Ry Cooder

Added on by Craig Stewart.

Though being a long-time fan of Ry Cooder’s contribution to the Buena Vista Social Club, I wasn’t nearly as familiar with Ry’s music until coming across his 2018 release of The Prodigal Son album. After first hearing it, my attraction to this kind of musical interpretation was almost instantaneous with Ry’s sublime electric guitar work on traditional blues, folk, bluegrass, and gospel.

While a solid case can be made for a socio-political intent on urban America with songs like Gentrification, it’d be wrong to think it's all Ry had to share on this album. Songs like Straight Street and Nobody’s Fault but Mine are centered on faith, redemption, and forgiveness. And to give you an idea of which decade many of these traditional songs originated, Straight Street, written by James W. Alexander and Jesse Whitaker was originally recorded in the 1950s by the Pilgrim Travelers.

The spirit Ry Cooder’s interpretation breathes into this eclectic group of traditional songs is remarkable. If you’re a fan of American music... don’t miss it. “It only took six decades of trying to get good at this,” then 71-year-old Cooder joked about his album’s release.