The Prodigal Son (Ry Cooder album)

Last updated

The Prodigal Son
The Prodigal Son (Ry Cooder album).jpg
Studio album by
ReleasedMay 11, 2018 (2018-05-11)
Recorded2018
Studio
Genre
Length48:11
Label
Producer
Ry Cooder chronology
Election Special
(2012)
The Prodigal Son
(2018)
Singles from The Prodigal Son
  1. "Shrinking Man"
    Released: March 1, 2018
  2. "The Prodigal Son"
    Released: March 29, 2018
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic 83/100 [1]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [2]
American Songwriter Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [3]
Blurt Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svg [4]
Financial Times Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [5]
The Independent Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [6]
The Irish Times Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svg [7]
PopMatters 8/10 [8]
Record Collector Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [9]
Rolling Stone Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [10]
Uncut Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [11]

The Prodigal Son is a 2018 studio album, the sixteenth to be released by American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Ry Cooder. The album was released on May 11, 2018, by Concord and Perro Verde record labels. The record also produced two singles.

Contents

Background

A successor to his 2012 album Election Special , and Cooder's first album in six years, The Prodigal Son seeks a return to the Gospel-infused spirit of his early career. Notably, the album features covers of the songs of the likes of Blind Alfred Reed, the Pilgrim Travelers and the Stanley Brothers alongside three original compositions. [12]

According to Cooder, the album was born primarily from Cooder's 2015–16 tour alongside bluegrass musicians Ricky Skaggs and Sharon White of The Whites and finds a basis in incorporating elements of some of the white gospel music performed during the tour. [13]

To promote the album, two in-studio video performances were released to the official Ry Cooder YouTube channel, one of "Straight Street" [14] and one of the album's title track. [15] [16]

Reception

In a five-starred 2018 review for The Irish Times , Joe Breen said: "Ry Cooder hasn’t lost the activist voice that drove Election Special, his last new album, just before Obama's re-election, but The Prodigal Son is a softer shade of his political self, more balm than brute force." [7]

Giving the album four stars, Terry Staunton, writing in Record Collector , said "Cooder astutely plunders the grammar of the nation’s folk music history with remarkable results. Three of its 11 songs come from his own pen, but elsewhere his archival skills come to the fore, referencing such bygone chroniclers as The Stanley Brothers and Blind Willie Johnson... Key to the album’s success is Cooder’s regular collaborator, son Joachim, with whom he’s worked for close to 25 years. Serving as intuitive drummer and keen-eared co-producer, he is integral to fashioning a set of songs that while acknowledging the rich tapestry of the US’ folk past ring loud and clear with modern-day truths." [9]

Hal Horowitz, in a four-starred review for American Songwriter , said: "Cooder has returned to a similar basic blueprint of stripped-down gospel, backwoods and folk blues that got him started on his twisting musical journey all those years ago... this long-awaited comeback of sorts for Cooder is a joyful, intense and occasionally humorous experience that any Americana fan will enjoy." [3]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Ry Cooder and Joachim Cooder, except where noted.

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Straight Street"James W. Alexander and Jesse Whitaker4:00
2."Shrinking Man"Ry Cooder4:07
3."Gentrification" 3:13
4."Everybody Ought to Treat a Stranger Right" Blind Willie Johnson and traditional3:46
5."The Prodigal Son"Traditional3:48
6."Nobody's Fault but Mine" Blind Willie Johnson and traditional6:07
7."You Must Unload" Blind Alfred Reed 5:26
8."I'll Be Rested When the Roll Is Called" Blind Roosevelt Graves and traditional3:11
9."Harbor of Love" Carter Stanley 5:46
10."Jesus and Woody" 5:57
11."In His Care" William L. Dawson 3:39
Total length:48:11

Charts

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ry Cooder</span> American musician

Ryland Peter Cooder is an American musician, songwriter, film score composer, record producer, and writer. He is a multi-instrumentalist but is best known for his slide guitar work, his interest in traditional music, and his collaborations with traditional musicians from many countries.

