Cowboy Junkies: Music Is The Drug - The Podcast

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Latest Episodes:

50. Sweet Jane Oct 28, 2023

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 Underground have always been Junkies' touchstones and hear just what songwriter Lou Reed thought of the band's recording of the song that takes us right back to the day he wrote it.
To listen to "Sweet Jane", click here.
To order "The Trinity Session", click here.
To order "Such Ferocious Beauty", click here.
To listen to "Such Ferocious Beauty", click here.
To order "The Barn Demos" CD and writing notebook, click here.
To make sure you don't miss out on each weekly episode, remember to subscribe to "Music Is The Drug" at your favourite podcast provider - Apple, Amazon, Google, Spotify, Deezer, Stitcher, TuneIn, Podchaser and all the rest...
"Cowboy Junkies - Music Is The Drug" is hosted by Dave Bowler, author of the authorised biography of the band. To order it from them, click here.
To order direct from Omnibus Press in the UK & Europe, click here.
For the ever expanding "Music Is The Drug" playlist on Spotify, click here.
For more info on Cowboy Junkies, click here.
For tour dates, click here.
Copyright 2023 Latent Recordings.

49. Such Ferocious Beauty - Part 3 Jul 08, 2023

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.
To watch the video for "Hard To Build. Easy To Break.", click here.
To watch the video for "What I Lost", click here.
To order "Such Ferocious Beauty", click here.
To listen to "Such Ferocious Beauty", click here.
To make sure you don't miss out on each weekly episode, remember to subscribe to "Music Is The Drug" at your favourite podcast provider - Apple, Amazon, Google, Spotify, Deezer, Stitcher, TuneIn, Podchaser and all the rest...
"Cowboy Junkies - Music Is The Drug" is hosted by Dave Bowler, author of the authorised biography of the band. To order it from them, click here.
To order direct from Omnibus Press in the UK & Europe, click here.
For the ever expanding "Music Is The Drug" playlist on Spotify, click here.
For more info on Cowboy Junkies, click here.
For tour dates, click here.
Copyright 2023 Latent Recordings.

48. Such Ferocious Beauty - Part 2 Jun 02, 2023

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, there’s plenty of music both from the record itself as well as the songwriting and early production demos.
In this second part of our "Such Ferocious Beauty" special, there are six songs still to cover. Come on, dive straight in...

To watch the video for "Hard To Build. Easy To Break.", click here.
To watch the video for "What I Lost", click here.
To order "Such Ferocious Beauty", click here.
To listen to "Such Ferocious Beauty", click here.
To make sure you don't miss out on each weekly episode, remember to subscribe to "Music Is The Drug" at your favourite podcast provider - Apple, Amazon, Google, Spotify, Deezer, Stitcher, TuneIn, Podchaser and all the rest...
"Cowboy Junkies - Music Is The Drug" is hosted by Dave Bowler, author of the authorised biography of the band. To order it from them, click here.
To order direct from Omnibus Press in the UK & Europe, click here.
For the ever expanding "Music Is The Drug" playlist on Spotify, click here.
For more info on Cowboy Junkies, click here.
For tour dates, click here.
Copyright 2023 Latent Recordings.

47. Such Ferocious Beauty - Part 1 Jun 02, 2023

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, there’s plenty of music both from the record itself, the songwriting and early production demos and even a demo of a so far unreleased track sprinkled in there too.

To watch the video for "Hard To Build. Easy To Break.", click here.
To watch the video for "What I Lost", click here.
To order "Such Ferocious Beauty", click here.
To make sure you don't miss out on each weekly episode, remember to subscribe to "Music Is The Drug" at your favourite podcast provider - Apple, Amazon, Google, Spotify, Deezer, Stitcher, TuneIn, Podchaser and all the rest...
"Cowboy Junkies - Music Is The Drug" is hosted by Dave Bowler, author of the authorised biography of the band. To order it from them, click here.
To order direct from Omnibus Press in the UK & Europe, click here.
For the ever expanding "Music Is The Drug" playlist on Spotify, click here.
For more info on Cowboy Junkies, click here.
For tour dates, click here.
Copyright 2023 Latent Recordings.

46. Simon Keeper May 20, 2023

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 Alan Anton go through the story of bringing "Simon Keeper" to life and also ponder just how tough it is to put a concert set list together when you've been making records for over 35 years...
To make sure you don't miss out on each weekly episode, remember to subscribe to "Music Is The Drug" at your favourite podcast provider - Apple, Amazon, Google, Spotify, Deezer, Stitcher, TuneIn, Podchaser and all the rest...
To pre-order the band's upcoming album, "Such Ferocious Beauty", click here.
"Cowboy Junkies - Music Is The Drug" is hosted by Dave Bowler, author of the authorised biography of the band. To order it from the band, click here.
To order direct from Omnibus Press in the UK & Europe, click here.
To listen to "One Soul Now", click here.
For the ever expanding "Music Is The Drug" playlist on Spotify, click here.
For more info on Cowboy Junkies, click here.
For tour dates, click here.
Copyright 2023 Latent Recordings.

45. Where Are You Tonight? May 10, 2023

"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 catalogue, why has it endured and where did it spring from in the first place?
Michael Timmins and Alan Anton have the answers on this episode of "Music Is The Drug"...
To make sure you don't miss out on each weekly episode of "Music Is The Drug", remember to subscribe to "Music Is The Drug" at your favourite podcast provider - Apple, Amazon, Google, Spotify, Audible, Deezer, Stitcher, TuneIn, Podchaser and all the rest...
To pre-order the band's upcoming album, "Such Ferocious Beauty", click here.
"Cowboy Junkies - Music Is The Drug" is hosted by Dave Bowler, author of the authorised biography of the band. To order it from the band, click here.
To order direct from Omnibus Press in the UK & Europe, click here.
To buy "The Caution Horses" on vinyl, click here.
To buy "Sharon" on vinyl, click here.
To listen to "The Caution Horses", click here.
To listen to "Sharon", click here.
To listen to "200 More Miles: Live Performances 1985-1994", click here.
For the ever expanding "Music Is The Drug" playlist on Spotify, click here.
For more info on Cowboy Junkies, click here.
For tour dates, click here.
Copyright 2023 Latent Recordings.

