Roots of Ry Cooder

• Artist: Various Artists
• Release Date: April 30, 2002
• Type: Collection (various artists), Compilation (best of)
• Genre: Blues

Review

In his many-faceted career as a producer, session musician, solo artist, and soundtrack composer, Ry Cooder has drawn continually on the deep roots of American music, reinventing and refocusing the old into the new in a nearly seamless balancing act. This fine collection of vintage roots material from Britain's Catfish Records visits some of Cooder's musical sources and influences, and the result is a wonderful snapshot of 1920s and Depression era rural America. Included here are the natural storytelling talents of Sleepy John Estes on "Brownsville Blues," the haunting, primal pain of Blind Willie Johnson's "Dark Was the Night (Cold Was the Ground)," the dark joy of "Viola Lee Blues" by Gus Cannon's Jug Stompers, and the indignant Depression classic"How Can a Poor Man Stand Such Times and Live" by Blind Alfred Reed. The two-part "You Can't Stop a Tattler" by Washington Phillips is a chiming, charming and oddly contemporary-sounding delight. As a guide to the deep wellsprings of American music, Ry Cooder has been invaluable, and by compiling this collection of his sources, Catfish has given us a wonderful introduction to the music that came before Top 40, MTV and Clear Channel. ~ Steve Leggett, All Music Guide

Tracks

Track Title	Composers	Performers	Time
Do Re Mi (Lyrics)	Woody Guthrie	Woody Guthrie	(2:35)
Pig Meat Papa		Leadbelly	(3:16)
Police Dog Blues	Blind Blake	Blind Blake	(2:53)
Brownsville Blues	Sleepy John Estes	Sleepy John Estes	(3:08)
Dark Was the Night	Blind Willie Johnson	Blind Willie Johnson	(3:21)
On a Monday	Leadbelly	Leadbelly	(1:50)
Vigilante Man	Woody Guthrie	Woody Guthrie	(3:23)
Cherry Ball Blues	Skip James	Skip James	(2:51)
Taxes on the Farmer Feeds Them All	Fiddlin' John Carson	Fiddlin' John Carson	(2:52)
The Bourgeois Blues	Leadbelly	Leadbelly	(5:35)
You Can't Stop a Tattler, Pt. 1	George Washington Phillips	George Washington Phillips	(2:53)
You Can't Stop a Tattler, Pt. 2	George Washington Phillips	George Washington Phillips	(2:48)
Diddie Wah Diddie	Blind Blake	Blind Blake	(2:58)
How Can a Poor Man Stand Such Times and Live		Blind Alfred Reed	(3:12)
Viola Lee Blues	Noah Lewis	Cannon's Jug Stompers	(3:08)
Cross Road Blues (Lyrics)	Robert Johnson	Robert Johnson	(2:40)
Goodnight Irene	John A. Lomax, Leadbelly	Leadbelly	(2:54)
Statesboro Blues (Lyrics)	Blind Willie McTell	Blind Willie McTell	(2:30)
Poor Me	Charley Patton	Charley Patton	(2:58)
Candy Man Blues (Lyrics)	Mississippi John Hurt	Mississippi John Hurt	(2:47)
Corrine, Corrina		Bo Carter	(3:17)

Credits

Pat Harrison (Liner Notes), Mississippi John Hurt (Performer), Fiddlin' John Carson (Performer), Woody Guthrie (Performer), George Washington Phillips (Performer), Blind Willie Johnson (Performer), Skip James (Performer), Leadbelly (Performer), Blind Willie McTell (Performer), Robert Johnson (Performer), Bo Carter (Performer), Sleepy John Estes (Performer), Blind Alfred Reed (Performer), Cannon's Jug Stompers (Performer), Charley Patton (Performer)