The Trinity Session

Non è che sia brutto, ma non è il mio genere

I can here this in any blues bar in America

I listened to it while on public transit, and that was alright. If I listened to it on its own, I would be bored to pieces.

Het eerste nummer belooft ons wat. Met een klank of ze voor een volkslied in een stadium staat, laat de zangeres ons weten dat ze geen muzikale begeleiding nodig heeft. Waarbij ik het altijd waardeer dat de zangkracht en variatie binnen het eigen bereik worden gevonden en niets wordt geforceerd. Het is maar goed ook dat ze dame weinig begeleiding nodig heeft. Want het volgende nummer voegt slaapverwekkende country-klanken toe. De dame moet zich hiertoe verhouden en is totaal niet interessant meer. Het derde nummer is een eerbetoon aan Elvis en biedt de zangeres weer wat meer mogelijkheden. Waarna we een soort Wende Snijders moeten doorwerken. Gek genoeg is de variatie daarna op en volgt er vooral een rustige country-achtige sfeer. Zeker niet slecht uitgevoerd, maar wel veel te saai.

Een album met covers en traditionals, dat was vrij gebruikelijk in de 50s en 60s misschien, maar het is toch ietwat raar eind jaren '80. Of althans, het is ongebruikelijk om dat op te nemen in de snoblijst. Blijkbaar was deze opname vanuit Toronto's Church of the Holy Trinity een redelijk succes, maar voor mij klinkt het meer als een (goede) opname van een willekeurig gospelbandje. Qua muziek geven ze er soms nog wel een aardige countrydraai aan. Het geluid klinkt prachtig, al werkt de zang soms ietsje op de zenuwen. Maar dat is meer omdat het ook behoorlijk 80s klinkt. Het doet me ook gelijk denken aan Eva Cassidy, die tergend trage covers maakte van tracks als Fields of Gold en Songbird. Datzelfde heb ik dus met die Blue Moon cover hier, dat blijkbaar de 'hitsingle' was. Het is wel erg traag allemaal. Ik weet niet goed wat ik er van moet vinden. Ik kan me ergens goed voorstellen dat je dit prachtig vindt en dus 4 of 5 sterren geeft, maar aan de andere kant snap ik een 1 ook. Na een paar tracks, ben ik die traagheid wel zat. Het is slaapverwekkend. Door de tweede helft ben ik heen geskipt, want ik geloof het wel weer. Ik sta aan de kant van de mensen die een 1 geven, maar zal het op een magere 2 houden.

Slow and boring. One tone throughout. 2/5

Maybe this resonated at the time (88) as a sort of antidote to the excess and overproduction of the 80s. The sparseness has a nice expansive quality to it but the songs themselves are thin. I hate the Sweet Jane cover

Wanted to like this more. Thought the first two song sequence was really pretty, but then kind of lost its footing. I like the whole sibling family band thing though, pretty fun concept. But you would think one of them would be like, hey can we do some more fun songs this time?

Imagine how funny it was for mr. Book to add albums that nobody's ever listened to before. Nice one, Book Author, nice one

Headache blues

Beautiful voice but it's a bit too hushed and slow for me overall.

This seems like something different as only country I’ve gotten was way older like 60s-70s. Funny. Her voice sounds more alt rock-ish. This isn’t your regular country. It feels like a mix of some 90s alt rock with some hints of country instrumentally behind it. Blue Moon Revisited is a great cover. Biggest issue is the album is just so slow. Feels like all one speed and the lack of variety gets boring after a while. There are a few songs that would be fine in a playlist and there’s an interesting sound to a lot of it, but as an entire album, this doesn’t do much for me. Not terrible, just not for me. 2.

I read several other reviews that mentioned quiet and boring and I would agree at times that is the best way to describe this album. I had heard Sweet Jane and Walking After Midnight prior and knew what I was getting into. The subdued vocals and tone of the album is exactly what I think they were going for. I won't say I loved this album, but it was a good listen and was relaxing. Overall I would give the album 5/10, which means it will get a 2, really wish they would have made the scale out of 10 rather than 5.

Boring. Not for me

Cowboy junkies? More like dope junkies because this is slow and boring as shit.

The same song 12 times, not for me

A bit too slow. Melodies were kind of generic. Hard to keep listening

Not for me, yawn.

Amazing sound paired with bland song writing and too much religion.

Sadly not my thing

You snooze you lose and baby I’m out cold

Crap

Entirely forgettable.

There was some good parts. Mostly seemed like whining

Some détournement going on between my expectations based on the name Cowboy Junkies vs the style of this music. The mood was largely fitting for a drizzle-dampened drive homeward from Argyle. Reminded me a lot of Low, though it was dragging quite a lot before the end. Slow and restrained to an actual fault. As sometimes happens, I can appreciate the artistry but I'm unmoved.

Interesting to hear that this entire album was recorded with the band circled around a single mic. It's all very...slow however. Not the worst thing in the world, and perhaps it's a time and place thing, but this album never really gets going I guess? The covers of the classic country songs are fine enough and I guess this type of energy is to be expected for a folk album, though.

Muy tranqui. Bueno para el horario en que lo escuché. Zafa.

Op zich wel mooi. Mooie melodieen en rustige sfeervolle folkmuziek. Het is geen dertien in een dozijn achtergrondmuziek, daarvoor heeft het iets te veel sfeer. Desalniettemin is het wel erg traag. Het is een langzame plaat en op een gegevens moment zit ik er wel doorheen. "Ik weet genoeg". Ik blijk pas bij track 5 te zijn. Misschien dat the Trinity Session in een andere bui langer leuk blijft, maar vandaag zit er niet meer in. 6/10 --

quiet, slow, boring and I don't care for the lore of how the album was recorded.

