The Sound of the Desert is in E flat --Ry Cooder

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grober

grober

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According to the maestro of the slide guitar Ry Cooder this morning on the radio.
Those familiar with the sound track of PARIS TEXAS will know what he means.
I assume he's here to promote his new CD/ tour Prodigal Son
here's a live studio version- it doesn't get deeper into the groove than this.:cool:
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That's Joachim Cooder his son, on percussion who collaborated with him on the famous Buena Vista Social Club.
A chip of the old block! :cool:
 
I’ve seen Ry Cooder live on three or four occasions. The first time was at Manchester Apollo, when he was promoting “Bop Till You Drop”, which is still one of my all-time favourite albums. He was using John Hiatt’s band to back him and they were really cooking. The gig sold out well in advance and I think every muso from miles around was there. Ry had 2600 people dancing all night, which given that musos are normally pretty laid back at other musos’ gigs was something of a rarity.

As backing singers, he had the mighty duo of Bobby King (tenor) and Willie Green Jnr (baritone), who are not only great singers, but they kept up an amazing series of co-ordinated dance moves on each song. As a concert, it still remains one of my top three ever (Little Feat, Steely Dan and Bonnie Raitt being the others – I never could count, which is why I never made it as drummer!)

I’d invited my pal and fellow music lover, Peter, along and he brought his missus – a tall blonde with big hooters and a lot of space between the ears. After the gig, we went to a pub around the corner for a pint and a cool down – still dumbstruck by what we’d just witnessed.

“So, what did you make of that, Helen?” I said. She thought about it for a second or two too long and I’ll never forget the reply…….

”Hmmm……I thought the dancers were very good….”

I’m not sure if it’s possible with a look to say “Well, mate – you married her”, but I think I managed it!
 
listened to this when you posted it. I'm still listening and watching today and will be tomorrow. That is just so gooooood. There is an effortless ease in his playing that anybody thinking "I could do that" Will ed up eating their fingers off. Thank you for posting.

A great post that makes me thinkk back to many, many fabulous nights where it "just went right" and only those there on the night got to here that moment in time.

I went to see Rory Gallagher many years ago and was by then, an addicted fan of the mans style. Sat on the Tube I relaised I was sat next to Rory Gallagher WOW. Watching him "tune up" for 'On the Western Plain' live and in a world of his own left me breathless. To this still day I still think "how did he did he do that" A few years later, I became firm friends with Papa Lou Martin, Gallaghers long term key board player. So many stories of the man and heir antics that, despite massive earnings, really never changed him. "He was "always a mean son of a bitch" Lou would say.

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The next time I saw Ry Cooder, again at Manchester Apollo, was when he was promoting the superb “Get Rhythm” album. I bought my tickets early and grabbed great seats on the front row of the balcony. Different band (I think featuring Jim Keltner on drums and Van Dyke Parks on piano – say no more!), but a stunningly good show. At the top of the steps leading to the balcony, there was a small flat space, about one metre square. In this space, a guy had been really getting into it and danced away like a good ‘un. He wasn’t bothering anyone – just enjoying himself.

During the latter part of the set, when the band was playing like a steam train, Ry kicked into his version of Blue Suede Shoes. The dancing man was having a great time, and then all of a sudden he stopped, stock still, and looked at his feet. He’d realised that he himself was wearing blue suede shoes – with thick crepe soles like the teddy boys used to wear.

Without thinking, he reached down, pulled off one of his shoes and hurled it at the stage. He was obviously so caught up in the show, he wanted Ry to have one of his shoes. The shoe flew through the air, out of the super bright lights of the follow spots and flew within an inch or so of backing singer Bobby King’s left ear. Bobby never saw it coming, but must have felt the draught as it passed by his lughole. Not the sort of behavior one would expect at a Cooder show.

Bobby is a quite short, but very stocky and powerfully built black guy and he did not take kindly to having stuff thrown at him – to say the least. How could he possibly know that the fan had simply become overcome with enthusiasm and just wanted to gift one of his shoes to Ry?

For the rest of the show, Bobby continued to sing beautifully and dance in perfect synchronized movement with Willie Green Jnr, but at all times kept one beady eye on the balcony – displaying the best “black look” I’ve ever seen.

It tickled me at the time, but I’ve often wondered if the dancing man had to limp all the way home wearing just one blue suede shoe…….
 
Rather good piece on the "Coodercaster"guitars which focuses on their pickups which appear to be transplants from lap steel guitars in the main.
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.
and a blast from the past
two slide guitarists at their best. David Lindley and Ry Cooder at an Orleans jazz festival in the 90's. First is a spiritual but the second Mercury Blues is worth a listen at 6 minutes in.
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Thanks for posting Graeme - hadn't seen this clip before, but Lindley's Mercury Blues has always been a favourite of mine.

In 1987, I was tour manager for Townes Van Zandt on his first ever UK & European Tour. I think I aged about 30 years in three weeks - a long and bizarre story - don't get me started! We had a night off in Dublin and I needed a break from baby-sitting Townes' unpredictable and weird antics. I spotted that John Hiatt was playing that night at the Olympia Theatre, so I told Townes - you do what you like - I'm going to see this show. Great gig; Hiatt on top form (as usual), and in the band on lead and slide guitar was a young Sonny Landreth. Ouch, no - make that double OUCH!

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Some lovely tasteful, controlled slide playing by Ry Cooder on this, possibly my favourite John Hiatt song -from a simply superb album Bring The Family. As an added bonus, cop the empathetic drumming and the massive floor tom reverb by drum-meister, Jim Keltner.

Close your eyes, watch the sun set in your mind and weep.....

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Fond memories of seeing John Hiatt in the Queen's Hall in Edinburgh in the 90's. I believe his backing band were called the Nashville Queens at that time. Absolutely blown away by the sheer energy of his stage performance. Think his opener was Perfectly Good Guitar irrc
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