Black Eyed Man

Amazon.com
Black Eyed Man, an album that sounds like an aural facsimile of the parched earth in dead-heat summer, keeps the Cowboy Junkies' quiet, lonesome pop integrity intact. Michael Timmins's guitar threatens to cut loose from the band's low-key mooring, and "Oregon Hill" presents a touch of Southern blues. But it's all tempered by Margo Timmins's dusted-with-longing voice. The band is her pack and follows her voice, almost slowing to the vocal pacing. That facet marks the Junkies as a responsive, listenerly unit, touched by a unique rural-country-music bug, one that steers toward clear, patient guitar picking and a lot more to keep things moving with all deliberate quietude. Then there are the tributes that pair the Canadian quartet with Townes Van Zandt, which proves to be a fruitful musical handshake that takes the Junkies up a few notches in their speed (on Van Zandt's "To Live Is to Fly"). --Andrew Bartlett

Black Eyed Man,Cowboy Junkies,RCA,Pop,Popular Music,Rock,Rock/Pop

Black Eyed Man

Average customer rating:

On par with Trinity Session
Great Album
The Best Cowboy Junkies Album? - Regardless, This Is An All-Time Personal Favorite
The best place to start your journey with Cowboy Junkies
a quite underated gem

Black Eyed Man
Cowboy Junkies
Manufacturer: RCA
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

Alt-Country & Americana | Country | Styles | Music

General | Rock | Styles | Music

Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music

Adult Alternative | Pop | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

Lay It Down
Pale Sun, Crescent Moon
The Trinity Session
The Caution Horses
Open

ASIN: B000002WGP
Release Date: 1992-02-11

Tracks:

Southern Rain
Oregon Hill
This Street, That Man, This Life
A Horse In The Country
If You Were The Woman And I Was The Man
Murder, Tonight, In The Trailer Park
Black Eyed Man
Winter's Song
The Last Spike
Cowboy Junkies Lament
Townes' Blues
To Live Is To Fly

Amazon.com

Black Eyed Man, an album that sounds like an aural facsimile of the parched earth in dead-heat summer, keeps the Cowboy Junkies' quiet, lonesome pop integrity intact. Michael Timmins's guitar threatens to cut loose from the band's low-key mooring, and "Oregon Hill" presents a touch of Southern blues. But it's all tempered by Margo Timmins's dusted-with-longing voice. The band is her pack and follows her voice, almost slowing to the vocal pacing. That facet marks the Junkies as a responsive, listenerly unit, touched by a unique rural-country-music bug, one that steers toward clear, patient guitar picking and a lot more to keep things moving with all deliberate quietude. Then there are the tributes that pair the Canadian quartet with Townes Van Zandt, which proves to be a fruitful musical handshake that takes the Junkies up a few notches in their speed (on Van Zandt's "To Live Is to Fly"). --Andrew Bartlett

Customer Reviews:

On par with Trinity Session.......2007-06-25

(What the heck does the tag "appropriate" mean, anyway? As in, "no F-word in the lyrics"?)

_Black-Eyed Man_ is more conventional and polished, and has more of a Townes Van Zandt/Lyle Lovett feel overall, than _the Trinity Session_ but the songwriting is as good. Even though the songs, overall, are classic Cowboy Junkies mournful, there is still some range in the themes and moods of the individual tracks.

Great Album.......2006-12-21

The Cowboy Junkies burst on to the music scene with their album "The Trinity Sessions" which contained the hit single cover version of Lou Reed's "Sweet Jane" done very differently from the original. To my knowledge that was the band's only radio hit, but they developed a loyal following that has remained to this day. The band's music is mostly mellow with bits of folk, rock, blues, torch song, and country that combine to make a sound like no one else. Margo Timmons sultry vocals are at the center point of the band's work. Timmons is backed up ably by her brothers Michael on guitar and Peter on bass. Alan Anton rounds out the quartet on drums. The majority of the band's material is written by Michael. "Black Eyed Man" is an excellent album telling stories of its characters in a mostly slow drawn out manner. I once heard a reviewer describe the Junkies as "lonely" music, and I think the tag fits quite well. Every song here is good. "Southern Rain", "Oregon Hill", "Murder Tonight In The Trailer Park", "Black Eyed Man", "Winters Song", "The Last Spike" are all solid. "If You Were The Woman And I Were The Man" is a duet with John Prine. The last three songs on the disc are all related to Townes Van Zant. The band covers two of his songs "Cowboy Junkies Lament" and "To Live Is To Fly". The middle song of the three is a tribute to Townes called "Townes Blues" written Timmons. "Black Eyed Man" is a great album and a must have for any Cowboy Junkies fans.