Maso

Every. Single. Song. Is. The. Same. Also I want to slit my wrists.

Boring and slow. I was waiting for it to finish from very early on.

Pretty impressive to huddle a handful of musicians around a single microphone and get recording with this high of sound quality out of it. The Trinity Session is equal parts blues, country, folk and acoustic rock without really committing to any of them. While I was enjoying the minimalist approach for the first few songs, the formula got a little played out by the end of the album. The whole thing stays within a pretty controlled lane through the entire duration of it, so even if it isn't bad there isn't much variety to keep you interested as the tracks fade by. All in all it wasn't really my thing but I can understand why someone would enjoy this. The vocals are the focal point of the whole album which provides the backbone of every song. Throw in some mild acoustics, light drums and a myriad of support instruments when needed from harmonicas, mandolins, accordions, etc. It's not a bad collection, but also not one that I will go out of my way for moving forward. An OK album on a single listen but I don't expect it to have any staying power within my longterm memory when this list wraps up. Just a middle of the pack album that I will forget about when this list ends. 2.38 stars

Beautiful singing voice, very dreamy, but literally putting me to sleep. Should've been called "The Sleepy Session".

A bit too slow for me

Some pretty tunes - some folky, some jazzy, and a Velvets cover - but the sleepy energy wasn't inspiring, and I'm afraid I found it dull.

Finstämt och snyggt men sövande tråkigt. Hon låter tyvärr ibland som en blandning mellan Cissi Wallin och ett coverband på finlandsbåten när det ska bli lite ”rivigt”.

How did they manage to make Sweet Jane this boring?

Super saai

Good lord, what a slog. Low-key irritated that something like THIS was chosen to be among the scant Canadian content on this list.

Maybe the music isn't that bad after all. But Margo Timmins's saccharine cooing really gets on my nerves. 2/5

Boring as hell but the instrumentals were nice but so slow and depressing

#420 / 1089 Heard before? ❌ Revisit? ❌ I have a bad feeling about this, even before I've hit play. I do not like country nor do I enjoy most charting pop music. The vocalists voice is quite pleasing, but that's about it for the likes on my part. There are a lot of similarities soundwise to 80's finnish pop music, that is a major turn off for me. I feel like 1/5 but give 2/5, since the vocalist would be so nice in literally anything else.

Boring from start to end with no standout moment for me. 4/10 is generous

I'd call this country dream pop mixing two genres I don't really like or get. One song of this would be fine pleasantly reminding me of Twin Peaks. But the while album just gets tedious...

It reminds me of lounge-folk with a hint of jazz (aka kd lang’s Shadowland). Other than that there’s not much variation in the songwriting, delivery, and instrumentation, which does make sense that this record was made as a live session. Even still, I can’t believe this album is 50 minutes long. It makes it seem like double that. I couldnt wait for this to end. At least Bob Dylan showed some diversity in the albums on this generator (1.5-2).

Cool cover of Sweet Jane on here but exists in one mode for like, the whole thing. Not bad at all but I listened to this on Wednesday and promptly forgot about it!

Beautiful most of the time but also too slow and sparse. Maybe not a good idea to listen to while I’m really tired.

ze heeft een mooie stem... verder was dit net zo slaapverwekkend als een gemiddelde voetbalmatch

Pleasant but a little bit boring

meh

4/10

It's light and mild night on the prairie junkie high on mexican dirt.

An incredible voice that is just accompanied by music I couldn’t get into. Still some songs kept me going through my listen. I don’t get it, 200 more miles, and sweet Jane were certainly the stand outs for me

Cool concept, terrible execution. This woman is sooooooooo boring to listen to sing.

6/10 - Its very calming and has its time and place. But ultimately is a little samey Fav Tracks: Misguided Angel, Blue Moon Revisited, 200 More Miles Heard before? ---–- ❌ Saved a Song? ----- ✅ Saved Album? --–-- ❌ Will Listen Again? -- ✅ Album Cover -------Is that a carton of milk? next to a bottle of win?

Hmmm. Aldri hørt om før. Var litt merkelig.

I had a friend that liked Cowboy Junkies. Not long after, we weren't friends anymore. 2

This started off promising, and I was stoked to hear a female vocalist but it got very boring very quickly

No fav song

Put me to sleep

The cover of "Sweet Jane" is a gem. The rest of the album bored me to tears. All the songs sounded alike. I wonder if I had already been a fan of the band, if this special recording in a church would have rung differently. I was listening to it on headphones while going about my day, and throughout, either forgot I was listening to anything (it was that bland), or thought it was on repeat, and that the same song was playing over and over. The music is good, I suppose, but I found the album boring.

This album is a very laid-back, breezy, country/folk album. The singer's voice is beautiful, but as other reviewers said, it is slow and kind of boring. The songs all pretty much flow together in a similar fashion. I guess I wished there was more variety and hooks that kept me interested. Besides, country music isn't really a genre I favor.

607/1001 2026.05.05 🌕🌕🌗🌑🌑

I saw this described as 'slowcore'. Quite apart from the naming convention of putting 'core' after a characteristic of the music that seems to have been prevalent in the American 90s, as well as porn, if the overriding takeaway is 'slow' then the music hasn't really worked. How was the album? Slow. How was the film? Slow. How is your son? Slow. None of it is good. Neither is it bad. It's just very, very undwhelming. At best there are a number of tracks here that would sit well with Emmylou Harris, or maybe even Nancy Griffith - including the lilting 'Misguided Angel'. A yawnfest.

