Read about a veteran songwriting duo and it's likely you won't get far before reaching the part about the big breakup, the falling-out. The implosion.

Gilbert & Sullivan, Lennon & McCartney, Morrissey & Marr... Tufnel & St. Hubbins of Spinal Tap ("We shan't work together again") -- the greater the story, the more intense the animosity. Many duos don't even last 10 years.

It's significant, then, that Blue Rodeo's Jim Cuddy and Greg Keelor are into their third decade as one of Canada's most prolific and best-loved songwriting partnerships. That's almost a Jagger/ Richards-style achievement right there.

This Tuesday marks the release of Palace Of Gold, Blue Rodeo's ninth studio album in 15 years.

Which means, of course, their ninth round of fielding questions about their working relationship.

Reflecting during a recent interview at the band's spanking new Toronto studio, the Woodshed, Cuddy and Keelor agree that the secret to Blue Rodeo's relative harmony may be that they themselves can't define or explain it.

"It challenges us when we have to talk about it," Cuddy says with a laugh. "It takes us about two days to get over answering the question. I don't honestly know. We certainly have found a way to work together. I mean, you're motivated to work together from the very beginning, but then after a while you have to find ways to do it."

He turns to his bandmate: "Greg, why do you do it?"

"I'm going to have to think about it now after hearing your answer," Keelor says with mock hurt, not missing a beat.

"I'm sure our endurance is partially because we've never been hugely successful. I'm sure if we'd made a ton of dough when we were young, we would not be a band today. If I was one of the Barenaked Ladies, I would have gone, 'F--- you!'

"But we've had to work for a living. And I think of the band and the momentum that it takes on. Conflicts in the band are not necessarily the most intense between me and Jim. There are other members who could blow down the stack of cards in a second. We each define ourselves in our own minds probably differently than how we're perceived. We enjoy the roles that we continue to play."

Says Cuddy, "I'd like to withdraw my earlier answer and go with that one."

Such is the interview dynamic between this pair, who have been friends since youth and banded together to play in the fallout of punk's first wave in the '70s.

They spend a lot of time in light debate or exchanging drily sarcastic barbs. They often seem surprised by what the other has to say. And they don't lack self-criticism.

"Jim's very good at it, I guess you've noticed," Keelor says. "He never likes the albums when they're finished. That's not true -- it's me who doesn't."

"When we finish a new record, we're very critical of the one that came before it," Cuddy says. "With (2000 album) Days In Between, I'm like, 'What was the matter with us?' "

One thing that's clear is that Blue Rodeo -- which also includes co-founding bassist Bazil Donovan, drummer Glenn Milchem, keyboardist James Gray, and former Wilco pedal steel/guitarist Bob Egan -- haven't let any professional comfort level get in the way of musical growth.

Palace Of Gold is the band's freshest creative statement in years. Recent albums Tremolo (1997) and The Days In Between whittled their trademark country-rock jangle down into low-key

psychedelia and straight-forward powerpop, respectively. The new disc keeps that basis intact but spirals outward with a full orchestra and classic pop production.

It's also their inaugural recording at the Woodshed, which the band finished building last year. Located along the Danforth strip, the space houses the group's production office and a roomy rehearsal space and recording studio lined with ancient-looking wooden beams. ("We got the whole dang barn in here," Cuddy cracks in a corn-pone twang.)

"The studio afforded us a lot of time," Keelor says. "That's the big difference between this record and our past records."

The technical effect of the new setup is all over the spacious Palace Of Gold. The studio's recording facilities are designed according to Blue Rodeo's old-school preferences, giving the album's brass and string tracks a classic feel that's both spacious and upfront. Tracks such as Keelor's Comet and What A Surprise and Cuddy's Love Never Lies and Cause For Sympathy hover between the '60s "pop" work of famous L.A. session players the Wrecking Crew, and grand '70s soft-rock. Other songs have a Stax soul feel.

It's an elegant record without being particularly lavish.

"We weren't trying to distill anything," Cuddy says. "The flush of working with the orchestra is still with us. It's a lot less individual work. There's a big comfortable cushion around you. It's beautiful and rockin' and syncopated and great to sing to."

Says Keelor, "The '60s pop stuff that inspired us isn't soft. Those pit-bands from Shindig, with Leon Russell and Hal Blaine and Glenn Campbell -- those people were connecting in a big way on those old records.

"Where pop has gone is totally alien to us. Modern musicians would have a hard time making records in this studio. From the era that we're mining, that idea of 'pop' is glorious. It's a transference of punk joy that gets all polished."