The Best Cowboy Junkies Album? - Regardless, This Is An All-Time Personal Favorite.......2006-05-22

A really special record. Not all CJ albums have clicked with me, but this one makes a major connection. THE TRINITY SESSIONS often gets the credit for being their best, but as beautiful as that one is, it's also really slow, stark, and depressing. I really have to be in the mood for it. But I delight in hearing BLACK EYED MAN nearly any ol' time. All the tracks were written by guitarist Michael Timmins (brother of drummer Peter Timmins and ethereal-voiced sister Margo Timmins - bassist Alan Anton rounds out the quartet) save for two tracks written by the late, great Townes Van Zandt. These are gorgeous slice-of-life songs, rich and melodious with lots of colorful instrumentation from some great guest musicians. Several of these tracks are actually pretty upbeat and rockin' (at least as far as the Junkies' standards are concerned) but the band is truly at the top of its game on the sad songs. All around, the musicianship here is top-notch, first rate, absolutely impeccable.

My personal impressions of BLACK EYED MAN:

"Southern Rain" - a laid-back, easy going country-ish rocker and a rather melancholy tale of a woman's grateful return home to Georgia after leaving life on the West coast with an unfaithful lawyer. *****

"Oregon Hill" - this one has a great country/blues shuffle with intriguing elements mixed in including New Orleans jazz horns. Great lyrics on this one, on each of these songs in fact. *****

"This Street, That Man, This Life" - Margo's arresting voice is at once ghostly and sexy. So incredibly seductive. She shines on every tune, including this low key track about a place with a dark past. *****

"A Horse in the Country" - another sad tune about a woman who's become disillusioned with her man, but she finds solace in getting to visit her horse every few weeks; the song is ultimately uplifting. *****

"If You Were the Woman and I was the Man" - a great, vaguely kinky duet with John Prine. One guest artist that really shines on this album is pianist Spencer Evans, but on this particular track he contributes a delightfully woozy clarinet. *****

"Murder, Tonight, in the Trailer Park" - one of those laid back tunes of theirs that manages to be totally rockin' in its own way, thanks especially to Ken Myhr who guests on lead guitar, adding its soulful yet subtle bite to quite a few of these songs in fact. *****

"Black Eyed Man" - a very good song even though it's my personal least favorite here (just a question of taste, really). This is essentially a loping, bluesy country tune and, apparently, a rather sinister story about a man who gets set up by a vindictive woman. ****

"Winter's Song" - a gorgeous song with wonderful, expert accompaniment on harmonica, mandolin, accordion (not normally my favorite instrument, but I love it on BLACK EYED MAN), cello and fiddle. The only problem I have with this song is that it seems unfinished, both lyrically and musically. Right when the song starts to take off into a dramatic direction, it abruptly ends. ****1/2

"The Last Spike" - Stunning. Heartbreaking. Powerful. Soft. Naked. One of their very best. *****+

"Cowboy Junkies Lament" - written by Townes Van Zandt, this is another one of their best songs. Has such an infectious shuffling rhythm and a fantastic vocal melody. *****+

"Townes' Blues" - a great country rocker full of humor and sass. Cool guitar licks from Ken Myhr. This is an amusing tale of a train ride from the point of view of a dedicated craps player. *****+

"To Live is to Fly" - Van Zandt wrote the insightful, wise and glorious final track. It begins quietly and sweetly, building in intensity from there up to swirling heights and back again. Closes the album on a real high, save for the brief coda from the New Orleans-style horn players. *****+

The best place to start your journey with Cowboy Junkies.......2005-03-16

I'm writing this review to encourage readers who might have heard of Cowboy Junkies and want a good place to start. This is your album. Black Eyed Man is wonderful, soulful, perhaps even visual music that is bound to please you. The music here is very easy to listen to, has tracks that are easily distinguished from each other, and is memorable for the amblin' mood it creates. This is not "easy listening" in the elevator sense of the phrase - you can rest assured that you will find intelligent constructions and complex lyrics. For another fantastic place to start, try their album "Trinity Sessions" along with this one. The two together give you a strong foundation to explore the other styles of this talented band.

a quite underated gem.......2004-09-25

this entire album is exhilerating!i will take you through the highlights.they are:southern rain.the chick singer has a vaery pretty voice.also,they have a very unique sound.sort of too mellow to be alternative but too deep to be country.alison krauss like.the first song i really liked was the opener southern rain.a lot of country fans i know like this song.oregon hills is all about prison breaks,rednecks,wild teens and cheating wives.a porch-side look at small towns.a very bob dylan like lyrical gem this man,this street,that life.its very beautiful.the best song,i think is,if i were the woman and you were the man.on my favorite movie,natural born killers,it was micky and malloreys love theme.[it played as they were wed]it is a precious love song.it is a great album.