<i>The Rising</i> (album) 2002 studio album by Bruce Springsteen

The Rising is the twelfth studio album by American recording artist Bruce Springsteen, released on July 30, 2002, on Columbia Records. An immediate critical and commercial success, it was Springsteen's first to top the US Billboard 200 since Tunnel of Love (1987). Hailed as a triumphant return to form for Springsteen, the album won two Grammy awards and marked the start of a successful collaboration with producer Brendan O'Brien. The Rising came seven years after The Ghost of Tom Joad (1995), the longest interlude between studio albums for the artist, and was his first in almost two decades with the E Street Band, with whom he had recently completed a highly successful reunion tour. The album is based in large part on Springsteen's reflections in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks.

<i>Buena Vista Social Club</i> (album) 1997 studio album by Buena Vista Social Club

Buena Vista Social Club is the debut album by the Buena Vista Social Club, an ensemble of Cuban musicians directed by Juan de Marcos González and American guitarist Ry Cooder. It was recorded at Havana's EGREM studios in March 1996 and released on September 16, 1997, on World Circuit. It is the only standard studio album exclusively credited to the Buena Vista Social Club.

<i>Lunático</i> 2006 studio album by Gotan Project

Lunático is the second album by Gotan Project. It was released in 2006 by the Paris-based ¡Ya Basta! records, run by Philippe Cohen Solal. The album is named Lunático after the racehorse of legendary tango master Carlos Gardel.

<i>The Blue Jukebox</i> 2004 studio album by Chris Rea

The Blue Jukebox is the twentieth studio album by British singer-songwriter Chris Rea, released in 2004 by his independent record label Jazzee Blue. The cover artwork is inspired by Edward Hopper's Nighthawks painting. Compared to the Dancing Down the Stony Road (2002) has a smoother and jazzier take on the blues.

<i>Bop Till You Drop</i> 1979 studio album by Ry Cooder

Bop Till You Drop is Ry Cooder's eighth album, released in 1979. The album was the first digitally recorded major-label album in popular music. Bop Till You Drop was recorded on a digital 32-track machine built by 3M.

<i>Mambo Sinuendo</i> 2003 studio album by Manuel Galban and Ry Cooder

Mambo Sinuendo is a studio album released by Cuban performer Manuel Galbán and producer Ry Cooder. The album was the first number-one album in the Billboard Top Latin Albums chart for Galbán and the second for Cooder, and won the Grammy Award for Best Pop Instrumental Album at the 46th Grammy Awards.

<i>San Patricio</i> (album) 2010 studio album by The Chieftains, Ry Cooder

San Patricio is an album by the Irish musical group, The Chieftains featuring Ry Cooder, released in 2010. It was their first album with Hear Music and the first studio album in over six years since Further Down the Old Plank Road (2003). It tells the story of the San Patricio battalion—a group of mainly Irish immigrant volunteer soldiers who deserted the U.S. Army in 1846 to fight on the Mexican side in the Mexican–American War (1846–1848). The album features collaborations with Moya Brennan, Linda Ronstadt, Liam Neeson, Los Cenzontles, Los Tigres del Norte, Lila Downs, Van Dyke Parks, Carlos Núñez, and Chavela Vargas. The album artist is El Moisés.

<i>Pull Up Some Dust and Sit Down</i> 2011 studio album by Ry Cooder

Pull Up Some Dust and Sit Down is the fourteenth studio album by American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Ry Cooder. It was released by Nonesuch Records on August 30, 2011, and written and produced by Cooder, who recorded its songs at Drive-By Studios, Ocean Studios, and Wireland Studios in California. He played various instruments for the project while working alongside studio musicians such as Flaco Jiménez, Juliette Commagere, Robert Francis, and Jim Keltner.

