46:09

1+ y ago46:09

46:09

On June 2nd 2023, Cowboy Junkies release their new album, “Such Ferocious Beauty”, an album of ten songs that is up there with anything they’ve done right across their career. To celebrate its release, we’ve got a two part conversation with Michael Timmins about the thinking behind the record, its themes and its recording process. Added to that, th…

1
47. Such Ferocious Beauty - Part 1 56:34

1+ y ago56:34

56:34

On June 2nd 2023, Cowboy Junkies release their new album, “Such Ferocious Beauty”, an album of ten songs that is up there with anything they’ve done right across their career. To celebrate its release, we’ve got a two part conversation with Michael Timmins about the thinking behind the record, its themes and its recording process. Added to that, th…

1
46. Simon Keeper 13:30

1+ y ago13:30

13:30

A morality - or immorality - tale for a modern age "Simon Keeper" looks at how greed can, sometimes, bring business to its knees, and, on the opposite side of the coin, how once a scammer, always a scammer... Recorded originally for "Open", using the songwriting demo, the "Open" mix and the finished version on "One Soul Now", Michael Timmins. and A…

1
45. Where Are You Tonight? 13:17

1+ y ago13:17

13:17

"Where Are You Tonight?" was first released on "The Caution Horses" in 1990, was on last year's "Sharon" release which looked at the band's first pass at recording that material, was included in the "200 More Miles" live album and is still often included in the live set to this day. So what makes a song such a hardy perennial in the Junkies' huge c…

1
44. Isn't It A Pity? 11:26

1+ y ago11:26

11:26

When Cowboy Junkies were putting together "Early 21st Century Blues" in 2005, their response to a post 9/11 world where the possibility of greater understanding and unity had, as ever been bulldozed by the rush to war, they were looking to find songs with an anti-violence message, in all the possible senses. On the 2004 "One Soul Now" tour, they ha…

1
43. Hard To Build. Easy To Break. 15:16

1+ y ago15:16

15:16

In this episode, it's the turn of "Hard To Build. Easy To Break.", another new song from the band's upcoming album, "Such Ferocious Beauty", to come under the spotlight. Like "What I Lost", the song is a co-write by Michael Timmins and Alan Anton and they are both here to talk us through it, along with some exclusive clips from the songwriting demo…

1
42. Supernatural 12:11

1+ y ago12:11

12:11

Cowboy Junkies were in the midst of recording 'Renmin Park' for what became the 'Nomad Series' when they heard of the sad death of Vic Chestnut on Christmas Eve 2009. Vic had toured with and supported the band on a number of occasions and their immediate reaction was to produce an album that was a tribute to him and his songs. 'Demons' was the upsh…

1
41. Follower 2 15:42

1+ y ago15:42

15:42

In our last episode, we talked about a brand new song, "What I Lost", from the band's upcoming new album, "Such Ferocious Beauty". In it, Michael Timmins referenced its thematic links with "Follower 2", a song from "AtThe End Of Paths Taken", so what better time to cover that song than in this episode? Mike and Alan Anton discuss the thinking behin…

1
40. What I Lost 21:37

1+ y ago21:37

21:37

"Music Is The Drug" is back for a fourth series and we're starting out by talking about a brand new song, "What I Lost" from the band's upcoming new album, "Such Ferocious Beauty". A co-write by Michael Timmins and Alan Anton, they take us through the writing and development of the new song and explain why it's the first song to be aired from the n…

1
39. My Little Basquiat 14:50

2y ago14:50

14:50

Taken from "At The End Of Paths Taken", "My Little Basquiat" is a song that still has its place in the Junkies' live set some 15 years later. built around Alan Anton's bass groove and featuring on of Michael Timmins' favourite guitar solos, Mike and Alan are here to tell us all about writing the song - or their versions of it anyway - and just what…

1
38. State Trooper 13:25

2y ago13:25

13:25

Going back to Cowboy Junkies' first album, "Whites Off Earth Now!!", in this episode, Michael Timmins and Alan Anton take a look at the whys and wherefores behind the inclusion of Bruce Springsteen's "State Trooper" on a record that otherwise concentrates mainly on earlier blues performers like Robert Johnson and John Lee Hooker. Dark, brooding, in…

1
37. Ikea Parking Lot 11:30

2y ago11:30

11:30

Some songs never quite make it onto albums not because they're not up to standard, but because they simply refuse to fit in with all the other songs. In the olden days, they'd get scooped up and used on the b-side of a single or 12", but in the modern world, they tend to have to wait until a band is ready to issue a 'rarities' stye record. "Ikea Pa…

