Ry Cooder, Down At The Field: The 1974 Broadcast (2012)

I’m a bit of a sucker for these vinyl bootleg/semi-authorised curios that turn up from time to time, now (more) readily available in stores. I’m a huge Ry Cooder fan and own most of his catalogue on vinyl – one of the earliest motivations for starting this Vinyl Countdown series was listening to Boomer’s Story – one of the first posts I wrote – and thinking about all the different reasons I own various Cooder LPs. In that some have been given to me, some I’ve purchased, some I’ve inherited. There are the soundtracks, live gigs, collaborations and solo albums. Then his work as a producer. The sheer amount of work he’s done and this somewhat traceable influence – but still never all that wildly heralded – has been a constant interest to me. I’ve loved Cooder’s music since I was about eight years old. I don’t know quite what first hooked me in but I know I keep returning to it because I find new angles every time; the supporting players, the songwriting, the covers, the slide work, the voice, the production, the brilliant soundtrack scores – so much. I bought this just after interviewing Ry Cooder. One of my most favourite things I’ve done relating to music-writing. I was nervous. I felt that pang and pinch, the momentary worry that a real hero could turn out to be a chump, that slight panic that I better be on form. Sure, he better be too – but it’s my job to do my best to encourage him to be on form. I think I did okay. Then I found this album and bought it – a celebration of sorts. Sat back with it, digging it, reflecting on chatting with one of my heroes. And these versions of the songs from early on in the Cooder catalogue really work for me. Some are better than the studio renditions. Some are exclusive to this. All of that is a way of saying I’m glad to have this album. Double vinyl. Thoughtful liners, nice packaging. Etc…

Sample Track: Vigilante Man

The Vinyl Countdown is a document of every LP I listen to, brand new discoveries and old-old favourites; extremely pre-loved, previously abandoned or with the shrink-wrap having just been removed it’s all here at The Vinyl Countdown