Post by t-bob on Sept 6, 2008 17:02:31 GMT -5
Gone back to his own unique style of rock and roll! It's the 3rd in his trilogy of CDs celebrating "lost" roots music.
"The third part of Cooder's 'California Trilogy' sees him combine the best of all his areas of expertise. It's for sure that whether you're a fan of his Americana, his guitar playing or just his fine writing that you'll be satisfied with I, Flathead.
Accompanied by a novella recounting the oddball tale of Kash Buk and his 'Klowns'. A circle of 'petrolheads': drag racers and automotive junkies who wander the salt flats of California in the early 60s. This is possibly the loosest of Cooder's 'concept' albums, despite its narrative accompaniment. This looseness also comes across in the playing and writing. Chavez Ravine was rooted in the Mexican roots of its protaganists, while My name Is Buddy Song owed more to Woody Guthrie's dustbowl tales. But here as electricity and machinery enter the picture Cooder blends his love of country, blues, rock 'n' roll and even mariachi, weaving it in with the usual blend of sociopolitical history and a BIG dollop of humour. Cooder's willingness to bring guitars back into centre stage means Steel Guitar Heaven is a total, jazzy blast while Spayed Cooley combines country swing with canine-related jokes. In keeping with the period we get odes to the cold war/red menace (Pink-o Boogie - where he FINALLY whips out the slide like we've all been waiting for since about 1990), Johnny Cash (Johnny Cash) and lots and lots of cars (Drive Like I Never Been Hurt, Little Trona Girl, Flathead One More Time, Ridin' With The Blues).
The album's more, say, existential bent is played up by Cooder's gnarly growl of a voice that suits a spoken Can I Smoke In Here down to the ground. One can imagine the dialogue set in some steel truckstop diner in the middle of the desert. And with the period chosen covering his adolescent years there's plenty of opportunity to get pretty ribald in places. Joined by old compadres like Jim Keltner and even Jon Hassell (on Flathead One More Time, another raspy delight) as well as his son Joachim on drums, this is, well, the most typically 'Cooderish' album in a long while. Ridin' With The Blues with its references to his glory days on the road with the Stones may be the loudest, raunchiest thing he's done in a long while. All in all this is a fine end piece to his trilogy, while it also seems to signal a return to the Cooder we all know and love. Here's hoping... "
Tbob sez "Check it out".
"The third part of Cooder's 'California Trilogy' sees him combine the best of all his areas of expertise. It's for sure that whether you're a fan of his Americana, his guitar playing or just his fine writing that you'll be satisfied with I, Flathead.
Accompanied by a novella recounting the oddball tale of Kash Buk and his 'Klowns'. A circle of 'petrolheads': drag racers and automotive junkies who wander the salt flats of California in the early 60s. This is possibly the loosest of Cooder's 'concept' albums, despite its narrative accompaniment. This looseness also comes across in the playing and writing. Chavez Ravine was rooted in the Mexican roots of its protaganists, while My name Is Buddy Song owed more to Woody Guthrie's dustbowl tales. But here as electricity and machinery enter the picture Cooder blends his love of country, blues, rock 'n' roll and even mariachi, weaving it in with the usual blend of sociopolitical history and a BIG dollop of humour. Cooder's willingness to bring guitars back into centre stage means Steel Guitar Heaven is a total, jazzy blast while Spayed Cooley combines country swing with canine-related jokes. In keeping with the period we get odes to the cold war/red menace (Pink-o Boogie - where he FINALLY whips out the slide like we've all been waiting for since about 1990), Johnny Cash (Johnny Cash) and lots and lots of cars (Drive Like I Never Been Hurt, Little Trona Girl, Flathead One More Time, Ridin' With The Blues).
The album's more, say, existential bent is played up by Cooder's gnarly growl of a voice that suits a spoken Can I Smoke In Here down to the ground. One can imagine the dialogue set in some steel truckstop diner in the middle of the desert. And with the period chosen covering his adolescent years there's plenty of opportunity to get pretty ribald in places. Joined by old compadres like Jim Keltner and even Jon Hassell (on Flathead One More Time, another raspy delight) as well as his son Joachim on drums, this is, well, the most typically 'Cooderish' album in a long while. Ridin' With The Blues with its references to his glory days on the road with the Stones may be the loudest, raunchiest thing he's done in a long while. All in all this is a fine end piece to his trilogy, while it also seems to signal a return to the Cooder we all know and love. Here's hoping... "
Tbob sez "Check it out".