<i>Babel</i> (Mumford & Sons album) 2012 studio album by Mumford & Sons

Babel is the second studio album by British folk rock band Mumford & Sons. As with Sigh No More, the album was produced by Markus Dravs. The vinyl LP version of the record was pressed by United Record Pressing in Nashville, Tennessee. It was released on 21 September 2012 in Ireland, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Norway, Australia and New Zealand. It was released on 24 September 2012 in the United Kingdom, Scandinavia, Spain, Italy, Eastern Europe, South America, and on 25 September 2012 in the United States and Canada.

<i>People, Hell and Angels</i> 2013 compilation album by Jimi Hendrix

People, Hell and Angels is a posthumous compilation album by the American rock musician Jimi Hendrix. The fourth release under the Experience Hendrix deal with Legacy Recordings, it contains twelve previously unreleased recordings of tracks he was working on for the planned follow-up to Electric Ladyland. It was released on March 5, 2013.

Terry Evans was an American R&B, blues, and soul singer, guitarist and songwriter. He worked with many musicians including Ry Cooder, Bobby King, John Fogerty, Eric Clapton, Joan Armatrading, John Lee Hooker, Boz Scaggs, Maria Muldaur and Hans Theessink. Cooder stated that he always thought that Evans made a better "frontman."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">RY X</span> Australian musician

Ry Cuming, better known by his stage name RY X, is an Australian singer, musician, songwriter, and record producer. He was the first artist signed to the Stockholm-based label Dumont Dumont.

<i>Staying at Tamaras</i> 2018 studio album by George Ezra

Staying at Tamara's is the second studio album by English singer-songwriter George Ezra. It was released on 23 March 2018. The album reached number one in the UK as well as the top ten of several other countries including Australia and New Zealand. The album includes the singles "Paradise" and "Shotgun", which peaked at number two and number one on the UK Singles Chart, respectively.

<i>The Blue Hour</i> (album) 2018 studio album by Suede

The Blue Hour is the eighth studio album by English alternative rock band Suede. The album was released on 21 September 2018.

<i>Delta</i> (Mumford & Sons album) 2018 studio album by Mumford & Sons

Delta is the fourth studio album by British folk rock band Mumford & Sons. It was released on 16 November 2018 through Gentlemen of the Road, Island Records and Glassnote. The album was recorded at The Church Studios in London with producer Paul Epworth. The album was supported by three singles, "Guiding Light", "Beloved", and "Woman", and managed to reach number one on the US Billboard 200 and number two on the UK Albums Chart. Delta was their last album with guitarist and banjoist Winston Marshall before his departure in 2021.

<i>Unfurl</i> 2019 studio album by Ry X

Unfurl is the third studio album by Australian singer-songwriter Ry X. It was released on 15 February 2019 through Infectious Music.

<i>Springsteen on Broadway</i> (album) 2018 album by Bruce Springsteen

Springsteen on Broadway is a soundtrack album by American rock singer-songwriter Bruce Springsteen. It features the complete audio of Springsteen's solo Broadway performance at the Walter Kerr Theatre in New York, recorded live on July 17 and 18, 2018, and filmed for Netflix. The album was released on December 14, 2018, by Columbia Records.

<i>Ignorance Is Bliss</i> (Skepta album) 2019 studio album by Skepta

Ignorance Is Bliss is the fifth studio album by British rapper Skepta. It was released on 31 May 2019 through Boy Better Know, and is the follow-up to his 2016 album Konnichiwa. The album features appearances from Nafe Smallz, Key!, J Hus, Cheb Rabi, B Live, Lancey Foux, Lay-Z, Wizkid and Boy Better Know.

<i>The Search</i> (NF album) 2019 studio album by NF

The Search is the fourth studio album by American rapper NF. It was released on July 26, 2019, through NF Real Music and Caroline, and was preceded by the singles "Why", "The Search", "When I Grow Up" and "Time". It features a sole collaboration with Sasha Sloan. NF embarked on a North American tour in September and October 2019 in support of the album. Despite receiving mixed reviews from music critics, the album debuted atop the Billboard 200, becoming NF's second US No. 1 album.