1
36. Breathing 8:54

2y ago8:54

8:54

"Breathing" is a song from the "Ghosts" album that was released by Cowboy Junkies as the world began to slip into Covid lockdown in March 2020. Deeply personal, strikingly minimalist, powerfully emotional, we'll just leave it to Michael Timmins and Alan Anton to explain it all to you... "Music Is The Drug" is available wherever you get your podcast…

1
35. Renmin Park album special 42:07

2y ago42:07

42:07

"Renmin Park" is surely the most unusual album in the Cowboy Junkies' canon, an album that grew from a trip Michael Timmins and his family took to China. Using ideas and field recordings from his time out there, collaborating with Chinese musicians and writers, leaning heavily on loops and grooves put together by Alan Anton and producer Joby Baker,…

1
34. Southern Rain 17:24

2y ago17:24

17:24

Having beguiled the world with their first three albums, as Cowboy Junkies approached "Black Eyed Man", they felt it was time to change things up a little, breaking up much of "The Caution Horses" band, bringing in new musicians, different instruments and a different approach to recording. "Southern Rain", the opening song on that album, exemplifie…

1
33. Thousand Year Prayer 11:08

2y ago11:08

11:08

Back in late 1999, we were thinking less about partying and more about whether or not the modern world was going to collapse at midnight on December 31st, ravaged by the Y2K bug. Sean Connery solved that one for us, as Alan Anton points out in this podcast... But the dawning of a new millennium was also time for a little reflection on life, the uni…

1
32. 1979 31:24

2y ago31:24

31:24

1979 might not seem an obvious episode for a podcast from a band that didn't start until six years later, but it was a pivotal year for Alan Anton and Michael Timmins as they put together their first ever band, Hunger Project. Inspired by the bands that broke through that year - The Cure, Public Image Limited, The Fall, Joy Division and others - Al…

1
31. Blue Moon Revisited (Song For Elvis) 14:43

2y ago14:43

14:43

In this episode, we’re going back nearly 35 years, to a song from “The Trinity Session”, the album that put Cowboy Junkies on the international map. One of the biggest songs from that album was “Blue Moon Revisited (Song For Elvis)” which was released as a single and was a heavy rotation video on MTV back in the day. We'll hear from Michael Timmins…

1
30. Sharon album special 37:39

2y ago37:39

37:39

Welcome back to the start of the third series of Music Is The Drug - and they said it wouldn't last... It's not too many bands that can dig into their archives and unearth an entire unreleased album, but that's what Cowboy Junkies have done with the upcoming vinyl release of "Sharon" - notes on how to get a copy lie below. Having produced two stunn…

1
29. Early 21st Century Blues album special 31:37

2+ y ago31:37

31:37

The world in tumult. Political instability. War. Yes, that was the far off world of 2005. Thank heavens those times never came again... In the aftermath of 9/11, of the invasion of Iraq, the golden promise of the end of the Cold War just over a decade earlier seemed to be disappearing and memories of Vietnam cane back strong. In the face of that, C…

1
28. 'Cause Cheap Is How I Feel 16:23

2+ y ago16:23

16:23

"It's the kind of night that's so cold when you spit, it freezes before it hits the ground..." Has there ever been a better opening couplet to a song than that? Nope. That's how "'Cause Cheap Is How I Feel" begins on "The Caution Horses" album, another single from that record that helped establish the band in the mainstream consciousness and on MTV…

1
27. Townies special 53:07

2+ y ago53:07

53:07

In this special episode we concentrate on "Townies: An Audioplay", the album put together by Michael Timmins and Andy Maize of Skydiggers in 2020 and we are joined by both of them to chart the writing and recording of a project that was initially interrupted, and then informed, by the first Covid lockdown that year. It also owes plenty to Mike's "I…

1
26. Blue Guitar 15:18

2+ y ago15:18

15:18

"Blue Guitar" from "Miles From Our Home" is the next Cowboy Junkies song that we're looking closer at with Michael Timmins and Alan Anton. Mike talks us through the pretty unconventional genesis of the song and the reasons why it is ant on the live setlist quite as often as he would like, while Alan lifts the lid on the inspiration for the bassline…

1
25. The Slide 11:55

2+ y ago11:55

11:55

Just like "Hunted", which we looked at in an earlier podcast, "The Slide' is a song that Cowboy Junkies have taken two studio bites at, initially on "One Soul Now" and then again on the box set "Notes Falling Slow". With the help of Michael Timmins and Alan Anton, plus some rare recordings of the song from the "Anatomy Of An album" CD ROM, we chart…

