Into the Purple Valley

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Into the Purple Valley
PurpleValleyCooder.jpg
Studio album by
Ry Cooder
ReleasedJanuary 1972
Recorded1971
Genre Country folk [1]
Length37:06
Label Reprise [2]
Producer Jim Dickinson, Lenny Waronker [3]
Ry Cooder chronology
Ry Cooder
(1970)		Into the Purple Valley
(1972)		 Boomer's Story
(1972)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svg [4]
Christgau's Record Guide B+ [5]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [2]
MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [3]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [6]

Into the Purple Valley is the second studio album by roots rock musician Ry Cooder, released in 1972. [7] [8]

Contents

The album's front cover is listed at number 12 on Rolling Stone's 100 Greatest Album Covers. [9] It shows Cooder and his then wife, Susan Titelman, in a Buick convertible at the Warner Bros. film lot in Burbank, California.

Background

The selection of songs focuses primarily on older American music, including covers of works by Lead Belly and Woody Guthrie, as well as calypso and gospel numbers such as "F.D.R. in Trinidad" and "Denomi Blues". [10] "F.D.R. in Trinidad" was also covered on Discover America (1972), a solo album by Van Dyke Parks, who played keyboards on this album. [11]

"Tear Drops Will Fall" is a cover of a song that became a hit single in 1959 for Dickey Doo & the Don'ts. [12] However, Cooder himself has stated that he first became familiar with the song through Wilson Pickett's version. [10]

Critical reception

Record Collector wrote that the album "reached deep into tradition, unearthing neglected treasures from America’s past and reshaping them for the post-Woodstock generation." [13]

Track listing

Side One

  1. "How Can You Keep On Moving (Unless You Migrate Too)" (Agnes "Sis" Cunningham) – 2:25
  2. "Billy the Kid" (Traditional; arranged by Ry Cooder) – 3:45
  3. "Money Honey" (Jesse Stone) – 3:28
  4. "FDR in Trinidad" (Fitz McLean) – 3:01
  5. "Teardrops Will Fall" (Gerry "Dickey Doo" Granahan, Marion Smith) – 3:03
  6. "Denomination Blues" (George Washington Phillips) – 3:58

Side Two

  1. "On a Monday" (Lead Belly) – 2:52
  2. "Hey Porter" (Johnny Cash) – 4:34
  3. "Great Dream from Heaven" (instrumental) (Joseph Spence) – 1:53
  4. "Taxes on the Farmer Feeds Us All" (Traditional; arranged by Ry Cooder) – 3:52
  5. "Vigilante Man" (Woody Guthrie) – 4:15

(Note: "Taxes on the Farmer Feeds Us All" was actually composed by Fiddlin' John Carson.)

Personnel

Technical

Billboard charts

ChartPeak
Pop albums113 [14]

References

  1. ↑ Larkin, Colin (1999). All-Time Top 1000 Albums. Virgin Books. p. 162. ISBN   0-7535-0354-9. Archived from the original on October 8, 2021.
  2. 1 2 Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 2. MUZE. pp. 527–528.
  3. 1 2 MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Visible Ink Press. 1999. p. 267.
  4. ↑ "AllMusic Review by Bob Gottlieb". AllMusic. Retrieved March 29, 2021.
  5. ↑ Christgau, Robert (1981). "Consumer Guide '70s: C". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies . Ticknor & Fields. ISBN   089919026X . Retrieved February 23, 2019– via robertchristgau.com.
  6. ↑ The Rolling Stone Album Guide. Random House. 1992. pp. 158–159.
  7. ↑ "Artist Biography by Steve Huey". AllMusic. Retrieved March 29, 2021.
  8. ↑ The Rough Guide to Rock (2nd ed.). Rough Guides Ltd. 1999. p. 211.
  9. ↑ "Rolling Stone's 100 Greatest Album Covers by 2tec". Discogs Lists. November 14, 1991. Retrieved February 16, 2023.
  10. 1 2 Spencer, Neil (January 31, 2014). "Ry Cooder - 1970 - 1987". Uncut. Time Inc. (UK). Retrieved January 26, 2018.
  11. ↑ Eyles, John (July 20, 2012). "Van Dyke Parks: First three solo albums reissued". All About Jazz. Retrieved January 26, 2018.
  12. ↑ 大竹直樹 (June 8, 2005). "ギター名人ライ・クーダーの温故知新サウンドに酔う" (in Japanese). 日経BP . Retrieved January 26, 2018.
  13. ↑ "COODER BEEN A CONTENDER". Record Collector. Retrieved March 29, 2021.
  14. ↑ "Chart History Ry Cooder". Billboard. Retrieved March 29, 2021.


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