Low low energy. Low low interest in this.

I was meh on the album until I realized the mix made the singers "ess" sounds all squeeky/whistly. Really grated on me by the end of the record.

Het album gaat mij op veel momenten net iets te traag. Misschien raak je na een paar keer daar wel aan gewend en is dat fijn, maar ik zat het niet met plezier te luisteren. Ik vond het wel een mooie cover van blue moon. Ik vind dat als je covers gaat doen je het helemaal eigen moet maken en dat hebben ze goed gedaan, maar als het beste nummer van het album een cover is dan kan ik het geen voldoende geven.

While I get that this thing is supposed to be slow alt-country record, I think it is way too slow. To start with its positives, I appreciate the approach of the songs, trying to create very pleasant and relaxing vibes. All the instruments, including the vocals, are incredibly quite and delicate, creating a warm atmosphere. The problem is how much I can enjoy this mood before it becomes overwhelming, as there is not a song that truly breaks the monotony of the aesthetic and sound. There are only two things that really change (obviously excluding the lyrics): One are the rhythms, altering between blues and country rhythms, and the other are the additional instruments, like the harmonica in "I Don't Get It" or the strings in "To Love is To Bury". Apart from that, the songs are incredibly similar, if not by structure, then spirit or melodic-wise. Maybe the three to four first tracks work quite well, but after that, the album becomes a bit tedious and too one-dimensional.

When it’s good, it’s gentle, it’s delicate. But most of the time, it took things a step too far and was too safe. "Mining For Gold" had a part in it that sounded like "God Bless America", so there’s that. Otherwise, I had a hard time digging my teeth into this record, as it was wholly unexciting. Is there a place for this music? Yeah, maybe. But wherever that place is, you'd have to play this out at max volume. It's a painfully quiet record. I liked the accordion and wobbly strings pairing with the slide guitar on "To Love Is To Bury" quite a bit. An amalgamation of sound that fluffs up the romantic side of this project. I'm not sure I hear the mass appeal in "Sweet Jane" according to spotify's numbers. Can I hear the good in this? Yeah, but this just isnt up my alley. Happens every once in a while. I think ambient music performs the same function for me that this album performs for a lot of other people. Strong 2/5

Hauntingly beautiful soothing voice. Melancholic mood and bittersweet lyrics, some even tragic and downright depressing. Fits a chill evening, but very little variety in sound, you get tired/bored halfway through the album. Favourites: Misguided Angel, I Don't Get It.

Mellow covers, a kind of whatever album to me. Dreamy, but felt like it lingered and went nowhere.

I'm just not that into Cowboy Junkies, but at least they're not Bob Dylan.

ok album, felt like some of the songs were building to something but never quite got there. the cover of sweet jane caused me genuine pain, LEAVE THE VELVET UNDERGROUND ALONG!!

Margo has a pleasant voice. This album is just "nice." It would benefit from any mood change.

This one just didn’t do it.

God damn this was dull

“Hey guys, we’re recoding in a church, make sure you sing and play as low as possible so that we get none of the great acoustic effects.”

Jesus fucking Christ I just do not care about this music. It all sounds the same, slow and boring. And all the themes are always the same, can you please get some new material or at least approach it from a new perspective.

This wasn't hideous; in actuality, it was quite listenable, although rather one-paced, one-note and a bit dreary. I was anticipating some yodelling bonky bonk racket, but this is more "atmospheric" country - the sonic equivalent of a gentle stroll at dusk, with some western instrumentation sprinkled in. The issue is that variety is very much at a premium here, so it quickly disappeared into the periphery.

J’ai écouté ça pour courir, c’est passé hein… pas de plus value

This was too chilled. Maybe needed some weed to enjoy this 😂

It was OK

Review - not a terrible album, and interesting how it was recorded, but the good tracks aren't good enough and there are a few duds. Second album I've had that was recorded in an Anglican church though. That's weird. Catholics needs to raise their game. Rating - 4/10 Need to hear? NO

I've seen this labeled as Slowcore, more like Snorecore. It is cool that this was recorded around one microphone in a historic church, gives it a nice reverb sound. For me overall it is too country and too slow. Other than Blue Moon it didn't get interesting until the last 4 songs when they got a bit more bluesy sounding. Felt like they had some influence from Mazzy Star throughout the album but especially when Sweet Jane started. Think they both came out around the same time and used that California psych revival sound template.

Meh. Although, to be honest, "Meh" uses more letters than this album deserves. It's just terribly, seriously dull. But it's dull done well, so it deserves more than 1 star.

I found this very dull, and very bland. Awful cover of Sweet Jane. Nothing much going on with this at all. Going with a 2 rather than a 1 as my interest was lost so quickly, it failed to annoy me and dwindled into background music. Resulting in it being in the “ok for what it is” category.

didn't really do anything for me. i dont know why, i can sometimes get down with some slow and sleepy shit, but this album didn't feel very inspired. maybe just the day i was having. favorite song was Sweet Jane

Very much one of the sleepiest albums ever without much going on for me to have opinions on 3.9/10

twin peaks background music with a country undertone. emphasis on BACKGROUND music.

A bit boring.

