Cowboy Junkies – the Trinity Session (2LPs, Acoustic Sounds)

“Regardless, sonics are first-rate, as is Analogue Productions’ knockout reissue. The sound is exceptionally ambient and airy, with a remarkable sense of depth and a seemingly endless stage. Instruments are creamy-rich in texture, as is Timmins’ come-hither vocal style. If you loveTrinity Sessions, you’ll want this edition.” Wayne Garcia,The Absolute Sound, February 2017. Read the whole reviewhere. Read about the making of this spectacular album in Tom Doyle’s October 2015 article forSound On Soundmagazinehere. Cowboy Junkies recorded this spectacular LP as a “live” event Nov. 27, 1987 at the Church of the Holy Trinity in Toronto. It was recorded with a digital R-Dat and using only a Calrec Ambisonic Microphone. What this means is the record sounds like the band was playing right in front of you with the perfect ambiance. Yes, this is a digital recording. True to our company principles, Analogue Productions in almost all cases reissues recordings only where the analog master tape is available. However, there are rare exceptions that whether digitally recorded or otherwise, a recording is so outstanding it’s worthy of the highest quality vinyl reissue. Featuring the sultry voice of Margo Timmins, the precise musicianship of her brothers Peter (on drums) and Michael (on guitar), and bassist Alan Anton,The Trinity Sessionis a spare, evocative, countrified-rock classic. First released in late 1988,The Trinity Sessionwas named “Album of the Year” byThe Los Angeles TimesandThe New York Timesdescribed it as “a quiet, special record that challenges traditional music.” Rolling Stone declared the album to be “as important as it its inspiring.” Today, it remains much more than a snapshot of a single day’s work captured on tape. So for this deluxe Analogue Productions reissue, we pulled out all the stops.Starting with new mastering from the original session digital tapes by the original recording engineer, Peter Moore.And lacquer cutting by Ryan K. Smith at Sterling Sound. The church where the album was recorded was selected on the basis of work Moore had done there with other jazz and classical artists. Using a single Calrec Ambisonic microphone, the results are stunning. Next, we kicked up the packaging and content several notches. You’re holding a heavyweight old-style tip-on Stoughton Printing jacket, and it hasbrand-new liner notesby author and music editor Jason Schneider. Schneider is the author ofWhispering Pines: the Northern Roots of American Musicfrom Hank Snow to The Band. He’s also the roots music editor at Exclaim! and his work has been published inPaste,The Word,The Toronto Starand other publications. The liner notes share space withadditional recording session photos, inside and on the back cover. Additionally,the cover has been redesignedto remove the lettering and photo distortion originally applied and make it appear as the musicians/artist originally intended. Lastly, this sonic treasure has beenpressed on 180g vinyl at Quality Record Pressings, maker of the world’s finest LPs, with stampers plated by master plating technician Gary Salstrom. The inspired reworking of both “Blue Moon” and “Working On A Building” reveal the Timmins family to be talented interpreters and insightful neo-traditionalists. Mixing the ambitious songwriting of Margo and Michael Timmins with subdued covers of Lou Reed’s “Sweet Jane” and Hank Williams’ “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry,”The Trinity Sessionis an exquisite collection that holds up quite well under repeated listenings. “The main appeal ofThe Trinity Session, the Cowboy Junkies’ second album, remains its lo-fi sound. The ambient buzz of Toronto’s Church of the Holy Trinity, where the Junkies recorded the album around one microphone, colors every song, reinforcing the live setting and generating vinyl intimacy even on CD. It’s as if the church itself was an instrument, one that Junkies could play pretty well. It allows Margo Timmins’ voice to fill your field of vision, simultaneously soothing and unsettling, while her brother Michael’s guitar rumbles through the songs, a little louder and sharper than anticipated.” Pitchfork