Music By Ry Cooder CD

MUSIC BY RY COODER is an anthology of Cooder's film music projects and includes some previously unreleased songs.

Since he's a limited vocalist with erratic songwriting skills, one could justifiably argue that the soundtrack medium is the best vehicle for Ry Cooder's talents, allowing him to construct eclectic, chiefly instrumental pieces drawing upon all sorts of roots music and ethnic flavors (often, but not always, employing his excellent blues and slide guitar). This two-CD, 34-song compilation gathers excerpts from 11 of the soundtracks he worked on between 1980 and 1993 (three of the cuts, from the 1981 film Southern Comfort, are previously unreleased). As few listeners (even Cooder fans) are dedicated enough to go to the trouble of finding all of his individual soundtracks, this is a good distillation of many of his more notable contributions in this idiom, although it inevitably leaves out some fine moments. Still, it's well programmed and evocative, often conjuring visions of ghostly landscapes and funky border towns. ~ Richie Unterberger

Includes liner notes by Ry Cooder & Walter Hill.

Live Recording

Personnel includes: Ry Cooder (vocals, acoustic & electric guitars, banjo, mandola, mandolin, fiddle, accordion, piano, bowed piano, keyboards, synthesizer, bass, percussion); Harry Dean Stanton (vocals); Jim Dickinson (guitar, dulceola, piano, organ keyboards, harmonium); Tom Sauber (guitar, fiddle, banjo, jawsharp); David Mansfield (violin, cello); R. Carlos Nakai (flute); Flaco Jimenez (accordion); John "Juke" Logan (harmonica); John Hassell (trumpet); Loren Marsteller (euphonium); George Bohannon (trombone, baritone horn); Jim Keltner (bowed piano, drums, percussion); Van Dyke Parks, David Lindley, John Hiatt, Freddy Fender, Sam Samudio.

Compilation producers: Ry Cooder, Joachim Cooder.

Q (8/95, p.137) - 4 Stars - Excellent - "...it's an intermittently interesting listen, best suited to the early morning..."
Melody Maker (8/5/95, p.35) - "...up there with Ennio Morricone. Cooder's work...is an erudite, articulate exploration of the music indigenous to the particular film's setting....genius by the bucketload..."
NME (Magazine) (7/15/95, p.49) - 7 (out of 10) - "...a marvellous, enquiring artist....There's masses of slide guitar and weird tunings; country blues gone futuristic and minimal. If you thought John Squire was a bit nifty on the bottleneck, then let Ry blow your tiny brain..."