Ry Cooder - Get Rhythm (1987)

Ry Cooder is an American musician, best known for his skill as a slide guitarist and his interest in American roots music.

1987's Get Rhythm was Ry Cooder's first new studio album in five years, as he had spent most of the 1980s working on film soundtracks (a selection of which can be heard here). It featured his usual mix of American roots music forms, but was notable for focusing mostly on an electric blues-rock sound. The band backing him throughout featured some familiar names whom had already worked with him over the years - pianist Van Dyke Parks, accordion player Flaco Jiménez and drummer Jim Keltner. Backing vocals were provided by Bobby King, Terry Evans, Arnold McCuller and Willie Greene, Jr. Songs covered on the album included the title track by Johnny Cash, Chuck Berry's "Thirteen Question Method" and Elvis Presley's "All Shook Up". One standout song was "Across The Borderline", a beautiful original written by Cooder with John Hiatt and Jim Dickinson. This song had already been featured before on Cooder's soundtrack to the 1982 film The Border, there sung by Freddy Fender - on the new version, Cooder shared lead vocals with actor Harry Dean Stanton (who had also starred in another film Cooder had done the soundtrack for - 1984's Paris, Texas).

It turned out to be his last solo album for a long time, as through the next decade Cooder focused on collaborations with other artists and more film soundtracks.

The Slide Area (1982) <|> Chávez Ravine (2005)
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Ry Cooder - Border Music (1981-1985)

Compilation
Ry Cooder is an American musician, best known for his skill as a slide guitarist and his interest in American roots music.

During the 1980s Ry Cooder was kept busy with a lot of film soundtrack work alongside his solo career, beginning with his brilliant music for Walter Hill's western The Long Riders in 1980. Many more followed, the most renowned being for Wim Wenders' 1984 film Paris, Texas. The beautifully recorded score was based on Blind Willie Johnson's "Dark Was The Night, Cold Was The Ground", and made for some truly splendid music perfectly suited to the vast, bleak desert landscapes featured in the film. The soundtrack has proved popular, but to be perfectly honest doesn't flow like a good album should as so much of it consists of variations of the same theme. Therefore I have put together this compilation which takes the highlights of the Paris, Texas soundtrack together with some other great, and lesser-known Cooder filmscore work from the same era, from the films The Border (1982) and Alamo Bay (1985).

The Border features one of Cooder's greatest songs, a rare original he co-wrote with Jim Dickinson and John Hiatt. "Across The Borderline" was sung by Freddy Fender, and the score also featured smaller pieces quoting the memorable melody. The soundtrack also featured a wonderful little-known Dan Penn song, "Building Fires", sung by Brenda Patterson (it had also been reorded by The Flying Burrito Brothers on their 1975 album Flying Again). The final two songs on the compilation are from Alamo Bay. There is a central theme here - all the films are set in southern Texas, and the music of all three soundtracks work well together, making for a great album of (mostly instrumental) music evocative of wide open spaces, the hot desert sun, and Mexican flavours from across the border. Powerful stuff!

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Ry Cooder - The Slide Area (1982)

Ry Cooder is an American musician, best known for his skill as a slide guitarist and his interest in American roots music.

Ry Cooder's 1982 album The Slide Area saw him still focusing on R&B based material, as he had done since 1979's Bop Till You Drop. Without a doubt it was his most rock-oriented album to date, with a slick modern blues-rock sound throughout, and more flashy guitar than he usually allowed himself. Instrumental backing came from his usual group of friends - drummer Jim Keltner, pianist Jim Dickinson, bassist Tim Drummond, guitarist John Hiatt, and backing singers led by Bobby King, among others. The songs he chose to cover included The Impressions' "Gypsy Woman", Carl Perkins' "Blue Suede Shoes", James Carr's "That's The Way Love Turned Out For Me" and an obscure Bob Dylan outtake, "I Need A Woman". It also had some good originals, including one co-written with famed blues songwriter Willie Dixon. 

It actually turned out to be his last studio album for five years, as for the rest of the 80s he focused mostly on soundtrack work.