References

  1. "The Prodigal Son by Ry Cooder". Metacritic . Retrieved December 5, 2019.
  2. Jurek, Thom. "The Prodigal Son - Ry Cooder | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved December 5, 2019.
  3. 1 2 Horowitz, Hal (May 10, 2018). "Ry Cooder: The Prodigal Son « American Songwriter". American Songwriter . Retrieved July 4, 2021.
  4. Mills, Fred (May 11, 2018). "RY COODER - The Prodigal Son". Blurt Magazine . Retrieved December 5, 2019.
  5. Hunter-Tilney, Ludovic (May 11, 2018). "Ry Cooder: The Prodigal Son — deft and unshowy musicianship". Financial Times . Retrieved December 5, 2019.
  6. Cobb, Brent (May 9, 2018). "Album reviews: Brent Cobb, Simian Mobile Disco, Jess Williamson, Beach House, Bad Wolves" . The Independent . Archived from the original on June 18, 2022. Retrieved December 5, 2019.
  7. 1 2 Breen, Joe (May 11, 2018). "Ry Cooder: 'The Prodigal Son' review - Balm over brute force". The Irish Times . Retrieved December 5, 2019.
  8. De Stefano, George (May 16, 2018). "Ry Cooder Seeks Comfort in Gospel Music on 'The Prodigal Son'". PopMatters . Retrieved December 5, 2019.
  9. 1 2 Stounton, Terry. "The Prodigal Son - Record Collector Magazine". Record Collector . Retrieved December 5, 2019.
  10. Bernstein, Jonathan (May 11, 2018). "Review: Ry Cooder's 'The Prodigal Son' Is a Roots Refurbishing". Rolling Stone . Retrieved February 24, 2019.
  11. Spencer, Neil (May 17, 2018). "Ry Cooder - The Prodigal Son". Uncut . Retrieved October 12, 2022.
  12. Badgley, Aaron (May 18, 2018). "SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: RY COODER – THE PRODIGAL SON". The Spill Magazine . Retrieved February 9, 2019.
  13. De Stefano, George (May 16, 2018). "Ry Cooder Seeks Comfort in Gospel Music on 'The Prodigal Son'". PopMatters . Retrieved February 9, 2019.
  14. Ry Cooder - Straight Street (Live in studio) on YouTube
  15. Ry Cooder - The Prodigal Son (Audio) on YouTube
  16. "Video" . Retrieved February 9, 2019.
  17. "Austriancharts.at – Ry Cooder – The Prodigal Son" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved August 1, 2020.
  18. "Ultratop.be – Ry Cooder – The Prodigal Son" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved August 1, 2020.
  19. "Ultratop.be – Ry Cooder – The Prodigal Son" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved August 1, 2020.
  20. "Dutchcharts.nl – Ry Cooder – The Prodigal Son" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved August 1, 2020.
  21. "Lescharts.com – Ry Cooder – The Prodigal Son". Hung Medien. Retrieved August 1, 2020.
  22. "Offiziellecharts.de – Ry Cooder – The Prodigal Son" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved August 1, 2020.
  23. "Irish-charts.com – Discography Ry Cooder". Hung Medien. Retrieved August 1, 2020.
  24. "Italiancharts.com – Ry Cooder – The Prodigal Son". Hung Medien. Retrieved August 1, 2020.
  25. "Norwegiancharts.com – Ry Cooder – The Prodigal Son". Hung Medien. Retrieved August 1, 2020.
  26. "Spanishcharts.com – Ry Cooder – The Prodigal Son". Hung Medien. Retrieved August 1, 2020.
  27. "Swedishcharts.com – Ry Cooder – The Prodigal Son". Hung Medien. Retrieved August 1, 2020.
  28. "Swisscharts.com – Ry Cooder – The Prodigal Son". Hung Medien. Retrieved August 1, 2020.
  29. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved August 1, 2020.
  30. "Ry Cooder Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved August 1, 2020.
  31. "Ry Cooder Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved August 1, 2020.
  32. "Jaaroverzichten 2018". Ultratop. Retrieved August 1, 2020.