Cowboy Junkies - Renmin Park: The Nomad Series Volume 1 (PRPCD072) CD

With the release of Renmin Park, Cowboy Junkies are beginning their most ambitious period yet. Inspired by a three-month stay that Michael Timmins and his family spent in China which he describes as "an other-worldly experience" - Renmin Park is the first of four releases planned over the next 18 months, collectively titled "The Nomad Series." Several of the tracks on this volume were built on loops made from "field recordings" Michael made in China where he recorded a myriad of sounds from music and conversations to badminton games to students chanting their lessons or performing their morning calisthenics. The album also includes covers of songs by two of the country's most important rock artists "I Cannot Sit Sadly By Your Side" by Zuoxiao Zuzhou (ZXZZ) and Xu Wei's "My Fall." Renmin Park a fictional love story about two people whose two worlds will forever keep them apart," says the guitarist. "It's a thank-you letter to an obscure city and the people who opened up their lives to five very strange strangers. It's a document about a bewilderingly complex culture that is, once again, experiencing a massive upheaval. Cowboy Junkies are now blasting forward with unprecedented determination. The Nomad Series may mark a new and distinct chapter in the band's remarkable history, but it is certainly consistent with their process and vision.

1. Intro
2. Renmin Park
3. Sir Francis Bacon at the Net
4. Stranger Here
5. A Few Bags of Grain
6. I Cannot Sit Badly by Your Side
7. (You've Got to Get) a Good Heart
8. Cicadas
9. Interlude
10. My Fall
11. Little Dark Heart
12. A Walk in the Park
13. Renmin Park
14. Coda