Depression Era Revisited

Now moving to a part on one of the shelves where Ry Cooder disks will make regular appearances. This one is his firsr solo album from 1970, just called Ry Cooder. It received a mixed reception way back then. At the time, Cooder was known as an ace session guitarist, adding his slide to such as Captain Beefheart and the Rolling Stones. The expectation for a solo album was for blues rock and guitar pyrotechnics but what was produced was much more understated and would only appear in context as subsequent albums were released over the coming few years. Cooder's disks always focused on the songs rather than just concentrating on his peerless guitar playing. As with the style of the albums, it took a while for his voice to be appreciated. It isn't the greatest but it sells a song very well and he learnt to make the most of what he had. This first album had a theme around depression era America and hard times with songs such as One Meat Ball, Do Re Mi and How Can a Poor Man Stand Such Times and Live. There is also some country blues and a couple of acoustic slide instrumentals. A couple of the tracks have additional arrangements by Van Dyke Parks who continued to contribute to many of the later records also.