Kennedy Suite

This is an interesting theme album based on the Kennedy assassination, and mislabeled as a Junkies album. This song cycle was created by Toronto poet Scott Garbe, produced by Cowboy Junkies' Michael Timmins along with Andy Maize and Josh Finlayson of Skydiggers. It actually contains only 1 song credited to the Junkies. It is still a good album and an interesting listen but if you are buying it expecting that you are buying the latest release by the Cowboy Junkies, I'd say "buyer beware."

This is an ok record, but it's only produced by some of the Junkies team and not a Junkies recording. I would have listened to it first had it been properly labeled and I'm not sure I would have bought it. It reads a lot more interesting than it sounds, to be honest. I like things that take on a big challenge and so I support this, but I don't think it's all that successful.

It is very misleading to label this a Cowboy Junkies record... it has ONE Cowboy Junkies song on it. The rest is a song cycle about the Kennedy assassination written by a friend of the Junkies. The Cowboy Junkies song is very good and classic Junkies; the rest of the album is fairly ho-hum. On first listen, it faded so far into the background I forgot what I was listening to and wondered why I was playing it.

would not recommend delivery as promised

November 22 marks the 50th anniversary of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, and of all the events marking it, none is as unexpectedly poignant as this song cycle created by Toronto poet Scott Garbe, produced by Cowboy Junkies' Michael Timmins along with Andy Maize and Josh Finlayson of Skydiggers. Who would have thought that a bunch of Canadian indie rockers could encapsulate the ongoing mystique of what happened that day in Dallas so comprehensively? But that's precisely what these 15 tracks accomplish, with various perspectives illustrated by voices that include Sarah Harmer, Jason Collett, Martin Tielli, and the Junkies and 'Diggers themselves, the last of whom revisit the monumental "The Truth About Us," first recorded on 1997's Desmond's Hip City. On paper, the overarching concept might suggest a dour history lesson — or worse, another Oliver Stone conspiracy theory — but from the opening Who-like performance by Hawksley Workman and the Screwed, The Kennedy Suite's drama is rooted in the real hope for change JFK instilled, and how his killing was an act that irrevocably changed North American society — an act not repeated on a similar scale until September 11, 2001. In that sense, Garbe's words are perfectly measured, focusing on intimate encounters with major players such as Lee Harvey Oswald and Jack Ruby, as well as unnamed JFK admirers and hospital workers. It adds up to an audacious statement that musically conjures memories of '90s CanRock glory. More significantly, The Kennedy Suite is a highly affecting portrait of a moment in time whose lingering effects still cast a long shadow.(Latent)Jason Schneider - Exclaim Magazine

Once upon a time there was a young boy who was fascinated with all things Kennedy. As he grew, his poetic mind looked at the darkest events in Dallas from many different characters' perspectives. Creative visionary, Scott Garbe, created a compilation of songs however Mike Timmins (Cowboy Junkies) worked with him and a who's who of Canadian talent to interpret it through their own artistry to create The Kennedy Suite. I was at the theatrical premiere in Toronto one year ago. This CD has let me go deeper into the many reflections. This one will resonate with me. I recommend letting the whole Suite percolate for awhile in its entirety. Isn't it so much more interesting to hear more than one "voice" as history echoes in hearts and minds.

This is a hidden gem for any fan of literate, complex yet always tuneful perfect songwriting. It is a collection of songs written by Scott Garbe all dealing with some aspect of the Kennedy assassination, but I can assure you it's not what you're expecting. It's moving, beautiful stuff. Listening to it makes you feel like you've just read a great novel with a huge well of insights and empathy into the people affected by the events. Apart from all that, it is a staggering collection of talent. If you know Canadian music, your jaw should be solidly on the floor; if you don't, here's your chance to see what makes it such a strong musical country. HIGHLY highly recommended.

This is a truly epic collection of songs takes the listener through the roller-coaster of emotion in 1963. Perspectives from Jackie Kennedy to Lee Harvey Oswald to Jack Ruby, then also those whose lives touched the event - the police officer taking the body of JFK to the hospital, a boy who watched Oswald with his rifle… The incredible talent bringing the historical moment to life again is unparalleled - Cowboy Junkies, Skydiggers, Sarah Harmer, Hawksley Workman, to name just a few. Thanks go to the genius of composer Scott Garbe whose fascination with that moment in time has brought us this mesmerizing trip into our collective consciousness.

Michael Timmins (Cowboy Junkies), Scott Garbe and a who's-who of Canadian indie (Hawksley Workman, Clark/Tielli, The Good Family, Jason Collett, Lee Harvey Osmond... etc, etc) use the framework of Kennedy's assassination to explore the big questions: life...love...democracy.... with irony, bleak humor and passion. The music shifts from straight-ahead rock to folksy musings to edgy experimentation, peppered with archival audio footage from JFKs inauguration to his funeral. As an emotive song sequence it works remarkably well... This is no tepid, art/history concept album. On the contrary, each song is fully realized and delivered with conviction, excellent playing, creative arrangements, thoughtful, poetic lyrics and just the right amount of feedback. Released to coincide with the 50th anniversary of Kennedy's assassination, the underlying message of The Kennedy Suite is eerily relevant today.