1
24. Angels In The Wilderness 9:45

2+ y ago9:45

9:45

"Angels In The Wilderness" is one of the cornerstone songs from the fourth album in the "Nomad Series", "The Wilderness". It's a song that has gone through a number of changes since it was first played live in 2008 and one where the definitive performance hasn't been easy to pin down. Recently reintroduced to the live repertoire, it's a song worth …

1
23. Missing Children 8:59

2+ y ago8:59

8:59

"Missing Children" is a song that reaches across the ages - from one poem written by Michael Timmins to another written by William Blake 200 years ago - to approach a subject that still confronts us all too often today. The song has become a live favourite since its release on "All That Reckoning" and features all the hallmarks of an enduring Junki…

1
22. Music Is The Drug - the book... 43:45

2+ y ago43:45

43:45

We've got a bonus episode for you this time, when special guest host Jason Lent (@VelvetRebel1984) quizzes usual host Dave Bowler about his biography of Cowboy Junkies, "Music Is The Drug", published in 2021. You can find out how the book came about, how the band approached being interviewed for hours on end, and all the behind the scenes stuff tha…

1
21. Open album special 25:32

2+ y ago25:32

25:32

It's 21 years ago this month that Cowboy Junkies released "Open", their first album after going independent again, so we thought we should celebrate it with an album special podcast this time around. We're taking an overview of the album as a whole, looking at the thinking that went into leaving the major labels behind, the approach that they took …

1
20. Crescent Moon 14:07

2+ y ago14:07

14:07

When you first put "Pale Sun Crescent Moon" in the CD player back in 1993, the opening strains of "Crescent Moon" alerted seasoned fans to another development in the Cowboy Junkies' sound. With Michael Timmins and Alan Anton, this episode explores how and why that change came about but we also delve deeper into "Crescent Moon" itself, a siren song …

1
19. Late Night Radio 10:49

2+ y ago10:49

10:49

From the "Sing In My Meadow" album, we're enjoying a hefty chunk of nostalgia in this episode as Michael Timmins and Alan Anton help us take a closer look at "Late Night Radio". With a lyric rooted in Mike's childhood, it's a lyric that all of us of a certain age can identify with in one way or another. From listening to the baseball game to trying…

1
18. Come Calling 10:23

2+ y ago10:23

10:23

It's not often that songs come in "his and hers" versions, but "Come Calling" from Cowboy Junkies' "Lay It Down" album did just that. With the help of Alan Anton and Michael Timmins, we'll trace the song's evolution from the writing sessions on Rock Island in Ontario through to completion. We'll look at the real life story that underpins the lyric …

1
17. At The End Of Paths Taken album special 27:39

2+ y ago27:39

27:39

We're heading away from our usual song approach with this episode and instead devoting this podcast to "At The End Of Paths Taken" to mark the 15th anniversary of the album's release in April 2007 - where did all those years go... Rather than look at specific songs, we're taking an overview of the album as a whole, one where the band went in for ra…

1
16. Murder, Tonight, In The Trailer Park 23:07

2+ y ago23:07

23:07

We're trawling through dark waters in this week's episode of "Music Is The Drug", as we look into the story behind "Murder, Tonight, In The Trailer Park" from "Black Eyed Man". One of their hardest driving songs, certainly as far as their early albums go, Alan Anton guides us through finding the baseline that propels it, as well as the urgency that…

1
15. Good Friday 13:59

2+ y ago13:59

13:59

Welcome back for the second series of "Music Is The Drug", the Cowboy Junkies podcast. According to Michael Timmins, "Good Friday" is one of those songs that "just descended" on him, written very quickly on a day when, for a brief moment, the world was suddenly connected and everything made sense. That feeling is crystallised in a song that has a s…

1
14. Songs of the Recollection - Side B 35:31

2+ y ago35:31

35:31

Completing our look at Cowboy Junkies' new album, "Songs of the Recollection", we're turning the vinyl over today and talking about the tracks on side B, with the help of Michael Timmins and Alan Anton. The songs under the microscope in this episode are "The Way I Feel" (Gordon Lightfoot), "I've Made Up My Mind To Give Myself To You" (Bob Dylan), "…

1
13. Songs of the Recollection - Side A 33:08

2+ y ago33:08

33:08

To mark the release of Cowboy Junkies' new album, "Songs of the Recollection", we've put together a two part special about the record. In this episode, we're covering the thinking behind the album and then the songs that go to make up the first side, for those of us till thinking in terms of vinyl. With the ever present help of Michael Timmins and …

