Roots, Themes, Strings, Slides

The second Ry Cooder album from 1972 was this one, Into The Purple Valley. It marked a move forward from the debut album in terms of production and instrumentation. There is again a loose theme to the disk which centres around Depression era USA. There are songs by such central writers as Leadbelly, Woody Guthrie and Johnny Cash but, especially in the case of the Guthrie and cash songs, the songs are dismantled and reinterpreted in a very impressive way. Cooder again is very restrained in showing off his prowess on the guitar but there is some great slide playing on Vigilante Man and his mandolin work is showcased on Denomination Blues and Billy the Kid. The calypso F. D. R. In Trinidad signposts his later interest in music from the Caribbean and the short instrumental Great Dream From Heaven is an early indication of the fil soundtrack work he would do on movies such as Paris Texas. Each song is a little story vignette and the whole album transports the listener to another time and place in a way that makes this itself something of a timeless album.