Why don't you try me (Ry Cooder) (LP 2134 - 2139)

Ry Cooder  Borderline (Vinyl, Warner Bros. Records, 1980) ****  

Ry Cooder  The Border (Vinyl, Backstreet Records, 1982) *****  

Ry Cooder  Paris, Texas (CD, Warner Bros. Records, 1985) ***  

Ry Cooder  Get Rhythm (Vinyl, Warner Bros. Records, 1987) ****

Ry Cooder  Pull Up Some Dust And Sit Down (CD, Nonesuch Records, 2011) ***    

Ry Cooder and Corridos Famosos  Live in San Francisco (Vinyl, Nonesuch Records, 2013) ***  

Genre: Pop rock 

Places I remember: Marbecks Records (Borderline/ Get Rhythm); Real Groovy Records (The Border); Lindsay Hope collection (Paris, Texas); JB Hi-Fi (the rest).

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Across The Borderline (The Border); Across The Borderline (Get Rhythm)

Gear costume: Simple Tools (Pull Up Some Dust...); Get Rhythm 

Active compensatory factors: The second half of my Ry Cooder collection is much spottier. as I sort of stopped and started buying his stuff from 1978 onwards.

Jazz didn't interest me (I suspect he lost quite a few listeners with that one) and the mega seller Bop Till You Drop sounded too commercial to my ears (a whole lot of people bought that one who I suspect knew little about his earlier records). 

So, it wasn't until 1980's Borderline that I re-enlisted. Two years on from Jazz and a sound that is unrecognisable!

Synths? Digital recording? Ry Cooder?? No way!! Yes way!!

Tim Drummond adds rock muscle on bass, Jim Keltner, who had been on those earlier albums as well, adjusts and lays down the beat! First track, 634-5789, lays down a marker and from then on Ry is different - but in a good way.

The subject matter and sound is like a Bruce Springsteen album - down and outers, those born on the wrong side of town, losers, and the broken hearted - they are all represented but there is also a nice humourous side that isn't Bruce. Crazy 'Bout An Automobile rocks with a smile on its face!

His soundtrack work was a sideline that was obviously very lucrative. His wikipedia page lists around 15 soundtrack albums!

The Border came in 1982. It's a good film (Jack Nicolson heads a great cast) but the music is even better. The cinematic/ thematic approach suits Ry's rootsy approach to a tee. 

Freddy Fender's vocals on Across The Borderline are a standout on an excellent album which also includes Jim Dickinson (Texas Bop), Sam Samudio (Palomita, No Quiero), Brenda Patterson (Building Fires) and John Haitt (Too Late, Skin Game).

Paris, Texas contains some masterfully atmospheric guitar by Ry, but it also contains some lengthy dialogue from the film which I quickly become bored by, even if it is Harry Dean Stanton.

Get Rhythm, from 1987 has a superb new version of Across The Borderline, this time featuring Ry and the aforementioned Harry Dean Stanton on vocals instead of Freddy Fender.

That plus some rockin' versions of songs by Johnny Cash (Get Rhythm), Elvis (All Shook Up) and Chuck Berry (13 Question Method).

The other drawcards are the return of both Van Dyke Parks and Flaco Jimenez to the cause. It's a heady brew! Prime rockin' Ry.

Pull Up Some Dust And Sit Down is a studio album from 2011. It has its moments but the political stuff doesn't grab me too much and Ry's vocals aren't his strongest suit.

These days I can suss out albums easily via Spotify and I wouldn't have committed some hard earned moolah on this one if I'd had a pre-listen.

The 2013 Live in San Francisco album is a bit unfortunate because I was wanting another Showtime. But Ry is 36 years older and my expecting another Showtime is quite frankly ridiculous crazy talk!

But in my defense - all the elements were there: the same songs give or take, Flaco Jimenez, and San Francisco!!!

Once I got past that, subsequent listens have revealed a master craftsman at work. Boomer's Story for instance is just wonderful! And the solo Vigilante Man is extraordinary!