I feel like most of the lifeforce and energy in my body has been sucked out by this album. I don't actively dislike it, but I don't see a reason for me to listen to this again

So mellow

pretty, but very slow. not something i necessarily see myself revisiting; 2 stars

I've never really understood the appeal of this record. I suspect you have to be in a certain kind of mood to really appreciate it although I can't for the life of me imagine what kind of mood that would be. Certainly not one I've ever experienced, or would wish to experience. I'll give it one star as I know it's influenced a lot of artists I love, and another because it reminded me I haven't listened to Mazzy Star for ages.

this was pretty boring

Kind of slow and boring. Sounds like the music for an indie film. The covers were okay. 2/5 Won't listen again

Found this incredibly dull.

not for me sorry

This kind of thing paved the way for the alt country and Americana boom in the 90s, along with unplugged on MTV. A family based group with a moody melancholia - I find it dreary but great numbers didn’t. Some original treatments of famous tracks as well.

Was bored

A Canadian entry! 🇨🇦 The pace of this album was really slow and not really my style, but could be an album to put on at a coffee shop and would be an easy listen.

2 out of 5. I'm more interested in how this album was recorded than the music itself.

on ronfle bien quand même

2.2 I'm sorry but that was insanely dull. The only time I think that should be played is in the background of a bar scene set in in the southern US states where the director wants to direct all the attention to the dialogue and have no one even notice there's music playing. If I liked country I might have given it a pass, but alas, really did nothing for me.

Pretty slow and boring. Feels like music for when I'm really really sad.

Snoozefest

Wasn't really the mood I'd look for, and the whole album just kinda sounded the same downtrodden malaise.

The sound quality of the Trinity church where the recording occurred is very evident. The songs are slow and atmospheric, but as a result a bit boring in my opinion. I was hoping for a bit more to draw me in. Sweet Jane the obvious highlight. A surprise hit back in 1988

Not for me

Generic and boring.

I well remember their cover of Sweet Jane - it was all over alternative radio. Overall the album is sleepy and uninteresting to me.

Bo-Ring!

Not for me

So low and so slow

It’s not bad, but from second one it hits a vibe, a level, and it stays there for the next hour. What you hear immediately from this band is all you’re getting, so if you don’t like it, you’re SOL. Beautiful voice for sure, but I’m not sure how necessary this is. This feels like a hyper specific reference but this is music your cool crunch professor would put on in the background while the class worked on group projects or something.

2.5

This is an insight into the Gen X psyche. They believe that country is the core of all music for some reason

Good but not my style

An album that is, in my opinion, miscategorized on Apple Music. It is not Pop or even Rock, it is clearly one of the early templates of Alt Country and more appropriately Folk Rock when it came out in the 1980s. While the performances and engineering are adequate, the arrangements are so sparse that it becomes dragging and boring pretty quickly. This could have been any quartet fronted by a jazz singer, of which there are many. What makes this one so special? Prefer the "Blue Moon" covers of the Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart song by either The Marcels or Elvis Presley. This version doesn't veer far enough from it to inject it with new life and makes the cover not worth doing in the first place. Same goes for their cover of the Hank Williams song "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry". Favorites: "Mining for Gold", even though it is another cover originally by James Gordon, and "Sweet Jane" (almost anyone can sing better than Lou Reed). One of the most enjoyable parts of the album was the chit chat that occurred after the final "Walking After Midnight" concludes. Not one of my personal favorites from the 80s. I was a fan of 80s production ideas that were more forward thinking and took chances on technology and this album avoids all of that and revisits traditionalism from decades before.

Well, the description 'alternative country' didn't bode well...but there didn't seem to be much alternative or country in there. In fact it's all pretty dull stuff. They even seem to make Sweet Jane bland.

Thought it would be more junkies and less cowboys. I was wrong

Very dull. Ok I guess

Not my thing

Not for me.

It was mostly boring to me.

Sweet Jane and Walking After Midnight are absolute killers, rest of the album is a slog

2 stars, didn't hate or like. it's very boring. It's not that I don't like this vibe, as I enjoy alt country a la widowspeak, mojave 3, chris isaak, mitski's "the land is inhospitable and so are we" but this album wasn't clicking for me. I think there was too much 'silence', like between solos and stuff. my favorite was sweet jane but if your best song on an album is a cover....... not a good sign

I don't hate it but I don't like it very much. It just seems so quiet.

Don't even know if I finished the album. Cool that it only cost $250 to make and only one microphone.

Interesting country stuff but nothing stand out

Just a bit dull really.

p593. 1988. 2 stars. Starts off well and descends quickly into a country and western snoozefest. I nearly fell asleep whilst driving listening to this.

Wake me up when it’s over

Not really for me, although the singer had a lovely voice

Not my style but cool

Boring

2. interesting but not something I'd choose.

I had wanted to listen to this album for a few years. I saved it back when I listened to a lot of Yo La Tengo and the like. Honestly, it was kind of a let down. I think it all sounded fine, but it was just not very convincing. So many of the songs just sounded like a small band was playing in a bar, and not at all like they meant what they were singing. Like I DONT BELIEVE that you are so lonesome that you could cry, not one bit.

Almost every song sounded like a cover of a better more famous song. The throat sultry singing got old real quick. Her vocals make every song sound the same. Just not my vibe. 3/10

2, olala on va pas s'en faire pour si peu, on est chez les cowboy ici

Man, this album is slow. I'm just not feeling it. The Sweet James was okay I guess, but really nothing jumped out at all.

sounded confessional, like a prayer almost— a cry for salvation. interchangeably gospel music. Lots of yearning, lot of loss, and it was all felt. it’s progressively satisfying. enjoyed it closer and closer to the end.

I hated that cover of Sweet Jane. Just took all the cool right out. Didn't think that was possible. Rest of the album sucked too.

