Miles from Our Home

Last updated
Miles from Our Home
Miles from Our Home.jpg
Studio album by
Cowboy Junkies
ReleasedJune 30, 1998 [1]
RecordedJanuary 1997 - January 1998 [1] [2]
Genre Alternative country
Length48:09 [1]
Label Geffen
Producer John Leckie
Cowboy Junkies chronology
Studio: Selected Studio Recordings 1986–1995
(1996)		Miles from Our Home
(1998)		 Rarities, B-Sides and Slow, Sad Waltzes
(1999)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [1]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [3]
Music BoxStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [4]

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.

Alternative country, or alternative country rock is a loosely defined subgenre of country music and rock music, which includes acts that differ significantly in style from mainstream country music and pop country music. Alternative country artists are often influenced by alternative rock. However, the term has been used to describe country music bands and artists that have incorporated influences from alternative rock, indie rock, roots rock, bluegrass, neotraditional country, punk rock, rockabilly, punkabilly, honky-tonk, outlaw country, folk rock, indie folk, folk revival, hard rock, R&B, country rock, heartland rock, and Southern rock.

Cowboy Junkies

The Cowboy Junkies are an alternative country and folk rock band formed in Toronto, Ontario, Canada in 1985. The group was formed 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.

Geffen Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Interscope Geffen A&M Records imprint.

Contents

Album development

Prior to writing new material, Michael Timmins spent a month collecting various segments of lyrical and musical ideas that were accumulated over the past year. At the start of the intended writing process, The Cowboy Junkies heard the news that Townes Van Zandt had died. Van Zandt was perhaps the biggest influence as a songwriter on Michael, showcasing songs that were peep-holes into the soul. Michael wrote the first draft of "Blue Guitar" the day that he heard Van Zandt died, "as a tribute to the man who had the bluest guitar that I had ever heard." However, the song wasn't finished at the time, and was put away for a while. The following month, Michael came into possession of some of Van Zandt's unpublished and unfinished lyrics, including one titled "Screams from the Kitchen" which had lyrics that just popped out. With permission from Van Zandt's widow, Jeanene Van Zandt, he incorporated the lyrics into the song "Blue Guitar" which managed to finish off the song, completing the tribute to Van Zandt, and becoming Michael Timmins favorite on the album. [5]

Townes Van Zandt American singer-songwriter

John Townes Van Zandt, better known as Townes Van Zandt, was an American singer-songwriter. He wrote numerous songs, such as "Pancho and Lefty", "For the Sake of the Song", "Tecumseh Valley", "Rex's Blues", and "To Live Is to Fly", that are widely considered masterpieces of American folk music. His musical style has often been described as melancholy and features rich, poetic lyrics. During his early years, Van Zandt was respected for his guitar playing and fingerpicking ability.

The Cowboy Junkies wanted to repeat the process of writing and creating that they used for Lay It Down . Michael Timmins found a house near a gristmill on a pond, a couple hours from Toronto called Maiden's Mill. Michael spent six months at the house writing the songs, and during that period, Margo and Peter Timmins and Alan Anton would come down at times to work on a few songs, then let Michael write some more, and then revisit and create some more, until the Junkies were ready to record. [6] The bands plan for the album was to develop the songs minimally at this point, and to use a studio and a good producer to help finish up the work. They searched out a producer, and selected John Leckie who impressed the band with his love of music and his resume of other bands he had worked with. Leckie came over from England and joined the band at Maiden's Mill and spent a few days listening to the songs the band had assembled. Leckie found a recording studio in Toronto called McClear that he liked for its large room and for being well-equipped. In September 1997, the basic tracks were recorded, along with guitar overdubs, and the vocals. Michael Timmins managed to record seven or eight overdubs for the title track, which was his career high for overdubs. [7] Leckie recommended Vince Jones of The Grapes of Wrath for the keyboard work, and he flew in from Vancouver to add piano and organ work for ten tracks in one day. Some of the overdub work was done at another Toronto studio, Chemical, which eventually became one of the Cowboy Junkies favorite studios. [8] When the recording was complete, Leckie took the tracks to London to mix the tracks at Abbey Road. [9] Leckie and the Junkies mixed for three weeks in Studio One, and recorded strings in Studio Two. During this period, the band were constantly reminded of the Beatles previous occupancy of the studios, and somewhat awed by it. At one point, the band ran into Robert Plant and Jimmy Page in the basement cafeteria and shared a brief greeting. [10] Craig Leon wrote out the string arrangements, and Gavyn Wright and a small string orchestra created the music, all the while overseen in a small control room which was crowded with the band, Leckie, two engineers, an agent, and a writer, which added up to a very expensive three hours of a recording session. After a few weeks of mixing, the Cowboy Junkies returned to Canada with a CD. However, after taking a break from all music for a period, the band decided a few of the mixes could be different, so they had Michael Timmins sit with Chris Lord-Alge (Mr. Mixer) at his Los Angeles studio and re-mix several of the tracks for a few days. [11]

<i>Lay It Down</i> (Cowboy Junkies album) 1996 studio album by Cowboy Junkies

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.

