Album Reviews

Ry's son Joachim started stringing tracks together last year attempting to create a cohesive picture of his father's soundtrack work- one which would sound like more than just a series of unconnected cues. Ry liked what he heard and this long overdue project was born. The two CD set contains highlights from most of Cooder's soundtracks: Paris Texas, Alamo Bay, The Border, Blue City, Crossroads, Johnny Handsome, The Long Riders, Blue City, Trespass, Geronimo: An American Legend, and the unreleased Southern Comfort and Streets of Fire.

Appropriately, the compilation begins and ends with Cooder's most eloquent and startling work: Paris, Texas which has been lifted by scoring hacks for beer and pickup truck commercials world wide. In between are thirty two other tracks, some predictable like "Across the Borderline", "The Theme From Alamo Bay", and "Jesse James" and others not, like previously unreleased cues from Southern Comfort.

This is a worthwhile compilation which works both as a sampler and as coherent picture, though the strategy behind the track order escapes me- not that it matters.

Throughout, Cooder has chosen musicians and engineers well, working with guys like Keltner, David Lindley, the late Steve Douglas, Jon Hassell and the rest, frequently at Ocean Way, and usually recording analog- all of which will be apparent when you listen. Don't expect t sound as liquid and transparent as the originals though. You might not understand what the fuss is about Paris, Texas from the sound here, which is flat, somewhat hard, and not at all tranparent, compared to the original LP which sounds gorgeous. Not a bad transfer, mind you, but not what you'll find on the original LPs.