<\/p>\n
The Cowboy Junkies<\/a> are one of the best bands on the planet.<\/p>\n That was true decades ago, back when the Cowboy Junkies<\/a> first started putting out records in the \u201980s, and it remains true to this day.<\/p>\n Yet, this Canadian outfit\u00a0 \u2014 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 \u2014 remains vastly better known for its earlier efforts than their more recent releases.<\/p>\n Chalk that up to the commercial success of such sensational \u201980s\/\u201990s outings as \u201cThe Caution Horses,\u201d \u2018Lay It Down\u201d and, of course, \u201cThe Trinity Session.\u201d<\/p>\n Musically speaking, however, the Cowboy Junkies\u2019<\/a> later works \u2014 such as 2007\u2019s \u201cAt the End of Paths Taken\u201d and 2018\u2019s \u201cAll That Reckoning\u201d \u2014 have been every bit as strong and satisfying as the old fan favorites.<\/p>\n Without a doubt, these albums deserve greater recognition.<\/p>\n And perhaps now they will get it with the help of a terrific new collection from the Cowboy Junkies<\/a> dubbed \u201cOpen to Beauty: Best of the 21st Century.\u201d<\/p>\n\n The set delivers exactly what\u2019s promised, inviting listeners to experience more than two dozen fascinating Cowboy Junkies<\/a> songs released in the 21st Century. The track listing starts with the 2001 album \u201cOpen\u201d and zooms all the way through the years until we reach the band\u2019s most recent full-length studio effort, 2023\u2019s \u201cSuch Ferocious Beauty.\u201d<\/p>\n Along the way, fans are treated to such later-era classics as \u201cI\u2019m So Open\u201d (which may well be the single greatest Cowboy Junkies tune of the 21st century), \u201cMy Little Basquiat,\u201d \u201cStill Lost,\u201d \u201cThe Things We Do to Each Other\u201d and \u201cWhat I Lost.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOpen to Beauty\u201d is available as a three-LP yellow vinyl set ($87) or two-CD set ($22), cowboyjunkies.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n