Ry Cooder

"I had made up my mind to quit worrying. Los Angeles was the Land of the Brighter Day, something good was bound to turn up."

These last two lines sum up the motivation that lies with the numerous characters that musician Ry Cooder offers up in his new collection of short stories. While the stories are nominally linked, the variety is enormous: mariachi players, park prophets, backalley dentists, tailors, and disc jockeys are all introduced in their native milieu. Set in the first half of the show more twentieth century, these stories are based on the inner life of the inner city.

This is not postcard or travel agency Los Angeles; there is no glamour or celebrities to dress it up. Even the weather doesn't seem to cooperate with stereotype: fog and rain are as frequent as bar brawls. The characters are the faceless many that work off the books, just trying to get by while the city appears as a predatory character, breathing and pulsing, foiling any attempts at the good life.

The collection is also an excellent geography text to significant Los Angeles locations--Griffith Park, Chinatown, Little Tokyo, Union Station, Bunker Hill, and Hollenbeck Park all serve as backdrops, and Cooder seems to know the streets and back alleys very well. Cocktail bars and bowling alleys are among the seedy gathering places of the working class and small time criminals that Cooder writes about and who occasionally cross tracks with each other.

My favorite was "Who do you know that I don't?" set in 1949, wherein a tailor to the mariachi clientele attempts to solve the murder of a popular jazz musician, Johnny Mumford. Cooder creates a world of layaway payments, shiny and finned cars, and musicians desperate to wear a good suit but not eager to pay. Memorably, the tailor even makes one suit to be shared by two musicians who can't afford their own, later assisting them to escape the cops while he helps search for links to the murder. A prize collection of 78 records becomes a significant clue.

Another story focuses on a resourceful guy whose job is to fill in the details on the City Directory, going door-to-door to collect information from suspicious citizens in boardinghouses and side streets. The essential absurdity of compiling an accurate book aside, Frank is diligent and thorough. Though he's essentially a simple man, his path crosses with three suspicious murders and suddenly he's a suspect:

"Once they see a pattern, they think they know it all, and they think they got you. That's not the way life is. Take it from me, life is random and inscrutable, like the City Directory."

The stories are well-plotted and heavily detailed, and the characters feel real. Cooder develops each protagonist well, and creates their world for the reader in inscrutable detail. In fact, that may be one of my only concerns about the collection: at times I felt like there was too much name-dropping and references to streets and neighborhoods and pop culture of the period. Sometimes, the many facts slowed down and derailed the narrative from its pace. I think the same effect could have been achieved without so many points of reference and still have remained realistic. show less

Product Details

* Audio CD (September 16, 1997)
* Original Release Date: September 16, 1997
* Number of Discs: 1
* Label: Nonesuch
* Catalog Number: 79478
* ASIN: B000005J56
* Other Editions: Audio Cassette | DVD Audio
* Average Customer Review: based on 302 reviews. (Write a review.)
* Amazon.com Sales Rank: #300 in Music (See Top Sellers in Music)
Yesterday: #180 in Music

Listen to Samples
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1. Chan show more Chan Listen Listen
2. De Camino A La Vereda Listen Listen
3. El Cuarto De Tula Listen Listen
4. Pueblo Nuevo Listen Listen
5. Dos Gardenias Listen Listen
6. Y Tu Que Has Hecho Listen Listen
7. Veinte Anos Listen Listen
8. El Carretero Listen Listen
9. Candela Listen Listen
10. Amor De Loca Juventud Listen Listen
11. Orgullecida Listen Listen
12. Murmullo Listen Listen
13. Buena Vista Social Club Listen Listen
14. La Bayamesa Listen Listen

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com essential recording
Ry Cooder's name has helped bring attention to this session, but it's the veteran Cuban son musicians who make this album really special. Reminiscent of Ellington in its scope and sense of hushed romanticism, Buena Vista Social Club is that rare meld of quietude and intensity; while the players sound laid-back, they're putting forth very alive music, a reminder that aging doesn't mean taking to bed. Barbarito Torres's laoud solo on "El Cuarto de Tula" is both more blinding and more tasteful than any guitar showcase on any recent rock album; a quote from "Stormy Weather" and some very distinct parallels to Hawaiian styles remind us of why it's called "world music." --Rickey Wright
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48 of 50 people found the following review helpful:
This is a magical CD!, June 22, 2000
Reviewer: Michael Fletcher (Murrieta, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)
I first heard of Buena Vista Social Club through a colleague of mine. He would play this CD in his office and I found the melodies quite rhythmic and haunting.

Once I purchased my copy of this wonderful CD, I was really hooked. The more I listen to it, the more I love it. The love and emotion for the artists' craft comes through and leaves an indelible mark on each listener's heart.

These once forgotten musicians through the help of Ry Cooder have been able to share their traditional melodies with the western world.

I was amazed to see how successful this album's sale have been for a world music title. But a few listens later, it didn't surprise me at all. I guess people just know great music when they hear it even when it crosses ethnic and language boundaries.

By the way, I'm an audiophile and the sound quality on this album is exceptional. The sound has a lot of depth and ambiance. Try this CD in a high end audio system and you'll experience a certain intimacy you don't find in most traditional studio albums. show less

This book sounded good based on the blurb on the back, but for some reason the author (the outstanding musician, Ry Cooder) chose to have all of the stories in the 40's and 50's, and I didn't find any of them that good.

Wonderful film, extraordinary music and musicians. Thank you Wim Wenders, for bringing them to us before it was too late.