Borderline (1980) <|> Get Rhythm (1987)
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Ry Cooder - The Long Riders (1980)

Film soundtrack 
Ry Cooder is an American musician, best known for his skill as a slide guitarist and his interest in American roots music.

In the 1980s Ry Cooder became known for his film soundtrack work, and indeed this lucrative side-line became in many ways much more successful for him than his solo albums of the 70s had been. He was no stranger to film music, having played guitar on Jack Nitzsche's soundtracks for Performance (1970) and Blue Collar (1978). However the first time he was to be put in charge of a film's entire soundtrack was for Walter Hill's 1980 film The Long Riders, a western which told the story of the James-Younger outlaw gang. Cooder proved to be the perfect man to score the picture, as his knowledge and passion of American roots music served him well.

The music he crafted for the film contrasted greatly with his own recording career, which at the time was focusing on electric rock music. For The Long Riders he emersed himself in old-time folk music, with a focus on songs from the Civil War era. It was authentic-sounding traditional music, but with unusual elements of Cooder's own design subtley blended in. Most of the soundtrack was instrumental, performed on a variety of stringed instruments, but there were some vocal tracks as well. Cooder only sang himself on one song. One of the songs, George F. Root's "Rally 'Round The Flag", he had originally recorded back in 1972 on Boomer's Story, but here it was given a much more exciting, joyful arrrangement. Likewise, the whole soundtrack was full of brilliant, innovative arrangements, brimming with atmosphere. Cooder approached this material as he had done the roots music of his 70s solo albums, updating it with fresh ideas yet still keeping it firmly and respectfully rooted in the past.

The soundtrack was a resounding success, and pefectly fitted the film. It won Cooder the Best Music award from the Los Angeles Film Critic Association Awards. Released on CD, it made for a fine album away from the picture, another much-welcome addition to Cooder's extensive canon. It also marked the start of a new era for his career, as many more successful soundtracks would follow, and throughout the decade they would take up much more of his time than his solo albums.

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Ry Cooder - Special Limited Edition Single (1981)

Ry Cooder is an American musician, best known for his skill as a slide guitarist and his interest in American roots music.

This is an obscure release from Ry Cooder - as the title suggests, it's a 'special limited edition single', though it actually features four tracks adding up to twenty one minutes of music. They are live recordings from 1980 and early 1981, so taken from the period when he was exploring R&B-styled material (two songs from Bop Till You Drop, one from Borderline, and an older one from Paradise & Lunch), and with Cooder backed by a second guitar, bass, piano or organ, drums and backing singers (presumeably Bobby Bobby King, Willie Green Jr. and other regulars). The songs are all drawn out with fantastic grooves giving Cooder plenty of space for solos. It's a great little live mini-album, showcasing Cooder at his best in a rock context.

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Ry Cooder - Borderline (1980)

Ry Cooder is an American musician, best known for his skill as a slide guitarist and his interest in American roots music.

In 1979 Ry Cooder had made a surprising change of direction with Bop Till You Drop, moving towards 50s R&B territory for his source material, yet updating it with a modern sheen. The follow-up record, Borderline, came out the next year, with a similar R&B / rock style. The one familiar song to be re-invented was Wilson Pickett’s “634-5789”, and for the rest of the album he dug up typically obscure and sometimes surprising tunes, including The Cadillacs’ “Speedo”, Maurice & Mac's "Why Don't You Try Me", Joe South’s “Down In The Boondocks” and Billy ‘The Kid’ Emerson’s “Crazy ‘Bout An Automobile”. There was also a brief interlude of Tex-Mex with “The Girls From Texas”. Backing came from guitarist John Hiatt (who also contributed the song “The Way We Make A Broken Heart”), drummer Jim Keltner, percussionist George Pierre, bassists Tim Drummond and Reggie McBride, keyboardists William D. Smith and Jesse Harms, and singers Bobby King and Willie Green Jr.