John Leckie English music producer, and recording engineer

John William Leckie is an English record producer and recording engineer. His production credits include Magazine's Real Life (1978), XTC's White Music (1978) and Dukes of Stratosphear's 25 O'Clock (1985), the Stone Roses' The Stone Roses (1989), Radiohead's The Bends (1995), Muse's Origin of Symmetry (2001) and the Levellers' We the Collective (2018).

Vincent Jones is a Canadian keyboardist and music producer. He was a member of The Grapes of Wrath and Ginger, and a frequent collaborator with Lava Hay, a band which included Jones' former wife, Michele Gould.

The theme for Miles from Our Home is 'why?' The tracks deal with the repercussions of the question differently, such as "Someone Out There" which deals with anger, "New Dawn Coming" with hope, "Miles from Our Home" with dignity, and "Darkling Day" which supplies some answers. [12]

Track listing

All tracks written by Michael Timmins except where noted [13] .

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."New Dawn Coming" 4:12
2."Blue Guitar"Michael Timmins, Townes Van Zandt 6:09
3."Miles from Our Home"Michael Timmins, Greg Clarke, Brodie Lodge4:35
4."Good Friday" 4:02
5."Darkling Days"Michael Timmins, Clarke4:21
6."Hollow as a Bone" 3:26
7."Someone Out There"Michael Timmins, Clarke3:00
8."The Summer of Discontent"Michael Timmins, Clarke, Lodge4:35
9."No Birds Today" 4:19
10."Those Final Feet" (CD shows track 10 as 9:30, hides track 11) 4:58
11."At the End of the Rainbow" (hidden track, after 35 seconds of silence) 3:57
Total length:48:09

Personnel

Cowboy Junkies

Margo Timmins Canadian singer

Margo Timmins is the lead vocalist of the Canadian band Cowboy Junkies. She is the sister of Michael Timmins, the band's lead guitarist, and Peter Timmins, the band's drummer. Her ethereal vocals, paired with the band's spare and quiet songs performed at a languid pace, give the band its unique sound.

Additional Musicians [14] [2]

Production [15] [2] [14]

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Miles From Our Home - Cowboy Junkies". AllMusic. Retrieved December 13, 2010.
  2. 1 2 3 "Miles From Our Home | Page 8". Latent Recordings. Retrieved May 22, 2017.
  3. ↑ Larkin, Colin (2011). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Omnibus Press. p. 368. ISBN   9780857125958 . Retrieved 30 April 2019.
  4. ↑ Karpinski, Michael (November 1999). "Cowboy Junkies = Miles from Our Home". Music Box. Retrieved April 18, 2007.
  5. ↑ Timmins, Michael. "Miles From Our Home". Latent Recordings. Retrieved May 22, 2017.
  6. ↑ Anton, Alan. "Miles From Our Home | Page 2". Latent Recordings. Retrieved May 22, 2017.
  7. ↑ Anton, Alan. "Miles From Our Home | Page 3". Latent Recordings. Retrieved May 22, 2017.
  8. ↑ Anton, Alan. "Miles From Our Home | Page 4". Latent Recordings. Retrieved May 22, 2017.
  9. ↑ Anton, Alan. "Miles From Our Home | Page 5". Latent Recordings. Retrieved May 22, 2017.
  10. ↑ Anton, Alan. "Miles From Our Home | Page 6". Latent Recordings. Retrieved May 22, 2017.
  11. ↑ Anton, Alan. "Miles From Our Home | Page 7". Latent Recordings. Retrieved May 22, 2017.
  12. ↑ Timmins, Michael. "Miles From Our Home | Page 7 | Mike". Latent Recordings. Retrieved May 22, 2017.
  13. ↑ "ACE Repertory | Cowboy Junkies". ASCAP. Retrieved May 22, 2017.
  14. 1 2 "Miles From Our Home - Cowboy Junkies | Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved May 22, 2017.
  15. ↑ "Cowboy Junkies – Miles From Our Home | CD". Discogs. Retrieved May 22, 2017.
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