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The Cowboy Junkies release new collection of music

Jim Harrington, The Mercury News on

Published in Entertainment News

The Cowboy Junkies are one of the best bands on the planet.

That was true decades ago, back when the Cowboy Junkies first started putting out records in the ’80s, and it remains true to this day.

Yet, this Canadian outfit — which mixes rock, blues, country and folk in moving and mysterious ways to create a signature sound unlike any other in the entire music business — remains vastly better known for its earlier efforts than their more recent releases.

Chalk that up to the commercial success of such sensational ’80s/’90s outings as “The Caution Horses,” ‘Lay It Down” and, of course, “The Trinity Session.”

Musically speaking, however, the Cowboy Junkies’ later works — such as 2007’s “At the End of Paths Taken” and 2018’s “All That Reckoning” — have been every bit as strong and satisfying as the old fan favorites.

Without a doubt, these albums deserve greater recognition.

 

And perhaps now they will get it with the help of a terrific new collection from the Cowboy Junkies dubbed “Open to Beauty: Best of the 21st Century.”

The set delivers exactly what’s promised, inviting listeners to experience more than two dozen fascinating Cowboy Junkies songs released in the 21st century. The track listing starts with the 2001 album “Open” and zooms all the way through the years until we reach the band’s most recent full-length studio effort, 2023’s “Such Ferocious Beauty.”

Along the way, fans are treated to such later-era classics as “I’m So Open” (which may well be the single greatest Cowboy Junkies tune of the 21st century), “My Little Basquiat,” “Still Lost,” “The Things We Do to Each Other” and “What I Lost.”

“Open to Beauty” is available as a three-LP yellow vinyl set ($87) or two-CD set ($22), cowboyjunkies.com.


©2026 MediaNews Group, Inc. Visit at mercurynews.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

 

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