Bop Till You Drop (1979) <|> The Slide Area (1982)
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Ry Cooder - Bop Till You Drop (1979)

Ry Cooder is an American musician, best known for his skill as a slide guitarist and his interest in American roots music.

Throughout most of the 70s Ry Cooder's solo albums had showcased an eclectic mix of American roots music forms, blending folk, blues, gospel and more. Following a brief foray into early jazz, he embarked on a new musical path with 1979's Bop Till You Drop. With this album (incidentally one of the first albums of popular music to be recorded digitally) he explored the world of early rock & roll, R&B and doo-wop. In typical Ry Cooder style he re-fashioned an older form of music with inventive new arrangements, all done with great reverence to the original sources.
The result was a truly fantastic record, with a modern, urban style yet which echoed with the sounds of the golden days of rock & roll. The songs were mostly covers, both well-known and obscure, including numbers by Arthur Alexander, Jerry Ragavoy and Oliver Sain. The standout songs were a sublime version of the old Elvis Presley hit "Little Sister" (so far removed from the original as to be almost unrecognizable), and a beautiful instrumental reading of Rose Marie McCoy's "I Think It's Going To Work Out Fine". There was also the funky "Down In Hollywood", which Cooder co-wrote with bassist Tim Drummond.
Backing instrumentation came from Drummond, guitarist David Lindley, keyboard players Ronnie Barron and Reverend Patrick Henderson, drummer Jim Keltner and percussionist Milt Holland. There was also a vast array of veteren backing singers, led by long-time Cooder collaborator Bobby King (and also including a cameo from Chaka Khan). These singers were given even greater reign than on any of Cooder's previous albums, and accounted for a large portion of the album's unique sheen and doo-wop credentials.
With Bop Till You Drop, Cooder effectively re-invented himself, and produced what was easily his most accessible album.

Jazz (1978) <|> Borderline (1980)
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Ry Cooder - Jazz (1978)

Ry Cooder is an American musician, best known for his skill as a slide guitarist and his interest in American roots music.

For album number seven, Ry Cooder decided to focus on one theme - jazz. However his approach to the genre was typically idiosyncratic, approaching it in the same way his previous albums had approached American folk and blues music - bypassing any popular modern views of what the genre was to reach back into its dusty and forgotten roots. It wasn't modern jazz, but the ragtime, string-band and vaudeville music of the early 20th century. Even then it wasn't merely a homage, but his own unique take on the genre - never before had bottleneck slide guitar been used in a jazz ensemble. Most of the music was instrumental, but it did feature a few vocal cuts, most notably his fantastic take on Bert Williams' "Nobody", which sees him backed by the vocal quartet of Jimmy Adams, Bill Johnson, Simon Pico Payne and Cliff Givens.
Cooder supported the album's release with a concert at Carnegie Hall, featuring a full jazz orchestra and tap dancers.

Show Time (1977) <|> Bop Till You Drop (1979)
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Ry Cooder - Show Time (1977)

Ry Cooder is an American musician, best known for his skill as a slide guitarist and his interest in American roots music.

Ry Cooder's sixth album was a live one, recorded in San Francisco in the December of 1976. Backing him was a fantastic band consisting of Flaco Jiminez (accordion), Henry Ojeda (bass), Jesse Ponce (bajo sexto), Frank Villarreal (alto sax) and Isaac Garcia (drums), along with Bobby King, Terry Evans and Eldridge King on vocals. The combination of the band's Tex-Mex flavours alongside the gospel-styled vocals of the backing singers makes for a truly unique Americana sound that only Cooder could have put together. And of course his guitar playing is to the fore, with some particularly amazing slide solos to listen out for.
The songs from Show Time are mostly re-arrangements of numbers from his earlier albums, but also include "Volver, Volver", sung by Flaco Jiminez. King, Evans and King really shine on their vocal delivery of the soul classic "The Dark End Of The Street", which Cooder had previously recorded as an instrumental on Boomer's Story. And though it's a live album, it actually opens with a studio recording - a sublime and joyous cover of Gary U.S. Bonds' "School Is Out".

