Ry Cooder: Introduction
There really isn’t a ton of context necessary here, but I’ll endeavor to set the scene…
Ry Cooder has been a favorite of mine for many years, ever since I discovered him in college around the turn of the Century and proceeded to pursue him in both directions, into the past and future at once, ever since. It came to me in a moment of clarity and searching this year that following Ry’s own personal journey through the music of this country and this planet could be an artistically inspiring and spiritually profitable undertaking.
Based on a format originally designed by Mr Dan H Cook III, I committed to listening to each of Ry’s albums in chronological order, one per week, and sending out an email each week to a small list (23 recipients in total) of family, friends, and music lovers.
I quickly loosened many of my planned constraints and guidelines, most notably the notion of listening to every Ry Cooder album. His wikipedia page lists 51 albums under either “Solo Albums”, “Collaborations”, or “Soundtracks”. And that doesn’t include the 35 or so “as guest musician” credits they list (there are certainly at least twice as many records on which he’s been credited as a guest musician). So one thing this list is not is comprehensive. Still, I think it gives you a pretty good picture of both the musician and, more importantly, the music that inspired and moved through him.
I won’t dwell here on all the things I love about Ry and all the reasons I thought this would be such a good idea. For that, you’ll just have to read on. The links are below. I’ve also created a YouTube playlist with the 34 songs that I featured over the course of the entire journey.
Buen viaje,
S
Table of Contents:
Ry Cooder Part 1: The Irreverent Archeologist
Ry Cooder Part 2: A Man of the World
