Ry Cooder - S/T (1970)
MP3, 192K/s 44100Hz Joint Stereo, 44.1 MB
Already a seasoned
music business veteran at the age of 22, Ry Cooder stepped out from
behind the shadows of the likes of Jackie DeShannon, Taj Mahal, the
Rolling Stones, and Captain Beefheart, signing his own deal with Warner
Brothers records in 1969. Released the following year, Cooder's
eponymous debut creates an intriguing fusion of blues, folk, rock &
roll, and pop, filtered through his own intricate, syncopated guitar;
Van Dyke Parks and Lenny Waronker's idiosyncratic production; and Parks
and Kirby Johnson's string arrangements. And while he's still finding
his feet as a singer, Cooder puts this unique blend across with a
combination of terrific songs, virtuosic playing, and quirky, yet
imaginative, arrangements. For material, Cooder, the son of folklorist
parents, unearths ten gems — spanning six decades dating back to the
1920s — by legends such as Woody Guthrie, Blind Blake, Sleepy John
Estes, and Leadbelly, as well as a current Randy Newman composition.
Still, as great as his outside choices are, it's the exuberant charm of
his own instrumental "Available Space" that nearly steals the show. Its
joyful interplay between Cooder's slide, Van Dyke Parks' music hall
piano, and the street-corner drumming creates a piece that is both
loose and sophisticated. If "Available Space" is the record's most
playful moment, its closer, "Dark Is the Night," is the converse, with
Cooder's stark, acoustic slide extracting every ounce of torment from
Blind Willie Johnson's mournful masterpiece. Some of the eccentric
arrangements may prove to be a bit much for both purists and pop
audiences alike, but still, Cooder's need to stretch, tempered with a
reverence for the past, helps to create a completely original work that
should reward adventurous listeners. ---by Brett Hartenbach
Tracklist:
1. Alimony (3:04)
2. France Chance (2:52)
3. One Meatball Singer (3:12)
4. Do Re Mi (2:57)
5. My Old Kentucky Home (Turpentine & Dandelion Wine) (1:51)
6. How Can A Poor Man Stand Such Times And Live (2:50)
7. Available Space (2:11)
8. Pigmeat Leadbelly (3:12)
9. Police Dog Blues (3:36)
10. Goin' To Brownsville (3:24)
11. Dark Is The Night (2:43)
