The Wilderness (Cowboy Junkies album)

The Wilderness is an album by the Canadian alt-country band Cowboy Junkies, released in 2012. It is Volume Four of the Nomad Series. This volume is the introspection of winter after Sing in My Meadow's joyful visitation of spring.[3]

The Wilderness
Studio album by Cowboy Junkies
Released	March 27, 2012[1]
Genre	Alternative country[2]
Length	42:33
Label	Latent, Razor & Tie, Diverse Records
Cowboy Junkies chronology
Sing in My Meadow (2011) The Wilderness (2012) The Nomad Series (2012)

Background

The album is a return to the folk vibe the band played with in the early 90s and the late 80s. The songwriter, Michael Timmins, "started to think in terms of an album of songs reflecting on the lives of characters I'd written about early in the bands career and bringing those characters 20 years into the future to see where their lives were at now. Some of those songs have little touch points where, if you're a real freak and analyze the music, you can see how they connect to earlier songs -- even character's names and stuff pops into them, and that's intentional. It was fun to sit and go over those older songs and some of the ideas I was thinking about and exploring and believed in and seeing 20 years later where I sit with some of those ideas. It's always fascinating to do that with yourself and with the songs. It's a treat for me, anyway."[4] The style of the songs on the album resemble earlier Cowboy Junkies music more than the other albums in the Nomad series.[5] The Cowboy Junkies had turned their back on major labels, which gave them the independence to explore various themes for the Nomad series, to experiment with their music.[6]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Michael Timmins except where noted.

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Unanswered Letter (for JB)"		5:21
2.	"Idle Tales"		4:06
3.	"We Are the Selfish Ones"		2:39
4.	"Angels in the Wilderness"		4:45
5.	"Damaged from the Start"		3:48
6.	"Fairytale"		4:23
7.	"Staring Man"	Michael Timmins, Elizabeth Bishop	4:01
8.	"The Confession of Georgie E"		6:00
9.	"I Let Him In"		4:13
10.	"Fuck, I Hate the Cold"		3:17
Total length:			42:33[1]

Bonus digital tracks

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Demons"	3:42
2.	"Girl Behind the Man the Gun"	5:37
3.	"Lo"	2:56
4.	"My Boy Burns"	4:47
5.	"Punching Holes Through"	4:30[7]

Personnel

Cowboy Junkies[8]

• Margo Timmins – lead vocals
• Michael Timmins – guitar
• Alan Anton – bass
• Peter Timmins – drums

Additional musicians[8]

• Jeff Bird – mandolin
• Matt Bailey – guitar
• Miranda Mulholland – violin
• Joby Baker – bowed bass, drums, organ, piano, Wurlitzer, background vocals
• Michael Davidson – vibraphone
• Jesse O'Brien – organ, piano, Wurlitzer

Production[8]

• Michael Timmins – producer, engineer, mixed by
• Peter J. Moore – mastered at the E Room
• Alice Phieu – graphics design
• Enrique Martinez Celaya – cover image

References

1. "The Wilderness: The Nomad Series, Vol. 4 - Cowboy Junkies". AllMusic. Retrieved April 3, 2017.
2. Sullivan, Caroline (January 28, 2013). "Cowboy Junkies - review". The Guardian. Retrieved April 3, 2017.
3. Speed, Tom (March 20, 2012). "Cowboy Junkies: The Wilderness". Paste. Retrieved April 3, 2017.
4. Graff, Gary (March 8, 2012). "Cowboy Junkies Getting Back To 'The Folk Vibe' on 'The Wilderness'". Billboard. Retrieved April 3, 2017.
5. Doole, Kerry (March 24, 2012). "Cowboy Junkies The Wilderness". exclaim!. Retrieved April 3, 2017.
6. Heselgrave, Doug (March 1, 2012). "The Wilderness by The Cowboy Junkies". No Depression. Retrieved April 3, 2017.
7. "The Nomad Series, Volume 4: The Wilderness: Bonus Tracks EP". MusicBrainz. Retrieved April 3, 2017.
8. "The Wilderness: The Nomad Series, Vol. 4 - Cowboy Junkies | Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved April 3, 2017.