44. Isn't It A Pity? May 05, 2023

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 had been playing George Harrison's "Isn't It A Pity", and that was a song that translated perfectly to that album's themes.
In this episode, we revisit the live and studio versions of "Isn't It A Pity?" and Michael Timmins and Alan Anton talk us through the intricacies of capturing the essence of Harrison's typically idiosyncratic song.
To make sure you don't miss out on each weekly episode of "Music Is The Drug", remember to subscribe to "Music Is The Drug" at your favourite podcast provider - Apple, Amazon, Google, Spotify, Deezer, Stitcher, TuneIn, Podchaser and all the rest...
To pre-order the band's upcoming album, "Such Ferocious Beauty", click here.
To listen to "Isn't It A Pity?", click here.
"Cowboy Junkies - Music Is The Drug" is hosted by Dave Bowler, author of the authorised biography of the band. To order it from them, click here.
To order direct from Omnibus Press in the UK & Europe, click here.
For the ever expanding "Music Is The Drug" playlist on Spotify, click here.
For more info on Cowboy Junkies, click here.
For tour dates, click here.
Copyright 2023 Latent Recordings.

43. Hard To Build. Easy To Break. Apr 25, 2023

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 to boot.
Musically built on a loping groove that has roots that you might not immediately associate the Junkies with, the lyric looks at both the personal and the political and our growing addiction to tearing things down just for the sake of it.
To listen to "Hard To Build. Easy To Break.", click here.
To watch the video for "Hard To Build. Easy To Break.", click here.
To watch the video for "What I Lost", click here.
To pre-order "Such Ferocious Beauty", out on June 2nd, click here.
To make sure you don't miss out on each weekly episode, remember to subscribe to "Music Is The Drug" at your favourite podcast provider - Apple, Amazon, Google, Spotify, Deezer, Stitcher, TuneIn, Podchaser and all the rest...
"Cowboy Junkies - Music Is The Drug" is hosted by Dave Bowler, author of the authorised biography of the band. To order it from them, click here.
To order direct from Omnibus Press in the UK & Europe, click here.
For the ever expanding "Music Is The Drug" playlist on Spotify, click here.
For more info on Cowboy Junkies, click here.
For tour dates, click here.
Copyright 2023 Latent Recordings.

42. Supernatural Apr 20, 2023

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 upshot and from that album, in this episode Michael Timmins and Alan Anton discuss Vic's song 'Supernatural' and the joys and challenges of covering material by someone just as idiosyncratic as Vic Chesnutt.
To make sure you don't miss out on each weekly episode, remember to subscribe to "Music Is The Drug" at your favourite podcast provider - Apple, Amazon, Google, Spotify, Deezer, Stitcher, TuneIn, Podchaser and all the rest...
To pre-order the band's upcoming album, "Such Ferocious Beauty", click here.
To listen to "Supernatural", click here.
To buy "Demons", click here.
"Cowboy Junkies - Music Is The Drug" is hosted by Dave Bowler, author of the authorised biography of the band. To order it from them, click here.
To order direct from Omnibus Press in the UK & Europe, click here.
For the ever expanding "Music Is The Drug" playlist on Spotify, click here.
For more info on Cowboy Junkies, click here.
For tour dates, click here.
Copyright 2023 Latent Recordings.

41. Follower 2 Apr 11, 2023

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 behind the song, including the string section that so illuminates the track. We've got a few little heard clips of the recording session to illustrate things too. Dive in, why don't you?
To make sure you don't miss out on each weekly episode, remember to subscribe to "Music Is The Drug" at your favourite podcast provider - Apple, Amazon, Google, Spotify, Deezer, Stitcher, TuneIn, Podchaser and all the rest...
To pre-order the band's upcoming album, "Such Ferocious Beauty", click here.
To listen to "Follower 2", click here.
To buy "At The End OF Paths Taken", click here.
"Cowboy Junkies - Music Is The Drug" is hosted by Dave Bowler, author of the authorised biography of the band. To order it from them, click here.
To order direct from Omnibus Press in the UK & Europe, click here.
For the ever expanding "Music Is The Drug" playlist on Spotify, click here.
For more info on Cowboy Junkies, click here.
For tour dates, click here.
Copyright 2023 Latent Recordings.

40. What I Lost Mar 29, 2023

"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 new album.
But don't waste your time reading this, dive in to the podcast. You're going to love it...
To watch the video for the song, click here.
To make sure you don't miss out on each weekly episode, remember to subscribe to "Music Is The Drug" at your favourite podcast provider - Apple, Amazon, Google, Spotify, Deezer, Stitcher, TuneIn, Podchaser and all the rest...
"Cowboy Junkies - Music Is The Drug" is hosted by Dave Bowler, author of the authorised biography of the band. To order it from them, click here.
To order direct from Omnibus Press in the UK & Europe, click here.
For the ever expanding "Music Is The Drug" playlist on Spotify, click here.
For more info on Cowboy Junkies, click here.
For tour dates, click here.
Copyright 2023 Latent Recordings.

39. My Little Basquiat Nov 12, 2022

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 part the 1976 Montreal Olympics had to play in its completion...
To make sure you don't miss out on each weekly episode, remember to subscribe to "Music Is The Drug" at your favourite podcast provider - Apple, Amazon, Google, Spotify, Deezer, Stitcher, TuneIn, Podchaser and all the rest...
"Cowboy Junkies - Music Is The Drug" is hosted by Dave Bowler, author of the authorised biography of the band. To order it from them, click here.
To order direct from Omnibus Press in the UK & Europe, click here.
To listen to "At The End Of Paths Taken", click here.
To buy "At The End Of Paths Taken", click here.
To order "Sharon" and "Songs of the Recollection", click here.
For the ever expanding "Music Is The Drug" playlist on Spotify, click here.
For more info on Cowboy Junkies, click here.
For tour dates, click here.
Copyright 2022 Latent Recordings.

38. State Trooper Nov 05, 2022

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, intense, Springsteen's opus to a police encounter on the freeway might well have been dictated to him by Johnson from the other side, wondering where the crossroads went and why there are all these six lane highways instead.
For the band, recently slimmed down to a four piece following the departure of John Timmins, this is the sound of them handling that extra space and settling into some of the principles that have defined much of their music ever since. In this episode, we explore how they got there and the vital role of producer Peter Moore in helping them capture it.
To make sure you don't miss out on each weekly episode, remember to subscribe to "Music Is The Drug" at your favourite podcast provider - Apple, Amazon, Google, Spotify, Deezer, Stitcher, TuneIn, Podchaser and all the rest...
"Cowboy Junkies - Music Is The Drug" is hosted by Dave Bowler, author of the authorised biography of the band. To order it from the band, click here.
To order direct from Omnibus Press in the UK & Europe, click here.
To listen to "Whites Off Earth Now!!" click here.
To order the new albums, "Songs of the Recollection" and "Sharon", click here.
For the ever expanding "Music Is The Drug" playlist on Spotify, click here.
For more info on Cowboy Junkies, click here.
For tour dates, click here.
Copyright 2022 Latent Recordings.

