Ry Cooder’s ‘The Prodigal Son’
The Prodigal Son, Ry Cooder’s first studio album in six years, arrived the other day, and I’ve been playing it non-stop. Following the political and social commentaries of Pull Up Some Dust and Sit Down and Election Special, this is his gospel album: the music of the church, black and white, filtered through his own approach, with Cooder playing guitar, mandolin, banjo, bass and keyboards as well as singing, his son Joachim playing drums and percussion, and three of his regular singers, Bobby King, Arnold McCuller and Terry Evans (who died earlier this year), providing the necessary chorus here and there.
A gospel influence has been present in Cooder’s music all along, of course, from Blind Willie Johnson’s “Dark Was the Night” on his debut album in 1970, Joseph Spence’s “Great Dream of Heaven” on Into the Purple Valley and “Jesus on the Main Line” on Paradise and Lunch. But this time it’s allowed to filter to the surface and stay there in a mixture of originals and songs borrowed from the Pilgrim Travelers, the Stanley Brothers, Blind Alfred Reed and others, including two more from Blind Willie Johnson. He was trying, he says in a little promo film for the album, not to make it heavy or preachy. It’s clear that what he was after was the spirit of the people who originally made this music, and of the timeless relevance of their hopes and yearnings.
If you already know Cooder’s music, you’ll know the way this album sounds, although Joachim’s interest in creating new percussion instruments subtly expands the palette of colours and textures. The most obviously appealing track is the version of the Pilgrim Travelers’ “Straight Street”, a redemption song with a chorus begging the listener to add her or his own harmonies, at least in the privacy of their own home, buoyed by Joachim’s electric mbira — a sound “like slow water”, in his father’s phrase — and Ry’s mandolin.
Of the original tunes, the most striking is “Jesus and Woody”, a plain ballad in which Cooder imagines the Lord inviting Woody Guthrie to bring his guitar and sit down next to the heavenly throne and “drag out your Oklahoma poetry, ’cause it looks like the war is on.” It’s the nearest the album gets to an outright declaration on the current state of the world: “Well, I’ve been the Saviour now for such a long time / And I’ve seen it all before / You good people better get together / Or you ain’t got a chance any more.”
When I interviewed Ry for The Times in 1982, he used an interesting word to describe a certain quality inherent in the voices of the early soul singers he so much admired. That word was “unbought”, and it stuck with me. It could equally well be applied to his own music.
At the time of the interview he was probably at the peak of his popularity as a performer, having arrived in London for a run of eight consecutive nights at the Hammersmith Odeon. Still, he was remarking drily that his records “end up in the disc jockeys’ homes, not on their studio turntables.” And he was not enamoured of the art of live performance: “The music should speak for itself, but you have to illustrate it and dramatise it in some way.” Which was not really his thing at all.
He remains a musician as loved as he is admired, the arrival of each new album eagerly anticipated. And when I tried to buy tickets for his October concert at Cadogan Hall the other day, they were all gone. The Prodigal Son, with its theme of consolation, will have to console me, too.
* The photograph of Ry Cooder was taken by Joachim Cooder.
thebluemoment.com 
Thanks for that perceptive and warm piece about the great man, not least because it made me rush off and book two of the last 19 tickets left here (as at May 13th) in Glasgow for October. I last saw him in ’82, in London, and it was life-enhancingly wonderful. On a first listen, the new album is his best in many years, and ‘Nobody’s fault but mine’ is now on repeat. Superb.
Reading your piece brought back great memories of your Ry reviews in Melody Maker. I probably still have clippings tucked into the sleeves of some LPs. I think this is his best album for a long time. I agree with everything you say and he seems more energised and I think his relationship with his son Joachim has a lot to do with it. You mention the short promo video and you’ve probably noticed that there are 3 live studio videos on YouTube also. I mention them just in case. All are excellent in my view. Here’s a link to the Prodigal Son one in case you missed it or others want to follow through.
Check out FretBoard Journal issue 32 2013 for one of the best and most revealing interviews with Ry
Here’s the entire album on YouTube ..
….but do your favorite musicians a favor … preview the album on YouTube … but then for god sake … buy a copy ! Cause the truth is we barely make a dime off of YouTube despite what you may think
I have long admired Ry. Such a talented but modest man. Introduced to him in 1970 by John Peel. (Though I had worn out one copy of Beefheart’s “Safe as Milk” by then, was unaware Ry was one of the guitarists on the album.) First saw him live late 70’s in Dublin with Chicken Skin band – Flaco, Bobby, Terry et al.
Just finished reading Garth Cartwright’s “More Miles than Money”, a chronicle of his travels through California, Tennessee and Mississippi. A terrific read but he was surprisingly dismissive of Cooder’s “stuffy” solo records, including “Chavez Ravine” which is one of my favourites.
I am absolutely loving the new record too – he seems to have grown into his singing voice as well. Joachim’s loops and percussion fit so well. I managed to get tickets, something to look forward to when summer has gone.
Loved Ry’s music and studio work since day one . Love the new album as well . But in all honesty .. I’m hoping for at least one more instrumental album like the soundtracks he’s done in the past before its all over . Joachim ? A seriously under rated and under appreciated talent deserving of much more exposure and sales than he gets
It’s remarkable to me that someone can continue making music of this caliber for so long. So many artists either can’t or simply don’t. Ry’s voice sounds as good as it ever has here (perhaps the best it ever has?!) He’s my all-time favorite guitar player of all time, and this album does not disappoint in that regard either. It really seems to me that he has learned from every chapter of his career, and continued to draw those things into his sound. I bought tickets to see him at The Moore Theater in Seattle in July, and when the purchase went through I felt emotional just knowing I was finally going to get to see him play in person. I’ve admired him for so long, and I am so pleased with how the new record sounds.
I also finally get to take my dad to see a real blues legend (something we’ve just never been able to make happen). The blues have always been a connector for my dad, my brother-in-law and myself, and now the 3 of us are going to see Ry together.