Where do they all belong? And that's it for Ry.

Do re mi (Ry Cooder) (LP 2122 - 2130)

Ry Cooder  Ry Cooder (Vinyl, Reprise Records, 1970) ****  

Ry Cooder  Into The Purple Valley (Vinyl, Reprise Records, 1972) *****  

Ry Cooder  Boomer's Story (Vinyl, Reprise Records, 1972) *****  

Ry Cooder  Live at WMMS in Cleveland 1972 (Vinyl, DOL Records, 2015) **  

Ry Cooder  Paradise & Lunch (Vinyl, Reprise Records, 1974) *****  

Ry Cooder  The Complete Bottom Line Broadcast 1974 (CD, Hobo Records, 2017) ****  

Ry Cooder  Chicken Skin Music (Vinyl, Reprise Records, 1976) *****  

Ry Cooder  Showtime (Vinyl, Reprise Records, 1977) *****  

Ry Cooder & The Chicken Skin Band  Live in Hamburg 1977 (Vinyl, Vinyl Passion Records, 2013) *****  

Genre: Pop/rock, folk, blues, Americana, Tex-Mex 

Places I remember: Spellbound Wax Company (Gisborne)

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Police Dog Blues (Ry Cooder)

Gear costume: Billy The Kid, Taxes On The Farmer Feeds Us All (Into The Purple Valley), Jesus On The Mainline (Showtime)

Active compensatory factors: I first got into Ry Cooder while working at Marbecks Records during my varsity holidays. Roger had spare stock arranged in record company sections so that we'd know where to go to replace things we sold.

I became fascinated by the WEA section and the Reprise records in particular. To this day I get a little tingle of excitement when I find something on Reprise - like Arlo Guthrie's Arlo album which I picked up this week from Dean at Electric City Music in Napier. Quality!

Anyway, I gobbled up Into The Purple Valley, Boomer's Story, Paradise And Lunch and Chicken Skin Music after succumbing to the delights of Showtime. 

Showtime is the real deal. I never get tired of listening to it.

I had read a review in Sounds music magazine by Barbara Charone and she raved about this music so much I bought a copy, and OMG. If anything she under-sold Showtime. What. A. Glorious. Album!

Aside from his debut, these are all five star classics that I almost know off by heart! Much like Elton John, these seven years in the seventies are his purple patch. 

Yes, I've been humming these songs for five decades!

Like a lot of the released radio recordings that have proliferated in the last decade, the Live in Cleveland 1972 set isn't recorded brilliantly (hence the two star rating) but it's an excellent early set of songs with Ry solo on acoustic guitar, playing songs from those first three albums.

For some reason I neglected to buy his debut album, Ry Cooder, at the time and only picked it up a couple of years ago while visiting Gisborne for work.

Thanks to John Barbata's meaty drums and Chris Ethridge's muscular bass, it's quite a rocky record, rather than having the finesse of those albums listed above. It's a sound Ry would eventually return to after he enjoyed some mainstream success with Bop Till You Drop in the late seventies. 

It's interesting how many of the Ry Cooder songs would crop up in the more sympathetic setting of Showtime.

Into The Purple Valley is a brilliant album. Record Collector wrote that the album "reached deep into tradition, unearthing neglected treasures from America’s past and reshaping them for the post-Woodstock generation."

Ry's new lightness of touch has a new surety, and each song is a delight.  

Boomer's Story, his second album of 1972, and Paradise & Lunch continue his genius run.

The Bottom Line gig from 1974 has Ry again solo on various guitars but this time it's well recorded and sounds like Ry is right there on your front porch. 

He is very loquacious during the set, hilariously so, as his downhome drawl is perfect for those introductions.

Chicken Skin Music saw him branching out into Tex Mex and Hawaiian sounds with the great accordion player, Flaco Jimenez, contributing wonderfully, as well as that tell-tale Hawaiian guitar.

This band is the one largely responsible for Showtime and Live in Hamburg, both from 1977.