37. Ikea Parking Lot Oct 29, 2022

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 Parking Lot" is one of those songs and when you listen to it, you can see why. Eerie, atmospheric, even harrowing, what song would you put it before it or after it? So it was that it found its way into the public domain on the fourth CD in the "Notes Falling Slow" box set - and Cowboy Junkies' musical story is richer for having it out there for people to hear.
Michael Timmins and Alan Anton take us through the song, from arguments over the title to the joys of living in a cold climate, from how they find those haunting keyboard sounds to embracing - or not - the inner Geddy Lee...
To make sure you don't miss out on each weekly episode, remember to subscribe to "Music Is The Drug" at your favourite podcast provider - Apple, Amazon, Google, Spotify, Deezer, Stitcher, TuneIn, Podchaser and all the rest...
"Cowboy Junkies - Music Is The Drug" is hosted by Dave Bowler, author of the authorised biography of the band. To order it from the band, click here.
To order direct from Omnibus Press in the UK & Europe, click here.
To listen to "Notes Falling Slow", click here.
To order the new albums, "Songs of the Recollection" and "Sharon", click here.
For the ever expanding "Music Is The Drug" playlist on Spotify, click here.
For more info on Cowboy Junkies, click here.
For tour dates, click here.
Copyright 2022 Latent Recordings.

36. Breathing Oct 22, 2022

"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 podcasts. Please remember to subscribe at your favourite podcast provider - Apple, Amazon, Google, Spotify, Deezer, Stitcher, TuneIn, Podchaser and all the rest.
"Cowboy Junkies - Music Is The Drug" is hosted by Dave Bowler, author of the authorised biography of the band. To order it from the band, click here.
To order direct from Omnibus Press in the UK & Europe, click here.
To order "Ghosts" on vinyl, direct from Cowboy Junkies, click here.
To listen to "Ghosts", click here.
To buy "Sharon", click here.
To buy "Songs of the Recollection", click here.
For the ever expanding "Music Is The Drug" playlist on Spotify, click here.
For more info on Cowboy Junkies, click here.
For tour dates, click here.
Copyright 2022 Latent Recordings.

35. Renmin Park album special Oct 12, 2022

"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, it's a record that sounds unlike. anything else by anybody else.
In this podcast, Mike and Alan explain the thought process and the recording process behind the album, the way it invigorated their creative thinking and how it became the jumping off point for what then became the Nomad Series.
Take a listen - we think it will inspire you to dig out your copy of "Rennin Park". It's well worth it.
"Music Is The Drug" is available wherever you get your podcasts. Please remember to subscribe at your favourite podcast provider - Apple, Amazon, Google, Spotify, Deezer, Stitcher, TuneIn, Podchaser and all the rest.
"Cowboy Junkies - Music Is The Drug" is hosted by Dave Bowler, author of the authorised biography of the band. To order it from the band, click here.
To order direct from Omnibus Press in the UK & Europe, click here.
To listen to "Renmin Park", click here.
To order "Sharon", click here.
To buy "Songs of the Recollection", click here.
To buy "Renmin Park", click here.
For the ever expanding "Music Is The Drug" playlist on Spotify, click here.
For more info on Cowboy Junkies, click here.
For tour dates, click here.
Copyright 2022 Latent Recordings.

34. Southern Rain Oct 08, 2022

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, exemplified that change in style, having a more up-tempo feel, introducing Ken Myhr on guitar and showcasing more of the band's classic rock sensibility than had previously been the case.
Michael Timmins and Alan Anton talk us through the writing of the song, the reasons for the change in emphasis, why escape is not so simple after all and reveal just what is the bass player's go-to lick when all else fails...
"Music Is The Drug" is available wherever you get your podcasts. Please remember to subscribe at your favourite podcast provider - Apple, Amazon, Google, Spotify, Deezer, Stitcher, TuneIn, Podchaser and all the rest.
"Cowboy Junkies - Music Is The Drug" is hosted by Dave Bowler, author of the authorised biography of the band. To order it from the band, click here.
To order direct from Omnibus Press in the UK & Europe, click here.
To listen to "Southern Rain", click here.
To order "Sharon", click here.
To buy "Songs of the Recollection", click here.
To buy "Black End Man", click here.
For the ever expanding "Music Is The Drug" playlist on Spotify, click here.
For more info on Cowboy Junkies, click here.
For tour dates, click here.
Copyright 2022 Latent Recordings.

33. Thousand Year Prayer Sep 29, 2022

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 universe and everything, personally and globally, and that mood was caught perfectly in "Thousand Year Prayer", a song from "Open".
A meditation on thankfulness, love, the natural world and the way we've ravaged it, Jimi Hendrix and calling it all a draw with God, Michael Timmins helps us find the way through the song, along with Alan Anton.
"Music Is The Drug" is available wherever you get your podcasts. Please remember to subscribe at your favourite podcast provider - Apple, Amazon, Google, Spotify, Deezer, Stitcher, TuneIn, Podchaser and all the rest.
"Cowboy Junkies - Music Is The Drug" is hosted by Dave Bowler, author of the authorised biography of the band. To order it from the band, click here.
To order direct from Omnibus Press in the UK & Europe, click here.
To listen to "Thousand Year Prayer", click here.
To order "Sharon", click here.
To buy "Songs of the Recollection", click here.
To buy "Open", click here.
For the ever expanding "Music Is The Drug" playlist on Spotify, click here.
For more info on Cowboy Junkies, click here.
For tour dates, click here.
Copyright 2022 Latent Recordings.

