Music : Into the Purple Valley

Rating: - Cooder's classic
This was Ry Cooder's third solo record and while the first two contain a number of great tracks, demonstrating his great skill on guitar and mandolin, with "Into the purple valley" he really got into his stride, turning out a well-balanced record with a great variety of styles and sounds but a unifying aesthetic.

There is a real Woody Guthrie feel to "How Can You Keep On Moving (Unless You Migrate Too)" and "Taxes On The Farmer Feeds Us All", as well as Guthrie's own "Vigilante Man", which Ry would often revisit in the future. He also applies the same kind of dustbowl sound to Leadbelly's "On a monday" and Johnny Cash's "Hey porter". The Drifter's "Money Honey" has a similar feel but more electric and this electric R&B feel carries on into "Teardrops Will Fall", which I think is one of the best tracks Ry has ever recorded. The charming calypso "FDR In Trinidad" is done purely acoustic, with Ry completely nailing both the tricky wordplay and the beautiful, rhythmic but melodic guitar. I'm not so keen on Ry's version of Washington Phillip's "Denomination Blues", with its added brass I feel it doesn't catch the subdued beauty of the original.

This is definitely one of Ry's best records, much more consistent than his first two albums and with a great selection of songs and wonderful, fluent playing. Among the backing musicians are long-time associates Van Dyke Parks and Jim Dickinson, who also assist Larry Waronker with the production.

---

Rating: - Excellent
I came back to this album recently, not having heard in more than 30 years and was so pleased. It doesn't age, it's superb with such effortless singing, playing and downright funkiness etched right in.

Do yourself a favour and add it to your collection.

---

Rating: - Very much up to scratch!
This is vintage Ry Cooder right up there with Chicken Skin Music. Some great tunes, lot's of his unique slide guitar and that priceless Okie feel throughout - stormclouds on the cover but sunshine in the grooves - enjoy.

---

Rating: - Not up to scratch
I love this man, but this CD is a bit creaky, the sound quality is not great. Some
terrific tracks but I think he's represented better on other CDs. Enthusiasts only.

---

Rating: - Brilliant acoustic and electric
This is one excellent album.

There is some fantastic slide playing, especially on the Leadbelly song "On a Monday." Cooder's finger-picked version of Joseph Spence's "Great dream from heaven" is exquisite, and the mandolin/slide guitar accompanied "Billy the Kid" is equally brilliant. The album is a mix of electric and acoustic and described in the sleeve notes as one of Cooder's most influential albums. Buy it and you'll see why.