The Live in Hamburg set is good with quite a few acoustic versions, although the Showtime band does also appear to great effect. Only problem is my vinyl copy has some dimples that the stylus skips over which disrupts my listening pleasure somewhat.

I'll need to replace it at some stage because the acoustic versions of Fool For A Cigarette and Let Your Light Shine On Me are superb.

Showtime for me is like Rory Gallagher's Irish Tour '73 album - the definitive live album for each man. Genius is a much abused term but these two guitarists can make their guitars speak like no others.

Showtime starts with a studio track, which is weird, except that School Is Out has become a holiday ritual for me.

After that it's just one definitive version after another. The whole album is here - do yourself a favour!

Where do they all belong? Post 1977 albums to come.

Electricity (Captain Beefheart) (LP 374)

Captain Beefheart and His Magic Band Safe As Milk (CD, Buddha, 1967) ****

Genre: Alternative pop/rock 

Places I remember: HMV  Oxford St, London

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Sure 'Nuff 'n Yes I Do (via a great great live clip from 1968)




Gear costume:  Electricity  

Active compensatory factors: This is where it all started for the Captain - his debut album and coincidentally, the only album to feature a young Ry Cooder in the Magic Band on guitar.

Its blues based approach and the relative sanity of the music make it a very accessible and pleasant listen.

It has certainly aged well over the intervening 50 plus years - smells fresh as a daisy!


Where do they all belong? I finally bought a CD copy of the album in England from HMV, although the tracks are very familiar thanks to various compilations of his early work.

The rocky road to Dublin (The Chieftains) (LP 8)

The Chieftains  The Long Black Veil (CD - BMG Music, 1995) ***

Genre: Folk 

Places I remember: Real Groovy sale bin, Auckland.  

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Have I Told You Lately That I Love You? with Van Morrison on vocals is a real highlight...

Gear costume: ...but there are other fine moments, like The Lily Of The West with Mark Knopfler and Coast Of Malabar with Ry Cooder.

Active compensatory factors: Each track features a different famous vocalist: Mick Jagger, Sting, Tom Jones, Marianne Faithfull and Sinead O'Connor also contribute their talents.  

I do applaud the intention and idea although having a different vocalist for each song can result in a wide quality gap (hence the three star rating). For instance, I love Marianne Faithfull generally but here it feels like a mismatch of styles. And I'm not a Sinaed O'Connor fan at all so I fast forward through her two tracks. 

Where do they all belong? I'm not a huge fan of Irish folk music so there aren't  many other records in my collection like this apart from Clannad. 

Some like anything as long as it rolls (Ry Cooder) #153

Ry Cooder  Crazy 'bout An Automobile; If Walls Could Talk; School Is Out/ The Very Thing That Makes You Rich (Makes Me Poor); Look At Granny Run Run; Jesus On The Mainline (Warner Brothers Records 12", 238101, 1982)

This is a weird one - right on the border between an EP and an album. Although it tries to pass itself off as a '6 song album' you try and find it in Ry's discographies! Go on - I dare ya!

Instead it's a bizarre attempt at advertising Ry's existence. Bizarre because Ry Cooder isn't a commercial proposition in the way that, say, Kiss are. Ry exists in the rock margins. That's the way he and I like it.

Just look at his wiki page - it's a sketch rather than a portrait in oil.

This is also bizarre because it's NOT a cohesive live album - it's a cobbled together 'product'. It's not even all 'live'. 

Two tracks (Jesus and School) are from his sublime live album from 1977 - Show Time. School Is Out is actually a studio recording - placed as track 1 side 1 as a precursor to the live show. The other four tracks are live versions of songs from his Bop Till You Drop and Borderline albums.

Being Ry the music is superb but he's poorly served by this. 

The cover gives things away - a washout out photo lifted from a video! Pathetic. 

The back cover lists his albums and contains misrepresentations (the claim that this is 'Live in Europe' - Show Time was recorded in San Francisco!), wrong spelling (hautning) and poor research (Speedo on Borderline becomes 'Speeds' in these liner notes). Beyond pathetic!