Chicken Skin Music (1976) <|> Jazz (1978)
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Ry Cooder - Chicken Skin Music (1976)

Ry Cooder is an American musician, best known for his skill as a slide guitarist and his interest in American roots music.

For his fifth album, Cooder brought new sounds into his roots music stew. Chicken Skin Music is notable for incorporating both Hawaiian and Tex-Mex sounds with his usual folk/blues/gospel fusion. Working with Hawaiian musicians Gabby Pahinui and Atta Isaacs, and famed Norteno accordion player Flaco Jimenez, he approached these traditional musical forms with reverence and respect, and was able to pull them off with true authenticity. The real beauty of Chicken Skin Music, which is widely regarded as one of his best albums, is how he fused these genres together into one smooth whole.
The songs which he chose to perform in this style demonstrate his musical diversity - Leadbelly's "Bourgeois Blues" and "Goodnight Irene", Ben E. King's "Stand By Me", old-time fiddler Blind Alfred Reed's "Always Lift Him Up", Jim Reeves' 1959 country hit "He'll Have To Go", and others. Cooder plays a variety of instruments (electric, acoustic, slide and slack-key guitars, mandola, accordion and bajo sexto), and the backing musicians include drummer Jim Keltner, bassist Chris Ethridge, percussionist Milt Holland... as well as Flaco Jimenez on accordion, Gabby Pahinui on steel guitar and Atta Isaacs on slack-key guitar. Also includes backing vocals from Bobby King, Terry Evans, Cliff Givens, Herman Johnson and Jimmy Adams.

Paradise & Lunch (1974) <|> Showtime (1977)
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Ry Cooder - Live At The Record Plant (1974)

Bootleg
Ry Cooder is an American musician, best known for his skill as a slide guitarist and his interest in American roots music.

This is a live set recorded at the The Record Plant Studios in Sausalito. It was originally broadcast on KSAN Radio. It's never been released on CD but has been widely bootlegged. There seems to be a bit of confusion as to whether it was from 1973 or 1974... but I think it's '74. It captures Ry Cooder at the most exciting time of his career, and is essential listening for fans.
This was around the same time that he released his Paradise & Lunch album, and as of such it features Bobby King on backing vocals, alongside Gene Mumford and Cliff Givens. They add a big dose of soul and gospel to Cooder's sound. Also backing Cooder are Russ Titelman (bass), Jim Keltner (drums) and Milt Holland (percussion/marimba). The result is a really fantastic lineup, with a minimalistic sound which suits the intimate setting and lets Cooder's guitar really shine. Holland's marimba playing also adds some really lovely touches to a few of the songs. Five of the songs are performed solo by Cooder on acoustic guitar or mandolin, and the other seven are with the band.
It includes various songs from his first four albums, blending blues, folk, soul and gospel effortlessly. The real gem is the last song of the set, where Bobby King sings lead on a spine-tingling gospel reading of the traditional tune "I Am A Pilgrim".

On a side note - who are (were) Gene Mumford and Cliff Givens? If you watch the video to this concert (there are a few songs on youtube) it's clear they were older than the other musicians - it seems they were veterans of doo-wop and vocal groups. Mumford was in The Larks, who were active in the early 50s, and Givens was a member of The Ink Spots in the 40s. Props to Cooder for including them.

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Ry Cooder - Paradise & Lunch (1974)

Ry Cooder is an American musician, best known for his skill as a slide guitarist and his interest in American roots music.

Two years after 1972's Boomer's Story, Ry Cooder released his fourth album, Paradise & Lunch. On his first three albums he had showcased his scholarly knowledge of American roots music forms, performing new arrangements of old, often obscure folk and blues tunes. Paradise & Lunch continued in this vein, but it introduced new gospel and soul flavours to his sound through his use of a host of fantastic backing singer (chief among them being Bobby King, who would sing on almost all Cooder albums from this moment onwards). How Cooder manages to blend these different strains of folk, blues, soul, and gospel (plus a bit of jazz) together into a cohesive whole is what makes his music so brilliant. His sound is the sound of America, and Paradise & Lunch is generally considered his crowning glory. The material ranges from songs by blues guitarist Blind Willie McTell and soul singer Bobby Womack, to selections from more obscure (and almost forgotten) artists such as Washington Phillips and Arthur Blake. The musicians backing him include drummers Milt Holland and Jim Keltner, bass guitarist Chris Ethridge, jazz bassist Red Callender, organist Ronnie Barron, pianist Earl Hines and many others.