Average customer rating:

Burdon becomes Black-Man's burden
They can't take away our music...
war rocks
Boring
Just one outstanding song.

The Black-Man's Burdon
Eric Burdon & War
Manufacturer: Avenue Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | R&B | Styles | Music

General | Soul | R&B | Styles | Music

General | Funk | R&B | Styles | Music

General | Rock | Styles | Music

Psychedelic Rock | Classic Rock | Styles | Music

Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music

Latin Rock | Latin Music | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

Eric Burdon Declares "War"
Love Is All Around
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ASIN: B0000032Z6
Release Date: 1993-05-04

Tracks:

Paint It Black Medley: Black On Black In Black/Paint It Black/Laurel & Hardy/Pintello Ne
Spirit
Beautiful New Born Child
Nights In White Satin I
The Bird & The Squirrel
Nuts, Seeds & Life
Out Of Nowhere
Nights In White Satin II

Tracks:

Sun/Moon
Pretty Colours
Gun
Jimbo
Bare Back Ride
Home Cookin'
They Can't Take Away Our Music

Customer Reviews:

Burdon becomes Black-Man's burden.......2006-04-09

Here we're offered a clean and more polished Burdon backed up by some of the greatest musicians of the day. The Black-Man's Burdon didn't produce any hits, but it did showcase the raw power of War itself. Although Burdon's rhetoric is held somewhat in check here, it still manages to get in the way of the band at times on this 1970 MGM release. Eric Burdon & War's second offering (a double LP) would also be their last together. Burdon would never sound this poignant in his career again, and Spill The Wine (from Burdon declares "War") would be remembered as the only relevant material Burdon performed in the post-Animals era.

A point worth mentioning is that it's War's noodling (The Bird And The Squirrel and Nuts, Seeds & Life) in the wake of the classic Beautiful New Born Child that hold your attention. Setting you up for the relentless Out Of Nowhere (that should've been released as a single). In the twilight of the hippie era Jerry Goldstein produced some of the most social and introspective material of the year. Gun hints at a country sick and tired of the Vietnam conflict, while Sun/Moon soothes the listener for the pop sounding Pretty Colors. War's innovative fusion sound would carry them through the entire decade of the 70's, producing a string of 8 gold records in a row.

olofpalme63

They can't take away our music..........2005-10-03

five reasons to add this one to your all time good ones:

1. Sun/Moon

2. Nights in white satin

3. Spirit

4. Pretty colors

5. to remember not only Billie Holiday or Charlie Parker but also the black man's Burdon. Cheers!!!

war rocks.......2005-02-17

Eric Burdon can be a little annoying on some of the tracks, he seems a little full of himself. But when he works with War in a more integrated fashion, it is a fantastic match. The song cycle of Pretty Colors, Jimbo and Gun is one of the most powerful marraiges of psychedelia and soul ever. Feel the heat rise.

The cover of "Paint It Black" is also really cool, but a little out there with the wacky Burdon lyrics. Recommended album!

Boring.......2004-01-21

This is the worst of the 3 albums Eric made with War. Way too long songs that keep on repeating themselves. The Paint It Black Medley is explosivly energetic, and makes at least disc 1 wort to own. The relatively short track 'Out Of Nowhere' is also found here with a lot of deep lyrics. The rest of the album is just too boring to me. Eric himself hates this album, and so do I (almost). The other two albums, Love Is All Around and Eric Burdon Decleares War, is much better. Especially Love Is All Around.

Just one outstanding song........2002-10-11

I bought this CD only for "They Can't Take Away Our Music," which is a very powerful and beautiful song about black music in America. It got a fair amount of radio play at the end of 1970, which is when I started liking it. Interestingly, I still have never heard a single comment about what African-Americans thought about this song. I'm white and I love the song. The rest of the album was definitely disappointing, although a few songs have a nice Caribbean sound with guiro, like "Pretty Colors." The cover songs "Paint It Black" and "Nights in White Satin" are pointlessly long, too loosely structured, and add no new interest; they seem like trashy afterthoughts meant only as filler. However, Eric Burdon does all these songs with soul and seriousness, so the album's not really bad, just not very commercial.

Brown Eyed Girl {On a See Through CD} [Wise Man Doc. Records]

Average customer rating:

Brown Eyed Girl {On a See Through CD} [Wise Man Doc. Records]

Manufacturer: WISE MAN DOCTRINE [GERMANY]
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | International | Styles | Music

General | Reggae | International | Styles | Music

General | R&B | Styles | Music
ASIN: B000H3E51A

Product Description

CONTAINS 5 TRACKS: Bag O' Tricks Mix, Stack's Dig And Dance Radio Mix, Bag O' Tricks Extended Mix, Stack's Dig And Dance Mix, Bulging Eyeball Mix