Into the Purple Valley

See Larger Image	List Price: £9.99 Our Price: £7.98 Availability: Usually dispatched within 6 to 9 days Manufacturer: Wea Average Customer Rating:


Binding: Audio CD EAN: 0075992720021 Label: Wea Manufacturer: Wea Number Of Discs: 1 Publisher: Wea Release Date: 1988-01-25 Studio: Wea
Related Items Ry Cooder Boomer's Story Chicken Skin Music Paradise and Lunch Borderline
Editorial Reviews: Ry Cooder may have been an in-demand session guitarist in the late 1960s, but what set him apart in his early solo career was his extraordinary, if eccentric, taste in songs. Here he explores the repertoires of everyone from Johnny Cash to Bahaman folk master Joseph Spence to Leadbelly with enchanting results. While Cooder's vocal skills are no match for his slide guitar and mandolin talents (the latter showcased splendidly in "Hey Porter" and "Billy the Kid"), he's an amiable singer who resists the temptation to camp it up, even when essaying such antiquated oddities as "FDR in Trinidad" and "Taxes on the Farmer Feeds Us All". --Steve Stolder
Spotlight customer reviews: Customer Rating: Summary: Cooder's classic Comment: This was Ry Cooder's third solo record and while the first two contain a number of great tracks, demonstrating his great skill on guitar and mandolin, with "Into the purple valley" he really got into his stride, turning out a well-balanced record with a great variety of styles and sounds but a unifying aesthetic. There is a real Woody Guthrie feel to "How Can You Keep On Moving (Unless You Migrate Too)" and "Taxes On The Farmer Feeds Us All", as well as Guthrie's own "Vigilante Man", which Ry would often revisit in the future. He also applies the same kind of dustbowl sound to Leadbelly's "On a monday" and Johnny Cash's "Hey porter". The Drifter's "Money Honey" has a similar feel but more electric and this electric R&B feel carries on into "Teardrops Will Fall", which I think is one of the best tracks Ry has ever recorded. The charming calypso "FDR In Trinidad" is done purely acoustic, with Ry completely nailing both the tricky wordplay and the beautiful, rhythmic but melodic guitar. I'm not so keen on Ry's version of Washington Phillip's "Denomination Blues", with its added brass I feel it doesn't catch the subdued beauty of the original. This is definitely one of Ry's best records, much more consistent than his first two albums and with a great selection of songs and wonderful, fluent playing. Among the backing musicians are long-time associates Van Dyke Parks and Jim Dickinson, who also assist Larry Waronker with the production. Customer Rating: Summary: Excellent Comment: I came back to this album recently, not having heard in more than 30 years and was so pleased. It doesn't age, it's superb with such effortless singing, playing and downright funkiness etched right in. Do yourself a favour and add it to your collection. Customer Rating: Summary: Very much up to scratch! Comment: This is vintage Ry Cooder right up there with Chicken Skin Music. Some great tunes, lot's of his unique slide guitar and that priceless Okie feel throughout - stormclouds on the cover but sunshine in the grooves - enjoy. Customer Rating: Summary: Not up to scratch Comment: I love this man, but this CD is a bit creaky, the sound quality is not great. Some terrific tracks but I think he's represented better on other CDs. Enthusiasts only. Customer Rating: Summary: Brilliant acoustic and electric Comment: This is one excellent album. There is some fantastic slide playing, especially on the Leadbelly song "On a Monday." Cooder's finger-picked version of Joseph Spence's "Great dream from heaven" is exquisite, and the mandolin/slide guitar accompanied "Billy the Kid" is equally brilliant. The album is a mix of electric and acoustic and described in the sleeve notes as one of Cooder's most influential albums. Buy it and you'll see why. More Reviews