Ry Cooder - Show Time (1977)

Ry Cooder is an American musician, best known for his skill as a slide guitarist and his interest in American roots music.

Ry Cooder's sixth album was a live one, recorded in San Francisco in the December of 1976. Backing him was a fantastic band consisting of Flaco Jiminez (accordion), Henry Ojeda (bass), Jesse Ponce (bajo sexto), Frank Villarreal (alto sax) and Isaac Garcia (drums), along with Bobby King, Terry Evans and Eldridge King on vocals. The combination of the band's Tex-Mex flavours alongside the gospel-styled vocals of the backing singers makes for a truly unique Americana sound that only Cooder could have put together. And of course his guitar playing is to the fore, with some particularly amazing slide solos to listen out for.
The songs from Show Time are mostly re-arrangements of numbers from his earlier albums, but also include "Volver, Volver", sung by Flaco Jiminez. King, Evans and King really shine on their vocal delivery of the soul classic "The Dark End Of The Street", which Cooder had previously recorded as an instrumental on Boomer's Story. And though it's a live album, it actually opens with a studio recording - a sublime and joyous cover of Gary U.S. Bonds' "School Is Out".

Chicken Skin Music (1976) <|> Jazz (1978)
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