Hidden gem: Jesus on the mainline is a standout track from Show Time - on a album of great great songs. I urge you to seek that out rather than pay over the top for this 'rare' piece of vinyl.

I look at the world and I notice it's turning while my guitar gently weeps (The Beatles)

I recently blogged about the dire Eric Clapton autobiography on my Wozza's Place blog (http://www.wozzasplace.blogspot.com/) and mentioned that EC would probably make my top 20 guitarist list so I thought I'd put that to the test here.

So right off the bat I have to include on my rough list before getting down to 20:
George Harrison and John Lennon; Hendrix, of course; Jimmy Page; Leslie West; Alvin Lee; Chuck Berry; Keith Richards; Lenny Kaye; Muddy Waters; Neil Young and Stephen Stills; Pete Townshend; Roger McGuinn; David Gilmour; James Burton; Frank Zappa; Peter Green; Carlos Santana; Tony Iommi; Ritchie Blackmore; Joni Mitchell; Ry Cooder; Ernie Isley; Richard Lloyd; Joe Satriani; Eddie Van Halen; The Edge; Angus Young; Johnny Marr; John Squire; Dicky Betts and Duane Allman; Pat Travers; Rory Gallagher; Robby Krieger; Nick Drake; Jorma Kaukonen; Jerry Garcia; John Fogerty; Martin Barre; Ted Nugent; Chris Squire; Robin Trower; Dave Hill; Bill Frisell; George Benson; John Petrucci; Tom Morello; Andy Powell and Ted Turner; Billy Corgan; Adam Jones; Steven Wilson; Mikael Akerfeldt: Jesse Cook; John Mayer; Ron Wood; Stuart Adamson; Stone Gossard and Mike McCready; Lowell George; Billy Gibbons; Matthew Sweet.

That'll do. The most glaring omission is probably Jeff Beck but I only really like some stuff he did with The Yardbirds and I honestly can't add him to the list of my favourites based on a couple of songs.

So how many is that? 64 great guitarists, 65 when EC is included.

Hmm - how to judge them and leave out 45 of them?

Inventiveness, legacy, impact, originality, depth and breadth.

The Top Ten first of all (11 to 20 in the next post).

Obviously Jimi Hendrix is in a category all of his own and is the first name on the team sheet. A freak who like Miles Davis (Trumpet) and John Coltrane (Sax) single-handedly revolutionised his instrument. So many outstanding songs but I can't go past Voodoo Chile (both single and LP versions).

2 and 3 George Harrison and John Lennon. Yes I'm a Beatles/Lennon obsessive but they were also amazingly inventive guitarists. Best George moments come on Revolver and John's sublime visceral guitar on the Yoko Ono/Plastic Ono Band's Why has to be heard to be believed.

4 Rory Gallagher. I've raved about Rory from time to time in the blog. Best moments come on the Irish Tour '74 album and Cradle Rock in particular.

5 Tony Iommi defined a whole genre of metal guitar, sludge rock, stoner rock - whatever you want to call it. So many great riffs but War Pigs is my pick.

6 Ritchie Blackmore is so great he sustained a career beyond Deep Purple into Rainbow. Tie between Rainbow Rising and Machine Head as his best work. P.S. Rest in peace Jon Lord who died this week. His organ guitar duels with Ritchie are part of the signature Deep Purple sound we all love so much.

7 Carlos Santana makes the earth move. Somehow he tapped into chords and sustain that no one else has.

8 Ry Cooder - Jesus On The Mainline contains simply the best slide guitar playing...ever!

9 Neil Young has done it all and seems to be able to play any style he wants - rockabilly, punk, folk, country, blues, and inspired rock guitar are all within his grasp. It's hard to blow past Hurricane but for me the lather he whips up on Southern Man (Journey From The Past) is amazingly succinct - even when he stretches out!

10 Frank Zappa and his Hot Rats album was revolutionary - like a lot of his music, but he was no one trick rock fusion guitarist. No pigeon holes for Frank. Try Watermelon in Easter Hay from the Joe's Garage triple and be prepared to be impressed.