32. 1979 Sep 24, 2022

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 - Alan Anton talks us through the records he and Mike were listening to that year, how they inspired the to get a band together and how that music still informs Cowboy Junkies today, some 43 years later...
"Music Is The Drug" is available wherever you get your podcasts. Please remember to subscribe at your favourite podcast provider - Apple, Amazon, Google, Spotify, Deezer, Stitcher, TuneIn, Podchaser and all the rest.
"Cowboy Junkies - Music Is The Drug" is hosted by Dave Bowler, author of the authorised biography of the band. To order it from the band, click here.
To order direct from Omnibus Press in the UK & Europe, click here.
To order "Sharon", click here.
To buy "Songs of the Recollection", click here.
For the ever expanding "Music Is The Drug" playlist on Spotify, click here.
For more info on Cowboy Junkies, click here.
For tour dates, click here.
Copyright 2022 Latent Recordings.

31. Blue Moon Revisited (Song For Elvis) Sep 17, 2022

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 and Alan Anton how it was that the song missed the cut on the original Latent vinyl release of "The Trinity Session", how that unforgettable bass line came into being, why Margo Timmins laid down her lyric pen in the early '90s and just what they made of Graceland when they visited it in the late 1980s...
"Music Is The Drug" is available wherever you get your podcasts. Please remember to subscribe at your favourite podcast provider - Apple, Amazon, Google, Spotify, Deezer, Stitcher, TuneIn, Podchaser and all the rest.
"Cowboy Junkies - Music Is The Drug" is hosted by Dave Bowler, author of the authorised biography of the band. To order it from the band, click here.
To order direct from Omnibus Press in the UK & Europe, click here.
To listen to "The Trinity Session", click here.
To buy "The Trinity Session", click here.
To order "Sharon", click here.
To buy "Songs of the Recollection", click here.
For the ever expanding "Music Is The Drug" playlist on Spotify, click here.
For more info on Cowboy Junkies, click here.
For tour dates, click here.
Copyright 2022 Latent Recordings.

30. Sharon album special Sep 10, 2022

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 stunning albums in "Whites Off Earth Now!!" and "The Trinity Session", using just a single microphone to record the band playing the songs live, when it came to making their third album, the band were keen to maintain that blueprint.
To do that, location is key. Having used their garage for "Whites" and then the Church of the Holy Trinity, the search was on for the next sympathetic recording location.
Michael Timmins and Alan Anton talk us through that process and why, in the end, the "Sharon' recordings were shelved, only to eventually see the light of day in 2022...
"Music Is The Drug" is available wherever you get your podcasts. Please remember to subscribe at your favourite podcast provider - Apple, Amazon, Google, Spotify, Deezer, Stitcher, TuneIn, Podchaser and all the rest.
"Cowboy Junkies - Music Is The Drug" is hosted by Dave Bowler, author of the authorised biography of the band. To order it from the band, click here.
To order direct from Omnibus Press in the UK & Europe, click here.
To order "Sharon", click here.
To buy "Songs of the Recollection", click here.
For the ever expanding "Music Is The Drug" playlist on Spotify, click here.
For more info on Cowboy Junkies, click here.
For tour dates, click here.
Copyright 2022 Latent Recordings.

29. Early 21st Century Blues album special Jul 16, 2022

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, Cowboy Junkies did what the great bands did in the '60s and made a protest record, "Early 21st Century Blues', an album of mostly cover versions taken from the days of the counter-culture.
As we take you through the album with Michael Timmins and Alan Anton, we'll discuss its conceptual nature, encounter a returning John Timmins, marvel at Richie Havens' hands, discover an unusual source for cover art, learn of a rare endorsement from Yoko and hear about an unfinished gem from the sessions that's still deep in the archives - the survival of some ancient ones and zeroes permitting...
We're now taking a break for the summer, so please, remember to subscribe to "Music Is The Drug" at your favourite podcast provider - Apple, Amazon, Google, Spotify, Deezer, Stitcher, TuneIn, Podchaser and all the rest so you don't miss out when we return at the start of September.
"Cowboy Junkies - Music Is The Drug" is hosted by Dave Bowler, author of the authorised biography of the band. To order it from the band, click here.
To order direct from Omnibus Press in the UK & Europe, click here.
To listen to "Early 21st Century Blues", click here.
To order the new album, "Songs of the Recollection", click here.
For the ever expanding "Music Is The Drug" playlist on Spotify, click here.
For more info on Cowboy Junkies, click here.
For tour dates, click here.
Copyright 2022 Latent Recordings.

28. 'Cause Cheap Is How I Feel Jul 09, 2022

"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.
Speaking of MTV, Michael Timmins and Alan Anton talk about their adventures in video promo land. We also cover the writing of the song and the massive contribution made to the recording of it by accordionist extraordinaire, Jaro Czerwinec.
"Your body for my soul, fair swap, 'cause cheap is how I feel."
Has there ever been a better closing couplet to a song than that? Nope...
After next week's episode, we're taking a break for the summer, so please, remember to subscribe to "Music Is The Drug" at your favourite podcast provider - Apple, Amazon, Google, Spotify, Deezer, Stitcher, TuneIn, Podchaser and all the rest so you don't miss out when we return.
"Cowboy Junkies - Music Is The Drug" is hosted by Dave Bowler, author of the authorised biography of the band. To order it from the band, click here.
To order direct from Omnibus Press in the UK & Europe, click here.
To buy "The Caution Horses" on vinyl, click here.
To listen to "The Caution Horses", click here.
To listen to "200 More Miles: Live Performances 1985-1994", click here.
To order the new album, "Songs of the Recollection", click here.
For the ever expanding "Music Is The Drug" playlist on Spotify, click here.
For more info on Cowboy Junkies, click here.
For tour dates, click here.
Copyright 2022 Latent Recordings.

27. Townies special Jul 02, 2022

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 "Improvisations From The Between Time" album, which we also cover in the podcast.
Set in motion by a conversation between the two, "Townies" was originally destined to be based around childhood memories. Lockdown halted the project and then, on their return to the studio, the music developed a second act, focusing on a tumultuous year and all that that means. It's a fascinating journey and both Mike and Andy help guide you through it in this podcast.
Termed an "audioplay", "Townies" is currently only available for download or streaming, as is "Improvisations From The Between Time" - if you haven't heard them yet, tune in, turn on and drop out...
To make sure you don't miss out on each weekly episode, remember to subscribe to "Music Is The Drug" at your favourite podcast provider - Apple, Amazon, Audible, Google, Spotify, Deezer, Stitcher, TuneIn, Podchaser and all the rest...
"Cowboy Junkies - Music Is The Drug" is hosted by Dave Bowler, author of the authorised biography of the band. To order it from them, click here.
To order direct from Omnibus Press in the UK & Europe, click here.
To download or listen to "Townies", click here.
To listen to "Improvisations From The Between Time", click here.
To buy the new album, "Songs of the Recollection", click here.
For the ever expanding "Music Is The Drug" playlist on Spotify, click here.
For more info on Cowboy Junkies, click here.
For tour dates, click here.
Copyright 2022 Latent Recordings.

