Ry Cooder - Chavez Ravine

It is an album of the year without a doubt. The sad and shameful tale of how, in the 50's the racist and corrupt L.A. city council ethnically cleansed the Chicano neighbourhood of Chavez Ravine to make way for the lucrative relocation of the Brooklyn dodgers stadium.
Musically impeccable as usual, but in 'don't call me red' Frank Wilkinson (now in his 90's), who as an idealistic young public housing officer had a vision of building affordable housing for poor families, recounts how "Fritz Burns, Chief parker and J.Edgar, I outlived those bastards after all". The song is hip-hop influenced and incorporates eerie samples from the 'House Unamerican Activities Committee' anti-communist hearings and is unlike anything Cooder has recorded before.
Long time Cooder associates Jim Keltner, Flaco Jimenez and David Hidalgo all contribute towards a potent and thrilling collection of songs.
Recommended.

Ha !
You speak from my heart, Malky...
I didn't wanna stress too much on the political implications (you know - as a European and German...), so I'm glad, you did that part for me. I hundred percent agree with you, though. Scandal !

Musically, it grows and grows an me...

Expat from Oz will have to adjust his "CD's of the year" thread, I guess

Stefan

Up to Mr. Cooder's usual high standards - in a similar vein and less political are Los Super Seven. Glad to see that CDs of this nature still get sufficient sponsorship to see them made.

Cooder also appears on the new Ali Farka Toure / Toumani Diabate disc "in the heart of the moon," which is also excellent.

Hmm,

Been listening to this for a couple of weeks now. There are some good songs on it but "album of the year"? Not by a million miles would this ever qualify for an album of any year.

Compared to much Ry stuff it is predominantly downbeat and rather too worthy. There is nowt wrong with worthy whatsoever but there's just so little magic here that I am deeply saddened. Even the highly over-rated Buena Vista Social Club had more 'moments' than this.

One ends up valuing average songs for the fact that stuff like "Don't Call Me Red" just meanders buy without ever approaching anything that most of us would call melody.

If you like, it just lack songs and spark. I can't honestly say that if it was the first thing I'd ever heard by Ry that it would motivate me to ever investigate that back catalogue.

Album of the year??? Profound disappointment more likely. It's not a bad album. It's just overlong, lacking in coherence and melody and doesn't even make you stop for a single moment to admire the musicianship. There are maybe three half decent songs across the whole thing and I shall be returning mine to Fopp to swap it for something with a bit more life to it.

I mean if a CDX2/XPS2 can't bring it to life then maybe it hasn't got much???!!!

IMHO of course.

Mike

I really cannot decide about this album.

I bought it for my wife (who loves Buena Vista Social Club) but she thought it dull. Slowly it is growing on me though, I've got over the feeling that it is a bit too worthy and the dusty melancholy is winning my over. Some of the obvious tunes are immediately enjoyable but I'm even growing to like the slowpaced and langorous tracks that seemed like 'fillers' first time round.

Not album of the year in my book. Not going to be played endlessly, but atmospheric and interesting none the less.

Bruce

BTW Album of the year may well turn out to be the utterly mesmerising Ali FarkeToure/Toumani Diabate 'In The Heart Of The Moon'. Fabulous. If you liked Ry Cooder/Ali Farke Toure 'Talking Timbuktu' then you should enjoy this more delicate album just as much.