In very late 1988, a syndicated column appeared in my local newspaper which was re-printed from the Los Angeles Times. The column was written by Robert Hilburn and it was geared towards what he felt were the top albums of 1988. In it, a band from Canada called Cowboy Junkies made the list with an album of theirs called The Trinity Session. There are those moments when a writer imparts thoughts to you in just the right words and descriptions that sets off alarm bells in one’s head. Once that curiosity button gets pushed, the bell can only be turned off once one gets a hold of the album to find out if it was worth the hype it got in the press-especially from a writer of the stature of Hilburn. Once I and many others got the album and listened to it for the first time, it was obvious. We were listening to a 5-star album of roots music and realism-traditional American music idioms combined with the needed splash of Velvet Underground influence. For many of us, this album was our jumping-in point at which we took notice and kept with us a band of magnificent musical integrity. They have continued their high standards of excellence to this very day.
To those of you who want to relive that magic moment in the late ’80s when you discovered this landmark album, marvelous news has come down the pike. Along with a 200-gram vinyl release of the album which is arriving on October 21st, Analogue Productions will also be releasing an SACD hybrid version of the album for a December release.
For those of you who may be a little cynical about the possibility of an upgrade in sound for an album which was recorded only with a single microphone, the sound on this upcoming reissue will be noticeably better. I would ask that people refer to what happened when Mike Timmins allowed the Whites Off Earth Now disc to have been worked on by Mobile Fidelity Sound Labs. People wondered how much better the sound could have been. When it came out, the sound was much improved. You can expect the same for the classic Trinity Session album. Mike is not the type who would allow audiophile labels to do reissues of their albums if he didn’t think significant upgrading in sound could not be achieved. I’ve spoken to him before and I know this to be true.
The album cover will also be getting an upgrade too. It now has the original red typescript that Mike had originally wanted on the album as well as a clearer front cover photo. The old RCA Record label was the one responsible for the dulling of the cover. When I got wind that this title was about to be officially announced, I was able to get a hold of Mike. He confirmed that it was coming out. People, this one will definitely be worth it!
–Steve Talia