All these songs blend together. Every song is sung the same. The draw might be the covers - but they’re not very inspired. Dunno.

Cowboy Junkies’ The Trinity Session is a slow burn that never quite catches fire. Recorded live with a single microphone in a Toronto church, the album leans hard into a hushed blend of country, folk, and jazz that’s gorgeously sung by Margo Timmins and played with quiet precision by the band—but it’s also relentlessly somnolent. “Blue Moon Revisited” cleverly folds in the classic “Blue Moon,” and their cover of “Sweet Jane” manages to find a little pulse amid the haze, but much of the record drifts by like a late-night whisper. Opening with the a cappella “Mining for Gold” sets a meditative tone that the rest of the album never really shakes.

Im not sure whispery slow shizzle is my rizzle.

this was popular at the time

I just found this boring unfortunately. Great voice, just wasn’t in the mood

Fine but also kind of boring…? Chill country. I get that. Maybe I just wasn’t in the mood.

It's wild how they covered so many different kinds of songs and somehow every one of them sounds like the same song

4/10

Not bad but kinda boring. 2.5 stars

Not bad. Some was beautiful and some I didn’t like.

Slow Country Folk being a sparse, haunting blend of country, blues, and folk, carried by slow tempos, spacious arrangements, and hushed, intimate vocals.

Eh

It’s fine but really really boring

Started listening this thinking that I was about to discover a new genre (let's say modern dark country), really interested on the first songs and even adding the album to my "Albums for driving" infamous list. But, as it always happen, I lost interest after 3-4 songs due to uninspiring songwriting. In short, the idea is great, but I wasn't able to connect with the songs.

gives a kind of cool, smooth blues feel. whole thing is generally too sleepy for my taste but I'm glad to have given it a listen.

A bit snoozy

Take perfectly good country songs, and make them slower and all sound the same.

If I havent’t rated the album yet, it means I’m still sleeping

It was okay pretty much same rhythm over and over not really my thing

Kinda shit

I was expecting country, and I got 50s rock vibes with an angelic female vocal performance. A little twang, a little blues, if only my parents were into this, the nostalgia would take it through the roof. It's not a bad listen at all, it's just not gonna be on my rotation any time soon. 2.3/5

First track was incredibly boring and had me considering abandoning, but stuck it out to Blue Moon which was excellent and sort of helped me ‘get’ the rest of the album. 2.5 rounded down

I wanted to like it but it wasn't my thing

Boring

This started off quite well with Mining For Gold, but the rest of the songs didn't grab me at all. It's so slow that I found myself silently willing them to speed up!

Well I guess someone has to make the funeral music. The comment section for every song is filled with people lamenting their dead friends and relatives. The bluesey tracks are alright. I Don't Get It and Walking After Midnight are the highlights. Otherwise a bit bland.

Not my vibe but it's okay

Very slow burn, not my thing 2/5

I was so ready to hate this but dammit if it wouldn't be nice to have on in the background on a calm, chill night. Singer can sing that's for sure.

I've got nothing bad to say about this album, but also there was nothing of note on this entire album.

Meh

Dios esperaba que prospere pero casi me pego un cuetazo

El bajo sonaba piola, como que a la mitad del disco cambia algo en como suena

I started out prepared to like this album id never heard before but it dragged on and on and I just wished someone would put put it out of its misery.

Well I only previously knew their cover of Sweet Jane, which I still think is a great cover. What I was not prepared for was how unexciting this album is. I guess the older I get, the more I don't have patience for albums like this. It was so hum drum, like nothing was really happening, just whistling Dixie so to speak. The better songs on the album we're the cover songs. But most importantly where are the quintessential albums of the 80s.

A bit too slow for me

Based on the band name and the art work I was expecting a hard rock band. I was expecting to be unimpressed. I was very wrong about the first part but I was still unimpressed..

‘I fell asleep while walking’ should be the title track.

Mellow. Not my jam but impt nonetheless

It just doesn’t grab the attention, even Sweet Jane seems to just fade into the background with the first note. Sorry.

Is it folk? Rock? Blues? IDK but i'm bored

I think this kind of music is better enjoyed live. I imagine the vocals would cut through better enjoying it in some dimly lit bar where you can try and vibe with it. As it is, it’s some well produced but ultimately boring music. The occasional instrumental section cut through differently but I wouldn’t go as far to say I enjoyed it.

Cool recording of some interesting music. Can't really fault the performance but it's slow, morose, and I'm afraid I found a whole album of it quite boring. Solid example of great musicians coming together, making skillful music, and producing something impressive but dull.

This one had a great reputation and I often heard about it so Inwas looking forward listening to it, but I can’t say that I understand the hype surrounding it. This alt country that borderlines on slowcore without being moving or even engaging. The best song is a VU cover, so that says a lot.

I was expecting something a little bit more... upbeat, with a name like that. Not really my kind of stuff, even though the Twin Peaks vibes kind of hit sometimes.

adri: 5, not my cup of yeehaw mar: 5, boring

Was really excited about this one, especially after the first 20 seconds of the opening track. Saved it for when I could appreciate it. Totally disappointed. Way too slow, unremarkable and nothing super memorable. It's like overly slow, smooth blue note jazz or something. It's not awful, but it's not what I expected and not something I'll likely return to.

wasn't very familiar with cowboy junkies but had heard their name. it's tough because i think their influences are a lot of music that i like a lot. they cover a velvet underground song, they cover a patsy cline song, they cover a hank williams song. that's neat. what's not neat to me is that this album is so godawfully boring. my god. it was a bit of a chore to get through this one. i don't mind subdued music, but this is a bit much for even me. i didn't really find this haunting or beautiful, i mostly found it dull and droning. i wish i liked it better because i can see their similarities with my own taste in music, but man this one wasn't for me.

