| The Wilderness | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | March 27, 2012 [1] | |||
| Genre | Alternative country [2] | |||
| Length | 42:33 | |||
| Label | Latent, Razor & Tie, Diverse Records | |||
| Cowboy Junkies chronology | ||||
| ||||
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. [3]
The album is a return to the folk vibe the band played with in the late 80s and early 90s. The songwriter, Michael Timmins, "started to think in terms of an album of songs reflecting on the lives of characters I'd written about early in the band’s career and bringing those characters 20 years into the future to see where their lives were at now. Some of those songs have little touch points where, if you're a real freak and analyze the music, you can see how they connect to earlier songs -- even character's names and stuff pops into them, and that's intentional. It was fun to sit and go over those older songs and some of the ideas I was thinking about and exploring and believed in and seeing 20 years later where I sit with some of those ideas. It's always fascinating to do that with yourself and with the songs. It's a treat for me, anyway." [4] The style of the songs on the album resemble earlier Cowboy Junkies music more than the other albums in the Nomad series. [5] The Cowboy Junkies had turned their back on major labels, which gave them the independence to explore various themes for the Nomad series, to experiment with their music. [6]
All tracks are written by Michael Timmins except where noted.
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Unanswered Letter (for JB)" | 5:21 | |
| 2. | "Idle Tales" | 4:06 | |
| 3. | "We Are the Selfish Ones" | 2:39 | |
| 4. | "Angels in the Wilderness" | 4:45 | |
| 5. | "Damaged from the Start" | 3:48 | |
| 6. | "Fairytale" | 4:23 | |
| 7. | "Staring Man" | Michael Timmins, Elizabeth Bishop | 4:01 |
| 8. | "The Confession of Georgie E" | 6:00 | |
| 9. | "I Let Him In" | 4:13 | |
| 10. | "Fuck, I Hate the Cold" | 3:17 | |
| Total length: | 42:33 [1] | ||
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Demons" | 3:42 |
| 2. | "Girl Behind the Man the Gun" | 5:37 |
| 3. | "Lo" | 2:56 |
| 4. | "My Boy Burns" | 4:47 |
| 5. | "Punching Holes Through" | 4:30 [7] |
Cowboy Junkies [8]
Additional musicians [8]
Production [8]
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 a member of the band but left the group before the recording of their debut studio album. The band line-up has never changed since, although they use several guest musicians on many of their studio albums, including multi-instrumentalist Jeff Bird who has performed on every album except the first.
The Trinity Session is the second studio album by Canadian alternative country band Cowboy Junkies, released in early 1988 by Latent Recordings in Canada, and re-released worldwide later in the year on RCA Records. "Working on a Building" and "Blue Moon Revisited " did not appear on the Latent Records release. "Blue Moon Revisited" was originally released on It Came from Canada, Vol. 4 (1988), a compilation of Canadian independent bands.
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.
One Soul Now is a 2004 album by the Canadian alt-country band Cowboy Junkies. It is their first album of new material since Open in 2001. It was released on Latent Recordings in Canada, and Zoë Records internationally.
Margo Timmins is the lead vocalist of Canadian alternative country and folk rock 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 low-key instrumentation played at a relaxed pace, lend the band its unique atmospheric sound.
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.
Trinity Revisited is an album and a film by the Cowboy Junkies, released on October 8, 2007. It is a remake of the Junkies' most famous album, The Trinity Session. The new album was recorded in the fall of 2006 at Toronto's Church of the Holy Trinity, the same venue where the original album was recorded.
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 Nomad Series is a box set by the Canadian alt-country band Cowboy Junkies, collecting the four individual albums of the Nomad series, Renmin Park, Demons, Sing in My Meadow, and The Wilderness on the first four discs, and on the final disc six of the seven songs from the Demons digital bonus disc, plus four previously unreleased songs worked on during the creation of the series.
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.