I'm a long time junkies fan. I think everything through lay it down is good - with the songwriting and performances on lay it down being a peak for the band. I am disaappointed with miles from our home and open, the follow ups to lay it down. They seemed to lack the melodic sense that made the earlier albums so enjoyable. Give black eyed man a chance, it really grows on you. To live is to fly is a beutiful tribute to Janice Joplin. Great song (i believe written by townes van zandt) and great performance. In terms of what stays in my cd player, its lay it down, pale sun crescent moon and black eyed man. The Trinity Sessions to me are fine, but are more of a critic's darling piece and quite frankly it doesn't end up being played nearly as often as lay it down. The Caution horses has some fine songs on it, but the band seemed to be treading water on the way to the much more expansive black eyed man, pale sun and lay it down. The title track on pale sun is crescent moon; one of the most haunting songs they've ever done, and hard to explain is blues - with some pretty impressive guitar leads. Lay it down speaks for itself - common disaster, come calling, just want to see are highlights and will stand the test of time. Lay it down sounds as fresh to me today as when it was first released. Highly recommended.