I tend to listen to my daily selections first thing in the morning as I make and eat breakfast… so this album almost put me right back to sleep. I’m grateful it wasn’t annoying ass country twang, but it was just so low energy I think after song 3 it just kind of disappeared into the background and I couldn’t even remember when the album actually ended.

This has it’s moments but damn. Some of it is boring as af.

2/5

Has its moments but a little one paced

Sounds okay, but it's a bit grim.

Lovely and engaging start with "mining for gold". Drifted into music I'd expect to be live background for a restaurant on a summer's evening. When returning we'd say something like "that was really nice, wasn't it?" To each other whilst realising we had had 2 bottles of wine between us and a strong aperitif.

This album felt longer than 52 minutes. Slow country ballads. There was a bit of edge to it at points - but not enough. It’s all a bit one paced. Sounds like if Norah Jones discovered drugs

Enjoyed the first few tracks but became tedious. Too low energy.

This is very minimalistic country. The singer is good but my rating is low as it's really not my thing (I remember hating this album as a child). Rating: 2

music for junkies. so slow.

For my todays mood this album is way too quiet. Nonetheless I like the jazzy and chilly sound although the voice sometimes is a bit whining. Strong two stars for the Trinity Session. 2,5

Not a fan

I think I would enjoy any of these songs in isolation, but an entire album of it was simply too much for me. I like Margo Timmins voice, but I longed for a little variation.

Today called for something slower and more relaxed — and The Trinity Session by Cowboy Junkies delivered exactly that. It’s a chilled, folk-inspired album with a soulful, moody vibe that makes for an easy and calming listen. The band’s sound is slow-burning and atmospheric, with a few standout moments like Blue Moon Revisited, which stood out as a highlight. While the album has a pleasant overall feel, many of the tracks tend to blur together and aren’t especially memorable. I’d listen to it again, but it didn’t quite leave a lasting impression. Favorite song: Blue Moon Revisited – a lovely, haunting track Least favorite: Several songs didn’t stand out and felt forgettable Album artwork: A classic cover that suits the album’s mood

Dromerig. Ik vind het wel heel saai worden. Misschien leuk voor in een slow cooking restaurant?

Idc

1.5

..

Not my kinda thing

This album is mostly just background music, to me. I think they aim for a saloon ragtime thing, but the singer's voice lacks the body or bass to hit the sultry feel that I'd be expecting. I feel like her voice is better suited for the blues songs at the end of the album. Walking After Midnight, classic 12 bar blues, but with a cajun harmonica zest.

Wasn't as bad as it could be! That said, I still didn't like it very much. Just not my style, though I did like when it dipped into being more bluesy.

Something branded as a country/folk album with the word “cowboy” in the title is obviously not gonna be for me, but I didn’t hate it at least. The singer’s voice was incredibly soothing and thankfully not twangy at all. But the whole thing was painfully slow and almost put me to sleep. There were technically separate songs but they all kind of blended into each other.

hmm, was soll mir das jetzt sagen; irgendwie alles und nix

Ok so on one hand this album was very pleasant it sounded good the whole way through. On the other it’s very very soft and mellow and sounds very similar the whole time, to the point where I kind of started tuning it out towards the end. Granted, that samey sound is very pleasant but this album is only barely less than an hour and felt like about thirty years of the same super soft, slow and samey music.

I think it was just too slow for me to find it enjoyable. No change in tempo to keep it interesting for me, just slow. Lead singers voice is nice and I enjoyed a couple portions of songs, but I don't think any song stood out to me as something to go back and listen to.

Interesting voice and aesthetic but overall found it pretty dull. Maybe I need to spend more time with it.

This is very dull

Not really for me. Some depressing, rainy day, slow and dark jams. Good covers. I enjoy the production, the sound created, helps give it that dark feeling

07/05/2025 I had high hopes for this to begin with, but it was just boring.

Mega sleeper. I can get getting down with it though. Will I listen to again: 0%

Decent record, very low-key but the songs are pretty and performed nicely.

Cowgirl junk

As another reviewer pointed out, one's enjoyment of many kinds of music – including this one – is heavily dependent on the context in which it is played. I listened to this while doing dishes, and that was a mistake that I don't think could be repaired by future listens. This album feels extremely slow and understated to the point of shooting itself in the foot in terms of "album flow". Instead of having an up-and-down between high- and low-energy tracks, or perhaps some proggy tempo and textural changes within some of the lengthier songs, Cowboy Junkies select a specific, nondescript genre and roll with it for fifty-three minutes. It's, to put it gently, a slog. Tracks 5 through 7 are particularly bad because they're at similar tempos and have comparable percussive patterns. To Love Is To Bury and 200 More Miles are essentially carbon copies of Misguided Angel – a song with very little to talk about in the first place. The highlight of the album is the vocalist, but her skills are not being put to their best use. She's got a voice suited for up-tempo jazz (maybe), but instead rides the low-energy train for all it's worth without even experimenting a little with starker dynamics, improv, and so on. I do enjoy the two tracks (Mining For Gold and Postcard Blues) that feature a solo vocal for part of the song, but both of them would have worked significantly better when surrounded by a high-energy contrast. In The Trinity Session, soft ballads like these fade into the background as quietly unremarkable noise. 2/5 Key tracks: Blue Moon Revisited (Song For Elvis), Dreaming My Dreams With You, Sweet Jane

Slow country and very quiet songs are not a combination I'm personally a fan of, but it was a good surprise. Lyrics were felt and the songs are filled with soul and its moments are stand out. Not a fan, but a nice discovery.

