Cooder’s R&B

Rip It Up, Issue 26, 1 September 1979, Page 14

Cooder’s R&B

Ken Williams

Ry Cooder Bop Till You Drop

Warner Bros Ry Cooder is a fascinating chronicler and interpreter of American musical styles. A superlative guitarist and singer of quirky charm, he has run the gamut from blues to cowboy to patriotic songs of the Civil War in his seven previous albums. His eclecticism has attracted a devoted following, but mass acceptance has eluded Cooder, who seems to be a self-effacing fellow with scant regard for the trappings of stardom. If there is any justice, Bop Till You Drop should make him a household name.

It's quite brilliant and probably Cooder's most readily accessible album. Bop Till You Drop is devoted to the fifties style of rhythm and blues, usually employing several voices singing harmony or counterpoint, which is virtually forgotten today. It is Cooder's special gift to breathe new life into neglected styles and Bop Till You Drop may be his finest achievement. As ever, his choice of songs is excellent not a clinker among them and none overexposed, or even well-known. Perhaps the most familiar is Ike and Tina Turner's “I Think It's Going to Work Out Fine” which is done as an instrumental with achingly beautiful slide guitar by Cooder.

All other tracks feature back-up vocalists and Chaka Khan is especially fine. Cooder’s band of top session men plays with the push demanded by this street corner sermonising. Of special note is bass player Tim Drummond whose playing was a feature of some of James Brown's finest records.

The real surprise of the album is "Down In Hollywood”, Cooder’s first recorded song since his debut album. Co-written with Drummond, it’s a funky, funny tale of the perils of Hollywood Boulevard. It even sounds like a hit. Hell, the whole album sounds like a hit.