So far - no EC. Will he make the top 20?

Still gotta keep makin the loot (10CC)

Still continuing with that first theme - the musician takes centre stage, here are my top 10 album covers using long shots.

John and Yoko's Unfinished Music No2 - Life With The Lions

Neil Young turns his back on stardom and aims for the ditch.

Yoko Ono/Plastic Ono Band

Paul (Ramon) and Linda McCartney

Frank and Don alone together.

Expert texpert

My last post hinted at a long history of reading about music. I think it started with a great NZ music paper from the 1970s - 'Groove'. I have clippings from the time - Black Sabbath, Led Zep, Beach Boys, Beatles, Jethro Tull, Deep Purple, Uriah Heep (sadly yes - I had a thing for the Heep - Very 'Eavy/Very 'Umble and Demons and Wizards were early acquisitions). During the 70's I also collected the UK's 'Sounds' weekly. Lots of great articles and posters - Pink Floyd, Yes, and others were diligently clipped and put into scrapbooks. The 80s were a bit barren - the occasional 'Rolling Stone', 'Circus' and 'Crawdaddy' but there wasn't any weekly or monthly that I actually collected. It was more a case of whatever was on the cover drew my attention. This was until I went into a bookshop in St Lukes in the mid 1990s and saw 'Mojo' magazine The first cover I saw was of Howling Wolf. Um...eh??? Howling Wolf!!!!! This was a monthly that captured my heart and I've collected every copy since. I am the demographic - guys in their late 40s, early 50s who collected 'Sounds' and 'Groove' in their teenage years. And yes it is mainly guys. Go into Real Groovy and count the ratio of grey haired men to women of any age. Particularly if you just concentrate on the vinyl bins.

The latest Mojo had that feature on Ry Cooder I mentioned in the previous post. My top five Cooder albums:
5 Chicken Skin Music - Ry does Tex Mex and it's brill.
4 Boomer's Story - Another fantastic collection of songs. Stand outs - 'Dark end of the street' and 'Rally 'round the flag'.
3 The Border - 'Across the borderline' is one of Ry's best - it appears on at least 2 different albums with different lead singers. This one with Freddy Fender (yes that Freddy Fender) is sublime.
2 Into The Purple Valley - Every song is great and where else will you hear 'FDR in Trinidad'?
1 Showtime - one of the greatest live albums ever - deduct a point for the first song being a studio recording (even tho 'School is out' is a great song).

Looking at the showtime cover I realise that I particularly love vinyl covers that have no title attached of the artist or album title. Showtime has Ry on stage in what looks like a club setting with a weak spotlight on him. He's smiling (make no mistake - this is feelgood music - even when he's playing depression era songs like 'How can a poor man stand such times and live' and 'Dark end of the street'). A poster stuck to the wall is the only hint this is Ry's album and even then Flaco Jiminez's name is equally readable.

My top 5 album covers without title look like this:

5 Wings - Wild Life - Paul in the water with his best innocent pose. Band perched on a tree branch - great picture.
4 Led Zeppelin - Houses of the Holy - wow - I still remember the thrill of buying this in Sydney. The cover is better than the music inside!
3 The Beatles - Hey Jude - a collection of singles for the US market in 1970 was one of my Christmas presents in 1970. The cover is taken from the last publicity shots taken of the fabs - at John's place - Tittenhurst. They look terrific!
2 John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band and Yoko Ono/Plastic Ono Band - the one with Yoko and John under a tree at Tittenhurst. A fantastic picture - restful and at peace - nothing like the music inside. The Yoko picture reverses the position of the two under the tree.
1 Beatles - Abbey Road - an iconic portrait that needs no words.

Finally - sad news about Phil Spector. I like his mix of Let it Be (rather than Macca's naked attempt) and he deserves credit for the awesome simple sound he got on John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band. He's always been weird I guess and the various stories over the years don't paint him as a rational genius I'm afraid. On the news clips he looks like he hasn't got a clue what's going on! Very sad.