Good: - Enjoyed the harmonica, always sounds so beautiful. Bad: - To slow for me. I just can't quite find the joy in this one.

This is doing nothing for me. It's not bad, it's just bland.

A bit slow. Incredible voice. Great cover of Sweet Jane. But just a bit too melancholy for my taste. 2.75

Not big on country

An intriguing opening couple songs followed by ten tunes consisting of so-so storytelling and a beautiful voice of insipid nothing.

Album 716 of 1001 Cowboy Junkies - The Trinity Session (1988) Rating : 2.5 / 5 Alt Country? Meh. Sounds made up. This is a fine listen. Very low key. The production on it is awesome. Great sound. Some nice covers of big songs. Nice album to chill to.

Probably something I'd have put on the CD player when trying to impress a lady and thought she'd not "be cool" with WASPs "Animal (Fuck Like a Beast)"

I found it so incredibly boring. I started reading reviews and saw plenty of 5s talking about Sweet Jane being their favorite. I had hope. Nah fam, it's more of the same. On to the next.

Rejected background music for Twin Peaks.

At the start I thought "that will be a 1 if it continudes like this". But it got better. Not that I really like the album, one slow song after another is not my thing. But it grew and in total it's ok. When comparing with albums I gave a "3", I must give a 2 here, though. But if it would be possible a 2.5.

Not bad per se, just pretty boring.

Beautiful songs played and sung beautifully but after about 4 tracks I was bored. Too slow for my liking

Again its not for me

i really wanted to like this but i couldn't stand the voice . je suis sorry

a lethal combo for today's rainy day...

Good lord I did not like this at all. I'm having an irritable week so I appreciate that my dislike for this may be amplified but fucking hell what an absolute beige boring drag that was. Same song 10 times over. And I'm offended by the covers. I particularly hate when artists do covers of absolutely slapping songs and then make them beige. What is the fucking point. Sweet Jane - are you joking? Leave it alone! Look I'd like to give it a 1 star because of how riled I am but I need to save those for truly offensive music, this is narrowly in the 2

That was pretty meh. It has its little niche but I could care less for it unless I need something to listen as falling asleep. I could see the appeal with the soothing tones. I liked the opening instrumentation of Sweet Jane but it deflated to me when the vocals started. Still cool that a country group covered Velvets tho Rating: 2.3

Some downer Canadian alt-country. Slow-paced. Wasn't into it.

5/10

Exactly. Sweet Jane…and nothing else.

Sweet Jane

Quite a slow and downbeat album. I like the singer's voice but the reimagining of various songs in this style doesn't quite grab my attention for 50+ minutes. I have a real issue with covers that just slow down and make the track more dull - it's really not that clever. Their version of Sweet Jane is way worse than the original IMO. Seems to happen in every Christmas advert so maybe they were trailblazers (of a bad thing) I'd listen to the odd song again, didn't hate it but I was a bit bored listening all the way through

Misguided Angel and Sweet Jane are lovely. The rest is a bit croony and plodding for my taste.

++: I Don't Get It, I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry, Postcard Blues, Walkin' After Midnight +: Working on a Building +-: Mining for Gold, Blue Moon Revisited (Song for Elvis), To Love Is to Bury, 200 More Miles, Sweet Jane -: Misguided Angel, Dreaming My Dreams with You 5,5/10

La chanteuse a une très belle voix et la production est excellente, mais c'est tellement monotone et beaucoup trop doux tout le long comme album. Toutes les reprises sont en gros une version plus ennuyante de l'originale. 4/10

This is a weird album, and I have no idea why it's on this list. The music is all fine, and her voice is really nice and she uses it very effectively. However, there are just too many covers of great, well-known songs that are a huge step back from the original. This album just makes me want to listen to Hank Williams and Velvet Underground so I can hear the songs that I like sound good rather than like muzak 2/5 There are nice elements, but this album was irritating overall

Not my genre

Pretty dull to be honest.

I fell asleep. Mining For Gold followed by Misguided Angel is such a smooth transition though, very relaxing and calming.

The Cowboy Junkies are the most, I should like this band but I don’t, I can think of. It just never feels like the songs start. I do think the cover of I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry is the best version of that song though. It benefits from the glacial tempo all their songs are at

Pretty boring, good musicianship

Don't really plan on coming back to anything here, but was alright while it was on

Very slow. Margo’s voice starts to grate after 3 songs as she sounds the same in all of them. While not objectively bad, I really did not enjoy this. Bonus star for the Church acoustics.

A bit too boring for me, also there's no need to revisit 'Blue Moon'.

Just not my cup of tea - nice but not something I’d ever go back to.

ZZZZzzzz....

My thoughts on this album and why it's included on this list can be summed up by the title of track #4.

Not the kind of stuff this cowboy is going to be fiending for.

Nice vibe. Don’t love the voice

If you want to be bored to tears then this is the album for you! Every song sounds exactly the same: slow, quiet, and little emotion. 3/10.

I like the rendition of Sweet Jane and it's all fine but I don't ever freel totally taken in by this.