1
12. Mountain 17:37

2+ y ago17:37

17:37

"Mountain" was the climax of 2007's "At The End Of Paths Taken" - an album we'll be revisiting in detail in a special edition in April. With the help of Michael Timmins and Alan Anton, we'll be tracing the development of the song through to its conclusion, employing a few rare recordings along the way. Looking at how it has some of its sonic roots …

1
11. 200 More Miles 15:12

2+ y ago15:12

15:12

Going back to "The Trinity Session" this week, and one of Michael Timmins' first solo songs for the band, a hymn to a life on the road and the band's hoped for destiny of being part of the chain that takes the music and passes it on down to the next generation. With Mike and Alan Anton, we look at how the song was pieced together from impressions g…

1
10. 3rd Crusade 9:56

2+ y ago9:56

9:56

Taken from "Sing In My Meadow", the third album in the "Nomad" series, the song "3rd Crusade" is a reminder that those who ignore history are condemned to repeat it. With Michael Timmins and Alan Anton, we cover the thinking behind the song, its parent album and the different light that this more raucous, psychedelic album shines on the band. To ma…

1
9. Hunted 18:18

2+ y ago18:18

18:18

"Hunted", originally released on "Pale Sun Crescent Moon", remains one of the darker corners of Cowboy Junkies' discography to this day, nearly 30 years on from its original release. In this episode of "Music Is The Drug", Michael Timmins talks about how he can to write the song and he and Alan Anton also trace its development in concert over the y…

1
8. The Things We Do To Each Other 14:37

2+ y ago14:37

14:37

You'll have probably heard Cowboy Junkies' new cover of David Bowie's "Five Years" by now - and if you haven't, click here - but the Thin White Duke wasn't the only guy that could write hymns to dysfunctional times you know. From the "All That Reckoning" album released in 2018, "The Things We Do To Each Other" talks to the weird times that we've be…

1
7. Five Room Love Story / Winter's Song 14:32

2+ y ago14:32

14:32

We have two songs to cover in this episode, both slow, sad waltzes from the same kind of period in Junkies history, both written somewhere around 1991. "Five Room Love Story" was a new song that was being played on the "Caution Horses" tour, but which didn't quite make it onto the next album. Michael Timmins and Alan Anton explain what the song was…

1
6. Why This One 13:37

2+ y ago13:37

13:37

Following on from "I'm So Open" in the last episode, "Why This One" from 2004's "One Soul Now" picks up a lot of the threads from that song and finds us all three years further down the line and not a lot the wiser for it, but with plenty more questions to ask. As in life, so in art... As well as discussing the song in proper detail, Michael Timmin…

1
5. I'm So Open 12:11

3y ago12:11

12:11

After leaving Geffen, Cowboy Junkies embarked on the 21st century as a newly independent band again, marking that with the release of the album "Open" in 2001. "I'm So Open" was that album's rallying cry in many ways, as Michael Timmins and Alan Anton explain in this episode, marking a new start lyrically, sonically and in the way in which the band…

1
4. Sun Comes Up, It's Tuesday Morning 14:40

3y ago14:40

14:40

Whatever day you're listening to this podcast, rest assured, it's Tuesday morning... "Sun Comes Up, It's Tuesday Morning" has long been one of the best loved songs in the Cowboy Junkies' canon. A hit single from "The Caution Horses", it was released as the Junkies were adjusting to the huge success of "The Trinity Session" and adjusting to recordin…

1
3. A Common Disaster 11:56

3y ago11:56

11:56

In our third look behind the curtain at the songs of Cowboy Junkies, we've picked out "A Common Disaster", a top 20 hit single in the US in 1996. The lead single from "Lay It Down", the band's first album on Geffen, it saw the Junkies getting back to their roots of the "core four" after using extended bands over their previous four studio records. …

1
2. Ornette Coleman 8:30

3y ago8:30

8:30

Having opened this series with the first song Cowboy Junkies put on record, for our second episode, we've gone to to the other end of the spectrum with "Ornette Coleman", the final song on their most recent album, "Ghosts". It's one of Michael Timmins' most obviously autobiographical songs, about the time he and Alan Anton spent in London in the ea…

1
1. Shining Moon 15:35

3y ago15:35

15:35

For this first episode of "Cowboy Junkies - Music Is The Drug", a look through the recordings of Cowboy Junkies, where else could we start other than side one, track one of the band's debut album, "Whites Off Earth Now!!"? Although "Shining Moon" was a cover version of a Lightnin' Hopkins song, many of the elements that came to define Cowboy Junkie…

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