26. Blue Guitar Jun 26, 2022

"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 that grounds the song throughout.
Dark and brooding? We've got it covered...
To make sure you don't miss out on each weekly episode, remember to subscribe to "Music Is The Drug" at your favourite podcast provider - Apple, Amazon, Audible, Google, Spotify, Deezer, Stitcher, TuneIn, Podchaser and all the rest...
"Cowboy Junkies - Music Is The Drug" is hosted by Dave Bowler, author of the authorised biography of the band. To order it from them, click here.
To order direct from Omnibus Press in the UK & Europe, click here.
To listen to "Miles From Our Home", click here.
To buy the new album, "Songs of the Recollection", click here.
For the ever expanding "Music Is The Drug" playlist on Spotify, click here.
For more info on Cowboy Junkies, click here.
For tour dates, click here.
Copyright 2022 Latent Recordings.

25. The Slide Jun 18, 2022

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 its development and discover just why it is that the band felt the need to cut a fresh version of it.
More than that, we look into the sentiment behind the song and rehash an old Woody Allen joke in the process. That's "Music Is The Drug", all human life is here...
To make sure you don't miss out on each weekly episode, remember to subscribe to "Music Is The Drug" at your favourite podcast provider - Apple, Amazon, Google, Spotify, Deezer, Stitcher, TuneIn, Podchaser and all the rest...
"Cowboy Junkies - Music Is The Drug" is hosted by Dave Bowler, author of the authorised biography of the band. To order it from the band, click here.
To order direct from Omnibus Press in the UK & Europe, click here.
To listen to "One Soul Now", click here.
To listen to "Notes Falling Slow", click here.
To order the new album, "Songs of the Recollection", click here.
For the ever expanding "Music Is The Drug" playlist on Spotify, click here.
For more info on Cowboy Junkies, click here.
For tour dates, click here.
Copyright 2022 Latent Recordings.

24. Angels In The Wilderness Jun 11, 2022

"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 rediscovering after it got a little lost in the deluge of "Nomad" material.
Influenced by Marilynne Robinson's novel "Gilead", and with a slight lyrical lift from the hymn "Oh God Our Help In Ages Past", it's at the heavier end of the lyrical spectrum as Michael Timmins and Alan Anton explain.
To make sure you don't miss out on each weekly episode, remember to subscribe to "Music Is The Drug" at your favourite podcast provider - Apple, Amazon, Google, Spotify, Deezer, Stitcher, TuneIn, Podchaser and all the rest...
"Cowboy Junkies - Music Is The Drug" is hosted by Dave Bowler, author of the authorised biography of the band. To order it from them, click here.
To order direct from Omnibus Press in the UK & Europe, click here.
To listen to "The Wilderness", click here.
To order the new album, "Songs of the Recollection", click here.
For the ever expanding "Music Is The Drug" playlist on Spotify, click here.
For more info on Cowboy Junkies, click here.
For tour dates, click here.
Copyright 2022 Latent Recordings.

23. Missing Children Jun 04, 2022

"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 Junkies song - a chunky rhythm, propelled by Mike and Pete, Alan's lead bass figure and a ferocious vocal from Margo, the song's message spat out with no equivocation. Another classic from the canon, this podcast explores the making of "Missing Children".
To make sure you don't miss out on each weekly episode, remember to subscribe to "Music Is The Drug" at your favourite podcast provider - Apple, Amazon, Google, Spotify, Deezer, Stitcher, TuneIn, Podchaser and all the rest...
"Cowboy Junkies - Music Is The Drug" is hosted by Dave Bowler, author of the authorised biography of the band. To order it from them, click here.
To order direct from Omnibus Press in the UK & Europe, click here.
To listen to "All That Reckoning", click here.
You can buy "All That Reckoning here.
To order the new album, "Songs of the Recollection", click here.
For the ever expanding "Music Is The Drug" playlist on Spotify, click here.
For more info on Cowboy Junkies, click here.
For tour dates, click here.
Copyright 2022 Latent Recordings.

22. Music Is The Drug - the book... May 30, 2022

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 that goes into writing 250,000 words - hint, long hours at a keyboard and lots of coffee - as Jason delves deep into the text.
"Cowboy Junkies - Music Is The Drug" is hosted by Dave Bowler, author of the authorised biography of the band. To order it from them, click here.
To order direct from Omnibus Press in the UK & Europe, click here.
To order the new album, "Songs of the Recollection", click here.
For the ever expanding "Music Is The Drug" playlist on Spotify, click here.
For more info on Cowboy Junkies, click here.
For tour dates, click here.
Copyright 2022 Latent Recordings.

21. Open album special May 27, 2022

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 to recording and the input that guest musicians Linford Detweiler and Karin Bergquist from Over The Rhine had on the album.
With the help of Michael Timmins and Alan Anton, we'll go through the whole "Open" experience, from start to finish.
To make sure you don't miss out on each weekly episode of "Music Is The Drug", remember to subscribe at your favourite podcast provider - Apple, Amazon, Google, Spotify, Deezer, Stitcher, TuneIn, Podchaser, Audible, MixCloud and all the rest...
"Cowboy Junkies - Music Is The Drug" is hosted by Dave Bowler, author of the authorised biography of the band. To order it from them, click here.
To order direct from Omnibus Press in the UK & Europe, click here.
To order the new album, "Songs of the Recollection", click here.
To listen to "Open", click here.
To buy "Open" on CD or vinyl, click here.
For the ever expanding "Music Is The Drug" playlist on Spotify, click here.
For more info on Cowboy Junkies, click here.
For tour dates, click here.
Copyright 2022 Latent Recordings.

20. Crescent Moon May 20, 2022

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 of sorts, giving its author a window on a different life to the one envisaged in "200 More Miles' - we've done a podcast about that one too you know...
To make sure you don't miss out on each weekly episode, remember to subscribe to "Music Is The Drug" at your favourite podcast provider - Apple, Amazon, Google, Spotify, Deezer, Stitcher, TuneIn, Podchaser and all the rest...
"Cowboy Junkies - Music Is The Drug" is hosted by Dave Bowler, author of the authorised biography of the band. To order it from them, click here.
To order direct from Omnibus Press in the UK & Europe, click here.
To buy "Pale Sun Crescent Moon", click here.
To listen to "Pale Sun Crescent Moon", click here.
To order the new album, "Songs of the Recollection", click here.
For the ever expanding "Music Is The Drug" playlist on Spotify, click here.
For more info on Cowboy Junkies, click here.
For tour dates, click here.
Copyright 2022 Latent Recordings.