Boomer's Story (1972) <|> Chicken Skin Music (1976)
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Ry Cooder - Boomer's Story (1972)

Ry Cooder is an American musician, best known for his skill as a slide guitarist and his interest in American roots music.

Released the same year as Into The Purple Valley, Boomer's Story was a quiet and humble collection of old folk and blues songs, Cooder demonstrating his passion as a musical scholar, and interest in the dusty forgotten corners of American cultural history. Stylistically it follows the same rootsy formula as his previous two solo albums, but is undeniably more laid back and gentle in tone. Cooder's superb slide guitar is the highlight as always, with a roster of A-list session musicians backing him throughout (including drummer Jim Keltner). Blues singer Sleepy John Estes appears as a guest singer on one of his own songs, and Randy Newman also plays piano on another number. The album is perhaps best remembered for Cooder's brilliant instrumental rendition of the soul classic "The Dark End Of The Street" (one of three instrumentals on the album).

Into The Purple Valley (1972) <|> Paradise & Lunch (1974)
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Ry Cooder - Into The Purple Valley (1972)

Ry Cooder is an American musician, best known for his skill as a slide guitarist and his interest in American roots music.

By 1972 Ry Cooder had extended his résumé by appearing on albums by Arlo Guthrie, Gordon Lightfoot, Judy Collins, David Blue, Crazy Horse, The Everly Brothers and Randy Newman, among others. His second album was another treck back into the most obscure corners of American roots music. Dust bowl folk, blues, R&B, country and calypso got the Ry Cooder treatment, being recast in innovate new arrangements featuring various diverse instrumentation, but dominated throughout by his fantastic slide guitar work (and a good dose of mandolin). Features Van Dyke Parks and Jim Dickinson on keyboards, Fritz Richmond and Chris Ethridge on bass, John Craviotta on drums and Milt Holland on percussion, along with various backing singers and horn players.

Ry Cooder (1970) <|> Boomer's Story (1972)
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Ry Cooder - Ry Cooder (1970)

Ry Cooder is an American musician, best known for his skill as a slide guitarist and his interest in American roots music.

Ry Cooder first came to prominence in the 60s as part of L.A.'s folk music scene. He was in a band called The Rising Sons, with Taj Mahal, Jesse Lee Kincaid, Gary Marker and Ed Cassidy from 1964 to 1966 (they never released an album, but recordings by them were eventually put out in 1992). He also started to earn himself a reputation as a session musician, working alongside artists as diverse as Captain Beefheart, Dale Hawkins, Pat Boone, Phil Ochs and The Rolling Stones. He proved himself to be a master of stringed instruments, and was much in demand for his guitar and mandolin work. Most importantly he earned himself a reputation as a brilliant bottleneck slide guitarist.
Eventually he got himself a recording contract with Reprise Records, and his self-titled debut album came out in 1970. It includes support from bassist Chris Ethridge, drummers Milt Holland and Johnny Barbata, pianist Van Dyke Parks, fiddle player Bobby Bruce, and Ritchie Hayward and Roy Estrada (the original rhythm section of Little Feat, whose debut album he also featured on). Stylistically, it turned out to be a rootsy folk-blues mix, with inventive arrangements highlighted by his distinctive slide guitar. With his song selection he showcased his interest in American roots music, with tunes ranging from those by well known folk performers such as Woodie Guthrie and Leadbelly, to more obscure artists such as Tommy Tucker and Blind Alfred Reed, all put together with scholarly passion. This roots fusion would come to define Cooder's solo work from this point onward, and it started to earn him great acclaim.

|> Into The Purple Valley (1972)
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