Ry Cooder

The UFO Has Landed: The Ry Cooder Anthology Show

Time Rhino/ Warner Bros.

originally published December 10, 2008

Variety has been the name of the game for Ry Cooder since the Californian singer/guitarist’s early days in Captain Beefheart’s Safe as Milk-era Magic Band and with Taj Mahal as the Rising Sons. So, when a compilation comes along labeled as a Cooder anthology, one must be aware that it is an achievement in itself to represent Cooder’s melting pot of styles within such confines. This is substantiated by the double-disc The UFO Has Landed, a two-disc survey of Cooder’s work during the last three decades that focuses primarily on his string of potluck Americana albums from the ‘70s and ‘80s.

Though Cooder has since expanded his range to include soundtrack compositions and excursions into world music with the Buena Vista Social Club and others, you can’t really digest the full enchilada without hearing albums like folk music travelogue Into the Purple Valley and the Tex-Mex-meets-Hawaii-cool Chicken Skin Music. Plenty of material from those and other ‘70s releases pop up, as do many from later releases like Get Rhythm and Bop Till You Drop - notable for its detour into rockabilly, yes, but also for being the first album to utilize digital recording.

Concerning Cooder’s work during the ‘90s and 2000s is where the playlist becomes a little haphazard. Understandably, an anthology should not focus greatly on an artist’s most recent recordings. But, only two tracks from Cooder’s “California Trilogy” (2005’s Chavez Ravine, 2007’s My Name Is Buddy and 2008’s I, Flathead) are present, and not a single sliver from the ingenious …Buddy made the cut. The omissions wouldn’t stand out so much if those albums hadn’t produced some of the most heartfelt and creatively substantial work of the man’s career. Also, none of Cooder’s collaborations with such world musicians as Manuel Galbån are touched upon, though his soundtrack compositions do get nods with selections from such films as The Long Riders and Alamo Bay.

The quality of what’s included here, though, cannot be disputed. From the slack-key gospel of “Always Lift Him Up” to the warped road music of “Drive Like I Never Been Hurt,” Cooder is aptly represented as a performer whose art truly knows no boundaries. He’s the rocker, the jazzman, the bluesman and the honky-tonker all in one stout package. Rather than make dour political or mid-life crisis albums like some of his contemporaries, he’s content bridging old style with new fittings and ideas. With that, The UFO Has Landed is a fine introduction to Cooder’s work, even if the song that inspired its title (“UFO Has Landed in the Ghetto”) is mysteriously absent. A true anthology, though, it ain’t. Do the man’s back catalog justice and issue a box set already!

Elsewhere, Cooder’s oft-overlooked Show Time, from 1976, sees a digital re-release. This should be a comfort to budget-conscious fans as the eight-track album has been out of print in the U.S. for years and the import version usually fetches well into the $20–$30 range.

Recorded on the cusp of Chicken Skin Music, the live Show Time finds an extraordinary band, including accordionist Flaco Jiménez, playing backup. The accompanists and added gospel singers bring much to reworked versions of “Alimony” and “Jesus on the Mainline.” But it’s Cooder’s show and, even in this brief performance, he’s already an ace bandleader steering the group through selections inspired by both the church and the cathouse. At around a buck a song, both Cooder devotees and those looking to investigate his musical prowess beyond Buena Vista will be hard pressed to find a lemon in this particular bag.

Michael Andrews

James Harman Band

Do Not Disturb

Hepcat

originally published December 10, 2008

Blues bandleader James Harman reveals himself as a man who knows how to both soothe a forlorn lover and ensure maximum motel room privacy on his 1991 release Do Not Disturb. Though the album presented harp player/ vocalist Harman on a new label (Black Top) and fronting a new lineup of his synonymous backing band, the new blood and vivid songs resulted in one of Harman’s most sworn-by releases.

Whereas some blues players focus more on the licks than the lyrics, Harman proves himself highly attuned to both, giving songs like “Phonebill Blues” and “Motel King” a little-things-mean-a-great-deal perspective that attaches itself to the meaty Chicago style heard throughout. Backed by such accompanists as bassist Jeff “Big Dad” Turmes and Los Lobos’ David Hidalgo, Harman is in top form here, even if he can’t seem to come to terms with having his privacy infringed upon or getting a decent night’s rest atop that damned motel bed.

Michael Andrews

Blue Ash

No More, No Less

Collector’s Choice

originally published December 10, 2008

Ohio power-pop troupe Blue Ash may not have become the household name that homies Cheap Trick did during the early ‘70s, but it produced guitar-charged, harmony and hormone-drenched tunes every bit as memorable. The group’s long out-of-print 1973 debut, No More, No Less, does well in backing up that assertion.

Leading off with the group’s claim to one-hit wonderdom, “Abracadabra (Have You Seen Her),” the whole of No More… rides a heavy crest of Bill Bartolin’s soaring guitar licks and the group’s effective use of harmony vocals contributed by each of the four bandmembers. Jam-packed with Guitar Hero-bound riffs, monster choruses and even some well-arranged ballads masquerading as rockers ("Dusty Old Fairgrounds”), this is an obscure gem on which power and pop are both evenly matched and brilliantly intertwined.

Michael Andrews

Various Artists

Boots, Buckles and Spurs: 50 Songs Celebrate 50 Years of Cowboy Tradition

Columbia/Legacy

originally published December 10, 2008

Released to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the now Wrangler-presented National Finals Rodeo, triple-disc box Boots, Buckles and Spurs compiles cowboy songs from the WWII-era ("Tumbling Tumbleweeds,” “Cattle Call”) up to the present day (Montgomery Gentry, Don Walser, etc.). Much of it has been used as warm-up music for the event itself, but the set functions just as well as a far-reaching compendium of trail, roping, riding and ranching tunes.

Having the vaults of Columbia Records to cherry-pick from definitely helps matters. Many of the label’s top artists - Johnny Cash, Tanya Tucker, Willie Nelson and Marty Robbins among them - have been country stars, and each of those is represented on the set. Other more left-of-field selections like Ian Tyson’s “Leavin’ Cheyenne” and Robert Earl Keen’s “That Buckin’ Song” help to set the box apart from being just another roundup of cowboy-mythologizing troubadours. Instead, it’s a rare case of both country and Western being equally represented. Extensive notes chronicling the history of rodeo itself make appropriate and informative reading material as the proverbial tumbleweeds coast along this wide-open range.

Michael Andrews