19. Late Night Radio May 14, 2022

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 o find that one great song that disappeared into the there and was never found again, come with us, back to the analog age...
To make sure you don't miss out on each weekly episode, remember to subscribe to "Music Is The Drug" at your favourite podcast provider - Apple, Amazon, Google, Spotify, Deezer, Stitcher, TuneIn, Podchaser and all the rest...
"Cowboy Junkies - Music Is The Drug" is hosted by Dave Bowler, author of the authorised biography of the band. To order it from them, click here.
To order direct from Omnibus Press in the UK & Europe, click here.
To listen to "Sing In My Meadow", click here.
To order the new album, "Songs of the Recollection", click here.
For the ever expanding "Music Is The Drug" playlist on Spotify, click here.
For more info on Cowboy Junkies, click here.
For tour dates, click here.
Copyright 2022 Latent Recordings.

18. Come Calling May 05, 2022

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 and explain just why the band produced two such very different versions of what was essentially the same song yet which demanded such different treatments.
To make sure you don't miss out on each weekly episode, remember to subscribe to "Music Is The Drug" at your favourite podcast provider.
"Cowboy Junkies - Music Is The Drug" is hosted by Dave Bowler, author of the authorised biography of the band. To order it from the band, click here.
To order direct from Omnibus Press in the UK & Europe, click here.
To buy the band's new album, "Songs of the Recollection", click here.
To check for upcoming tour dates, click here.
To listen to "Lay It Down", click here.
For the ever expanding "Music Is The Drug" playlist, click here.
For more info on Cowboy Junkies, click here.
For tour dates, click here.
Copyright 2022 Latent Recordings.

17. At The End Of Paths Taken album special Apr 29, 2022

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 radical change as far as the writing and recording of the album went, introducing a new producer and strings to the overall mix, both to dramatic effect.
With the help of Michael Timmins and Alan Anton - plus some rare recordings from the writing and recording sessions - we'll chart the album from its conception through to its release.
As well as that, we talk about a possible live future for a record that is something of a hidden gem within the band's catalogue.
If you haven't heard it in a while, hopefully this will give you a reason to dig it out again. You really should, it's one of the band's very best records.
To make sure you don't miss out on each weekly episode of "Music Is The Drug", remember to subscribe at your favourite podcast provider - Apple, Amazon, Google, Spotify, Deezer, Stitcher, TuneIn, Podchaser, Audible, MixCloud and all the rest...
"Cowboy Junkies - Music Is The Drug" is hosted by Dave Bowler, author of the authorised biography of the band. To order it from them, click here.
To order direct from Omnibus Press in the UK & Europe, click here.
To order the new album, "Songs of the Recollection", click here.
To listen to "At The End Of Paths Taken", click here.
To buy "At The End Of Paths Taken" on CD or vinyl, click here.
For the ever expanding "Music Is The Drug" playlist on Spotify, click here.
For more info on Cowboy Junkies, click here.
For tour dates, click here.
Copyright 2022 Latent Recordings.

16. Murder, Tonight, In The Trailer Park Apr 22, 2022

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 working on the clock in a commercial studio could add to things.
And not content with that - ***SPOILER ALERT*** - sifting through the clues, Michael Timmins is going to tell you just whodunnit, which is more than his bandmates knew...
To make sure you don't miss out on each weekly episode, remember to subscribe to "Music Is The Drug" at your favourite podcast provider - Apple, Amazon, Audible, Google, Spotify, Deezer, Stitcher, TuneIn, Podchaser and all the rest...
"Cowboy Junkies - Music Is The Drug" is hosted by Dave Bowler, author of the authorised biography of the band. To order it from them, click here.
To order direct from Omnibus Press in the UK & Europe, click here.
To listen to "Black Eyed Man", click here.
To buy "Black Eyed Man", click here.
To buy the new album, "Songs of the Recollection", click here.
For the ever expanding "Music Is The Drug" playlist on Spotify, click here.
For more info on Cowboy Junkies, click here.
For tour dates, click here.
Copyright 2022 Latent Recordings.

15. Good Friday Apr 15, 2022

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 special sparkle to it, a real joyousness. But it wouldn't Break Cowboy Junkies if it wasn't undercut by something more questioning, in this case in the form of Mike's guitar solo which we also discuss in the podcast.
Alan Anton guides us through the recording of the song and its parent album, working with legendary producer John Leckie and spending weeks in the hallowed halls of Abbey Road, chasing the ghosts of Beatles past...
To make sure you don't miss out on each weekly episode, remember to subscribe to "Music Is The Drug" at your favourite podcast provider - Apple, Amazon, Audible, Google, Spotify, Deezer, Stitcher, TuneIn, Podchaser and all the rest...
"Cowboy Junkies - Music Is The Drug" is hosted by Dave Bowler, author of the authorised biography of the band. To order it from them, click here.
To order direct from Omnibus Press in the UK & Europe, click here.
To listen to "Miles From Our Home", click here.
To buy the new album, "Songs of the Recollection", click here.
For the ever expanding "Music Is The Drug" playlist on Spotify, click here.
For more info on Cowboy Junkies, click here.
For tour dates, click here.
Copyright 2022 Latent Recordings.

14. Songs of the Recollection - Side B Apr 01, 2022

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), "Marathon" (Vic Chestnutt) and "Seventeen Seconds" (The Cure).
Beyond that, we also look at which artists' songs might have made the collection but didn't and Alan takes us back to 1970s concert going, a time of dry ice and Spinal Tap style rock theatrics...
To make sure you don't miss out on each weekly episode, remember to subscribe to "Music Is The Drug" at your favourite podcast provider - Apple, Amazon, Google, Spotify, Deezer, Stitcher, TuneIn, Podchaser and all the rest...
"Cowboy Junkies - Music Is The Drug" is hosted by Dave Bowler, author of the authorised biography of the band. To order it from them, click here.
To order direct from Omnibus Press in the UK & Europe, click here.
To order the new album, "Songs of the Recollection", click here.
For the ever expanding "Music Is The Drug" playlist on Spotify, click here.
For more info on Cowboy Junkies, click here.
For tour dates, click here.
Copyright 2022 Latent Recordings.

