| Ghosts | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | March 30, 2020 [1] | |||
| Length | 30:41 | |||
| Label | Latent [1] | |||
| Producer | Michael Timmins, Alan Anton | |||
| Cowboy Junkies chronology | ||||
| ||||
Ghosts is an album by the Canadian alt-country band Cowboy Junkies, released digitally on March 30, 2020. The album features eight songs that process the loss of the Timmins siblings' mother who died in 2018. [2] The album was also released on vinyl as a limited edition combined package with All That Reckoning on March 10, 2021. [3]
Two months after the release of All That Reckoning , Barbara Timmins, the mother of Michael, Margo, and Peter, died. [2] As the band toured to support their 2018 album, the Cowboy Junkies worked on the collection of songs that grew into Ghosts. The band had planned in 2020 to re-release a remastered version of All That Reckoning as a vinyl double album with Ghosts being the second disc. The COVID-19 pandemic delayed the project. The Junkies chose to release the album digitally in early 2020. [2] [4] The combined vinyl double album was finally released in 2021.
The album reprises "The Possessed" from All That Reckoning, where it serves as a sparse ukulele break in the middle of songs with fuller instrumentation such as the guitars on "Grace Descends" and "(You Don't Get to) Do It Again" on the front half and "Misery" and the fiddle filled "This Dog Barks" on the back half. [5]
The editorial staff of AllMusic Guide gave Ghosts four out of five stars, with reviewer Mark Deming calling it "a brave and impressive effort that's as effective as it was necessary". [6]
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Desire Lines" | Michael Timmins | 5:58 |
| 2. | "Breathing" | Alan Anton, Timmins | 3:24 |
| 3. | "Grace Descends" | Anton, Timmins | 3:48 |
| 4. | "(You Don't Get to) Do It Again" | Anton, Timmins | 4:32 |
| 5. | "The Possessed" | Timmins | 3:22 |
| 6. | "Misery" | Timmins | 2:51 |
| 7. | "This Dog Barks" | Timmins | 3:25 |
| 8. | "Ornette Coleman" | Timmins | 3:21 |
| Total length: | 30:41 | ||
Cowboy Junkies
Production [7]
Cowboy Junkies are an alternative country and folk rock band formed in Toronto, Ontario, Canada in 1985 by Alan Anton (bassist), Michael Timmins, Peter Timmins (drummer) and Margo Timmins (vocalist). The three Timminses are siblings, and Anton worked with Michael Timmins during their first couple of bands. John Timmins was initially a member of the band but left the group before the recording of their first album. The band line-up has never changed since, although they use several guest musicians on many of their albums, including multi-instrumentalist Jeff Bird who has performed on every album except the first.
The Caution Horses is the third studio album by the Canadian alt-country band Cowboy Junkies, released in 1990.
Black Eyed Man is the fourth studio album by Cowboy Junkies, released in 1992. The album continues the band's evolution from a spare country blues style to a more mainstream country rock style.
Pale Sun, Crescent Moon is the fifth studio album by Canadian country rock band Cowboy Junkies, released in 1993. It was the band's last album of new material for RCA Records, although a live album and a greatest hits compilation were subsequently released on the label. Canadian guitarist Ken Myhr appears on every track on this album.
Whites Off Earth Now!! is a 1986 studio album by Cowboy Junkies. It was the band's debut album, and is composed almost entirely of rock and blues covers. Only one song, "Take Me", is an original song by the band.
Lay It Down is the sixth studio album by the Canadian alt-country band Cowboy Junkies. Released on February 27, 1996, it was the group's first album for Geffen Records after the end of their contract with RCA Records. It was the band's first album that could be described as straight-ahead rock, rather than country rock, country or blues. It was also their first album consisting entirely of original material, with no covers. "A Common Disaster" and "Speaking Confidentially" were notable hits for the band on Canadian radio.
Miles from Our Home is the seventh studio album by Canadian alt-country band Cowboy Junkies, which was released in 1998. It was their second and final album for Geffen Records. The title track was a significant hit in their native Canada. Following this album, the Junkies were dropped from the Geffen record label. The Junkies moved to an independent label, Latent Recordings, for their subsequent albums.
Rarities, B-Sides and Slow, Sad Waltzes is an album by the Canadian alt-country band Cowboy Junkies, released in 1999. It was the band's first independent release after the end of their contract with Geffen Records. The album is a compendium of tracks that the band had recorded but not previously released on an album. Two tracks have been released earlier as B-sides on Cowboy Junkies' singles, "If You Gotta Go, Go Now" on "Southern Rain" and "Leaving Normal" on "Anniversary Song". It was released on both True North Records and Latent Recordings in Canada, and on Valley Records in the United States.
Waltz Across America is a 2000 album by the Canadian alt-country band Cowboy Junkies.
Open is an album by the Canadian band Cowboy Junkies, released in 2001. It was the band's third independent release after the end of their contract with Geffen Records, and the first of those to feature new material. The album was released on Latent Recordings in Canada, and on Zoë Records internationally.
The Radio One Sessions is a 2002 album by the Canadian alt-country band Cowboy Junkies. The compilation album was released only in Canada and the United Kingdom, and compiles tracks that the band recorded for BBC Radio One in the UK. The Radio One Sessions was released on Strange Fruit Records in the UK, and Latent Recordings in Canada.
Latent Recordings is a Canadian independent record label founded in 1981. It was dormant in the 1990s while the Cowboy Junkies were signed to American labels, but began to release independently produced albums in the 2000s. By the late 2000s, it sold downloads and CDs online.
Early 21st Century Blues is an album by the Canadian alt-country band Cowboy Junkies, released in 2005. The album features two original songs and covers of material by Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan, John Lennon, George Harrison and Richie Havens. The record has a very strong anti-war message, while also protesting public apathy towards the political process.
At the End of Paths Taken is the tenth studio album by the Canadian alt-country band Cowboy Junkies, released in 2007.
Long Journey Home is an album by the Canadian alt-country band Cowboy Junkies, recorded in Liverpool, England in 2004 and released in 2006. The release includes a concert DVD along with a CD. Only 11 tracks of the 18 that are on the DVD appear on the CD.
Renmin Park is an album by the Canadian alt-country band Cowboy Junkies, released in 2010. It is Volume One of the Nomad Series. The album's name translates in Chinese as "People's Park".
Demons is an album by the Canadian alt-country band Cowboy Junkies, released in 2011. It contains eleven Vic Chesnutt covers. It is Volume Two of the Nomad Series.
Sing in My Meadow is an album by the Canadian alt-country band Cowboy Junkies, released in 2011. It is Volume Three of the Nomad Series. The album was recorded at The Clubhouse in Toronto, Ontario. This volume of the Nomad Series brings the band's live shows into the studio, employing their touring musicians as the only recording musicians for the sessions.
The Wilderness is an album by the Canadian alt-country band Cowboy Junkies, released in 2012. It is Volume Four of the Nomad Series. This volume is the introspection of winter after Sing in My Meadow's joyful visitation of spring.
All That Reckoning is an album by the Canadian alt-country band Cowboy Junkies, released in 2018. The album features eleven new songs to focus on "empty hearts, empty nests, lost paths, lost lives, and all the reckoning that brings about the end of things, and the beginnings of something else. [The] songs are about reckoning on a personal level and reckoning on a social level," as stated by Michael Timmins.