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]
| Ghosts | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | March 30, 2020[1] | |||
| Length | 30:41 | |||
| Label | Latent[1] | |||
| Producer | Michael Timmins, Alan Anton | |||
| Cowboy Junkies chronology | ||||
| ||||
Album development
editTwo 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]
Critical reception
editThe 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]
Track listing
edit| 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 | ||
Personnel
editCowboy Junkies
- Margo Timmins – vocals
- Michael Timmins – guitar, ukulele
- Alan Anton – bass, keyboards
- Peter Timmins – drums, percussion
Production[7]
- Michael Timmins – producer, engineer, mixed by
- Alan Anton – producer
- Peter Timmins – artwork
References
edit- ^ a b "Ghosts by Cowboy Junkies". Apple Music. Retrieved April 11, 2020.
- ^ a b c McLennan, Scott (April 9, 2020). "Music Album Review: "Ghosts" — The Cowboy Junkies Confront Heartbreak and Sorrow". The Arts Fuse. Retrieved April 11, 2020.
- ^ "All That Reckoning / Ghosts Limited Edition Vinyl Package". MerchMrkt | Cowboy Junkies. Retrieved March 21, 2021.
- ^ Timmins, Michael (April 6, 2020). "new album Ghosts streaming everywhere now". Cowboy Junkies. Retrieved April 11, 2020.
- ^ Laher, Killian (April 8, 2020). "Cowboy Junkies – Ghosts – Album Reviews". No More Workhorse. Retrieved April 11, 2020.
- ^ Deming, Mark. "Ghosts – Cowboy Junkies". AllMusic Guide. Retrieved November 15, 2020.
- ^ "Cowboy Junkies — Ghosts". Tais Awards (in Czech). Archived from the original on April 11, 2020. Retrieved April 11, 2020.
External links
edit- Ghosts at Discogs
- Ghosts at MusicBrainz (list of releases)