13. Songs of the Recollection - Side A Mar 25, 2022

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 Alan Anton, we'll be covering the second side, and plenty more besides, in our next episode.
But in this first part, we'll be uncovering the thinking behind the covers, how the album was put together in a time of pandemic and why these particular songs were selected.
For those with their scorecards handy, the songs we're checking off today are Five Years (David Bowie), Ooh Las Vegas (Gram Parsons), No Expectations (Rolling Stones), Don't Let It Bring You Down and Love In Mind (Neil Young).
To make sure you don't miss out on each weekly episode, remember to subscribe to "Music Is The Drug" at your favourite podcast provider - Apple, Amazon, Google, Spotify, Deezer, Stitcher, TuneIn, Podchaser and all the rest...
"Cowboy Junkies - Music Is The Drug" is hosted by Dave Bowler, author of the authorised biography of the band. To order it from them, click here.
To order direct from Omnibus Press in the UK & Europe, click here.
To order the new album, "Songs of the Recollection", click here.
For the ever expanding "Music Is The Drug" playlist on Spotify, click here.
For more info on Cowboy Junkies, click here.
For tour dates, click here.
Copyright 2022 Latent Recordings.

12. Mountain Mar 19, 2022

"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 in The Beatles' "Revolution 9" and Pink Floyd's "The Dark Side of the Moon", we'll cover how the song gradually mushroomed into the tour-de-force maelstrom that pulled all the threads of the album together.
To make sure you don't miss out on each weekly episode, remember to subscribe to "Music Is The Drug" at your favourite podcast provider - Apple, Amazon, Google, Spotify, Deezer, Stitcher, TuneIn, Podchaser and all the rest...
"Cowboy Junkies - Music Is The Drug" is hosted by Dave Bowler, author of the authorised biography of the band. To order it from them, click here.
To order direct from Omnibus Press in the UK & Europe, click here.
To listen to "At The End Of Paths Taken", click here.
To buy "At The End Of Paths Taken", click here.
To order the new album, "Songs of the Recollection", click here.
For the ever expanding "Music Is The Drug" playlist on Spotify, click here.
For more info on Cowboy Junkies, click here.
For tour dates, click here.
Copyright 2022 Latent Recordings.

11. 200 More Miles Mar 12, 2022

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 gathered when they were on the road, in the station wagon, looking for gigs to support "Whites Off Earth Now!!"
Covering the way those early road trips taught them how to be a band and ushered country music into their musical mix, this episode takes the song all the way through to "Trinity Revisited" and the way that Ryan Adams picked up the torch with his performance of the song.
To make sure you don't miss out on each weekly episode, remember to subscribe to "Music Is The Drug" at your favourite podcast provider - Apple, Amazon, Google, Spotify, Deezer, Stitcher, TuneIn, Podchaser and all the rest...
"Cowboy Junkies - Music Is The Drug" is hosted by Dave Bowler, author of the authorised biography of the band. To order it from them, click here.
To order direct from Omnibus Press in the UK & Europe, click here.
To listen to "The Trinity Session", click here.
To listen to "Trinity Revisited", click here.
To buy "The Trinity Session", click here.
To order the new album, "Songs of the Recollection", click here.
For the ever expanding "Music Is The Drug" playlist on Spotify, click here.
For more info on Cowboy Junkies, click here.
For tour dates, click here.
Copyright 2022 Latent Recordings.

10. 3rd Crusade Mar 05, 2022

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 make sure you don't miss out on each weekly episode, remember to subscribe to "Music Is The Drug" at your favourite podcast provider - Apple, Amazon, Google, Spotify, Deezer, Stitcher, TuneIn, Podchaser and all the rest...
"Cowboy Junkies - Music Is The Drug" is hosted by Dave Bowler, author of the authorised biography of the band. To order it from them, click here.
To order direct from Omnibus Press in the UK & Europe, click here.
To listen to "Sing In My Meadow", click here.
To order the new album, "Songs of the Recollection", click here.
For the ever expanding "Music Is The Drug" playlist on Spotify, click here.
For more info on Cowboy Junkies, click here.
For tour dates, click here.
Copyright 2022 Latent Recordings.

9. Hunted Feb 26, 2022

"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 years, through to the point when the band released an updated version on "Sing In My Meadow", the third volume of the Nomad Series in 2011. We also look at how the live incarnation of the Junkies offers a different perspective on much of their recorded work and the way in which that too has evolved in recent times.
To make sure you don't miss out on each weekly episode, remember to subscribe to "Music Is The Drug" at your favourite podcast provider - Apple, Amazon, Google, Spotify, Deezer, Stitcher, TuneIn, Podchaser and all the rest...
"Cowboy Junkies - Music Is The Drug" is hosted by Dave Bowler, author of the authorised biography of the band. To order it from them, click here.
To order direct from Omnibus Press in the UK & Europe, click here.
To listen to "Pale Sun Crescent Moon", click here.
To buy "Pale Sun Crescent Moon", click here.
To listen to "Sing In My Meadow", click here.
To order the new album, "Songs of the Recollection", click here.
For the ever expanding "Music Is The Drug" playlist on Spotify, click here.
For more info on Cowboy Junkies, click here.
For tour dates, click here.
Copyright 2022 Latent Recordings.

8. The Things We Do To Each Other Feb 19, 2022

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 been living through these last few years, times which seem to be going on and on and on. Hell, maybe five years is getting optimistic...
In this episode, Michael Timmins and Alan Anton, co-writers of the song, talk about the thinking behind it, analogue keyboards, how the song has its roots in 1970s "classic rock", and throw some light on their songwriting process in this digital world that we now inhabit....
To make sure you don't miss out on each weekly episode, remember to subscribe to "Music Is The Drug" at your favourite podcast provider - Apple, Amazon, Google, Spotify, Deezer, Stitcher, TuneIn, Podchaser and all the rest...
"Cowboy Junkies - Music Is The Drug" is hosted by Dave Bowler, author of the authorised biography of the band. To order it from them, click here.
To order direct from Omnibus Press in the UK & Europe, click here.
To listen to "All That Reckoning", click here.
You can buy "All That Reckoning here.
To order the new album, "Songs of the Recollection", click here.
For the ever expanding "Music Is The Drug" playlist on Spotify, click here.
For more info on Cowboy Junkies, click here.
For tour dates, click here.
Copyright 2022 Latent Recordings.