Slow and quiet. Very misleading name you can't call yourself cowboy junkies and bring out something this understated and sad. Maybe we'd have enjoyed it more if they'd been called the lonesome cowboy or something like that.

bravissima ma mi sta a cala il sonno

I would like to like this, because she's got a lovely voice and clearly they know how to do everything - except record well. "Recorded using a single microphone in a church" is not a selling point - get a studio, pay a producer, make your stuff sound better. It's not rocket science. The tracks I did like though, I liked a lot. The nails-on-a-chalkboard sound of the twangy country slide guitar makes me want to jump out of a window. So the album is going to get a considerable ding for being too country, covering some of the worst Elvis songs, and lacking a sane approach to recording and production.

Lyder helt fint, men jeg har svært ved at se det essentielle i easy listening covers af gode sange 🤷‍♀️

Fun Sweet Jane is incredible. I’d never put it on again though.

heel vreemd album, het is een soort traag country album? De vocals zijn mooi, gezongen door een vrouwelijke zangeres, maar eerlijk; instrumentaal vind ik het een klein beetje saai. Ja, de vocals zijn mooi, maar daarbuiten is dit album gewoon nogal saai en dan voelt ruim 55 minuten echt als een zware dobber. Nee. Hoelanger ik luister naar dit album, hoe meer ik concludeer dat deze muziek écht niet voor mij is. Folk muziek vind ik gewoon echt ontzettend saai. Het is echt nogal slaap verwekkend, er zitten best mooie stukjes tussen, maar het overgrote deel is oersaai... FAVO: Working on a building, Walking after midnight

2.5

I’m like not done listening yet, but wanna see the next album, this is sort of unexciting but also pretty idk.

What a snoozy album. Best Song: Blue Moon Revisited Worst Song: Working on a building

Inoffensive but such a snooze and not at all what I expected from a group called Cowboy Junkies. I’m sure even tone was a conscious choice but I couldn’t enjoy it. High 2.

Shitty melatonin

Too consistently slow for my tastes.

There's a reason why album's need a change of pace

At first I thought this album seems totally non-essential. But then I remembered, not everyone in the world has a lot of exposure to CanCon. So this IS essential, so that non-Canadians can have the experience of listening to it and thinking “Ok, this is a familiar genre, but something is off about it…… oh it’s Canadian that’s the problem here.” It’s just not essential to me, as I’ve been going through this my whole life. The prison of being Canadian.

dark and morose -- like Tennessee in the wintertime. This record sounds like it was made in a world that no longer exists. This record is a time capsule.

I might be biased by the absolutely soulless rendition of Walkin' After Midnight but this was a very sleepy album with the only spark of life being contributed by the harmonica player.

This album is really quiet. Like most of the time it's super soft sounding and then you'll get a guitar part that comes in at normal volume. It was really strange to listen to. Fantastic voice on the vocalist, really nice but way too quiet in the mix. But the music just sort of washed over me and I didn't really feel any kind of connection to it at all. Also the whole record is really slow tempo. Like I felt like it was dragging most of the time. I'm not a country fan and this album didn't really do much to change that. I wouldn't call it straight country though, maybe country-folk or country-adult contemporary. Vocals were absolutely the best thing about this album. 2/5

This is all very pleasant, and so soothing I fell asleep multiple times while it was playing. I wasn't even tired, but the slow, drawn out melodies and the smooth vocal acts like an hour long lullaby. Each song melts into the next with little variation, there are no highlights nor any lowlights.

Hazy, stoned, very, very subdued. It's tough to describe, because it's mostly just blues, jazz, with some country flair. I like the idea of the band recording around one mic, but it does show in the final recording with just how quiet everything is. Favorite track: "Blue Moon Revisited"

not very funny is it mjau

I did not love the country vibe, even if the lead singer did have a nice voice.

This was so disappointing/ I think I thought it was going to be ethereal, idk like The Cocteau Twins maybe. Instead it is just dull, and it all sounds the same. No eemotion, no passion, it was giving absolutely. And the cover versions are awful. Nearly gave it a 1 and didn’t make it through the second listen

Quite enjoyed the first song or two, the singer has a nice enough voice. As it continued it blended into one, the music never loud or interesting enough to pull focus from the singer to the point it started to sound like hotel lounge music. I played this on a bus and I could hear the background noise more clearly than the music, which is partly my fault for listening to it there but I think shoes it needs to at least increase the volume slightly every now and then.

This album is kind of like an aural coma. I can understand wanting to create a cohesive feel for an album but man, the consistent atmospheric, melancholy, low-key vibe for EVERY SINGLE SONG becomes a real drag and is really boring after a while. I hated the Hank Williams and Patsy Cline covers. Sweet Jane is easily the best song on the album. The mellow vibe and the singer's voice suited the song very well. It wasn't horrible overall and it was well executed for what it is but I have no desire to hear it again.

2.5

The Trinity Session is okay but it tries to be intimate and low-key without doing enough to properly invite you in and make you feel, so it just comes across as pretty boring for the most part. If you're going to strip it back and expose yourselves you need to have a singular trait rip through the shrouded darkness, be it angst, passion, pain, seduction, sarcasm, anything, and this lacks it, she has a nice voice but they try to sell it as ethereal and it sort of just meanders along and doesn't get anywhere that interests me, so it's a high 2.

not enough of... anything

This is boring!

meh

2+

Felt similarly to this album as the last one, except this didn’t have a standout song to me. 2 stars based on that.

I'm sorry, I can't do anymore of these slow folk albums. There's nothing I can say about it, except that it's slow and boring. Enough please 😭😭😭

I wanted to like it more but it just never picked up for me. I enjoyed the more bluesy songs and the covers especially sweet Jane!