7. Five Room Love Story / Winter's Song Feb 12, 2022

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 about and why it missed out, before finally making it onto the "Rarities, B-Sides and Slow Sad Waltzes" record in 1999.
"Winter's Song" was on "Black Eyed Man", fitting in better with the overall theme of the album, both musically and lyrically. In a way, it was a goodbye to the signature "Caution Horses" sounds of mandolin, accordion and fiddle, and in this podcast, we'll hear why that was.
So settle down and get a glass or a mug of something warming as you listen in. It's cold where you brought me...
To make sure you don't miss out on each weekly episode, remember to subscribe to "Music Is The Drug" at your favourite podcast provider - Apple, Amazon, Google, Spotify, Deezer, Stitcher, TuneIn, Podchaser and all the rest...
"Cowboy Junkies - Music Is The Drug" is hosted by Dave Bowler, author of the authorised biography of the band. To order it from the band, click here.
To order direct from Omnibus Press in the UK & Europe, click here.
To listen to "Black Eyed Man", click here.
To listen to "Rarities, B-Sides and Slow, Sad Waltzes", click here.
To order the new album, "Songs of the Recollection", click here.
For the ever expanding "Music Is The Drug" playlist on Spotify, click here.
For more info on Cowboy Junkies, click here.
For tour dates, click here.
Copyright 2022 Latent Recordings.

6. Why This One Feb 05, 2022

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 Timmins and Alan Anton reflect on the limited edition CD-ROM (remember those?) that was released with the album. "Anatomy Of An Album" offered demos, early versions and outtakes of the songs on "One Soul Now". We even play you a few snippets that show how "Why This One" got from drawing board to CD...
To make sure you don't miss out on each weekly episode, remember to subscribe to "Music Is The Drug" at your favourite podcast provider - Apple, Amazon, Google, Spotify, Deezer, Stitcher, TuneIn, Podchaser and all the rest...
"Cowboy Junkies - Music Is The Drug" is hosted by Dave Bowler, author of the authorised biography of the band. To order it from the band, click here.
To order direct from Omnibus Press in the UK & Europe, click here.
To listen to "One Soul Now", click here.
To order the new album, "Songs of the Recollection", click here.
For the ever expanding "Music Is The Drug" playlist on Spotify, click here.
For more info on Cowboy Junkies, click here.
For tour dates, click here.
Copyright 2022 Latent Recordings.

5. I'm So Open Jan 29, 2022

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 recorded. The album also featured telling guest performances from Jeff Bird of course, and Linford and Karin from Over The Rhine.
To make sure you don't miss out on each weekly episode, remember to subscribe to "Music Is The Drug" at your favourite podcast provider - Apple, Amazon, Google, Spotify, Deezer, Stitcher, TuneIn, Podchaser and all the rest...
"Cowboy Junkies - Music Is The Drug" is hosted by Dave Bowler, author of the authorised biography of the band. To order it from the band, click here.
To order direct from Omnibus Press in the UK & Europe, click here.
To buy "Open" on vinyl or CD, click here.
To listen to "Open", click here.
To order the new album, "Songs of the Recollection", click here.
For the ever expanding "Music Is The Drug" playlist on Spotify, click here.
For more info on Cowboy Junkies, click here.
For tour dates, click here.
Copyright 2022 Latent Recordings.

4. Sun Comes Up, It's Tuesday Morning Jan 22, 2022

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 recording for a major label for the first time.
Michael Timmins and Alan Anton talk through the difficulties in finding the right sound for the album - and drop an exclusive on an exciting upcoming Junkies release that you won't want to miss.
To make sure you don't miss out on each weekly episode, remember to subscribe to "Music Is The Drug" at your favourite podcast provider - Apple, Amazon, Google, Spotify, Deezer, Stitcher, TuneIn, Podchaser and all the rest. .
"Cowboy Junkies - Music Is The Drug" is hosted by Dave Bowler, author of the authorised biography of the band. To order it from the band, click here.
To order direct from Omnibus Press in the UK & Europe, click here.
To buy "The Caution Horses" on vinyl, click here.
To listen to "The Caution Horses", click here.
For the ever expanding "Music Is The Drug" playlist on Spotify, click here.
For more info on Cowboy Junkies, click here.
For tour dates, click here.
Copyright 2022 Latent Recordings.

3. A Common Disaster Jan 16, 2022

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.
Michael Timmins and Alan Anton talk about how the song came about, the writing and recording process which shifted from Rock Island to Athens, Georgia and just how it feels to have written such a hit.
To make sure you don't miss out on each weekly episode, remember to subscribe to "Music Is The Drug" at your favourite podcast provider.
"Cowboy Junkies - Music Is The Drug" is hosted by Dave Bowler, author of the authorised biography of the band. To order it from the band, click here.
To order direct from Omnibus Press in the UK & Europe, click here.
To listen to "Lay It Down", click here.
For the ever expanding "Music Is The Drug" playlist, click here.
For more info on Cowboy Junkies, click here.
For tour dates, click here.
Copyright 2022 Latent Recordings.

2. Ornette Coleman Jan 09, 2022

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 early 1980s, playing in a band called Germinal and immersing themselves in a very different musical landscape.
Mike and Al talk us through those old times and explain just how Ornette Coleman helped them find a way towards what would eventually become Cowboy Junkies.
"Cowboy Junkies - Music Is The Drug" is hosted by Dave Bowler, author of the authorised biography of the band. To order it from the band, click here.
To order direct from Omnibus Press in the UK & Europe, click here.
To order "Ghosts" on vinyl, direct from Cowboy Junkies, click here.
To listen to "Ghosts", click here.
For more info on Cowboy Junkies, click here.
Copyright 2022 Latent Recordings.

1. Shining Moon Dec 27, 2021

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 Junkies were already present and correct in this recording.
With the help of Michael Timmins and Alan Anton, we'll be charting how that sound came about, why "Shining Moon" was chosen to be the first track on the first album, and the way in which the song has continued to evolve in live performance over the years.
"Cowboy Junkies - Music Is The Drug" is hosted by Dave Bowler, author of the authorised biography of the band. To order it from the band click here.
To order direct from Omnibus Press in the UK & Europe, click here.
To listen to "Whites Off Earth Now!!" click here.
For more information on Cowboy Junkies, click here.
Copyright 2021 Latent Recordings.

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