Episodios
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Geronimo – An American Legend, released in 1993, was Cooder's eighth score for director Walter Hill. The movie is about the last resistance of the Native Americans against the superiority of white civilization. It's very serious and pretty dark. After the jazzy Trespass, this was something completely new for Cooder. For the first time, he composed something like a classical film score, a real tapestry of sound. And while the movie opts for the narrative perspective of the white soldiers, Cooder chooses a strict musical duality between a Native American and a white Western part.
This podcast frequently uses small snippets of musical recordings in podcast episodes for educational, review, and commentary purposes. In all cases, without exception, we believe this is protected by fair use in the U.S., fair dealing in the U.K. and EEA, and similar exceptions in the copyright laws of other nations. No more of the original than necessary is used, and excerpts are edited into long-form narratives, making the use transformative in nature.
Written, produced and edited by Frank Schnelle
Theme and background music by Chris Haugen
Additional background music The Mini Vandals
Voices produced with text-to-speech AI
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The Ry Cooder Story Website
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Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Walter Hill's gritty 1992 action film Trespass flew under the radar at the time, but Cooder again broke new ground with his score. The music is unlike anything he had done before, and it heralds a phase closely associated with a new collaborator: jazz trumpeter Jon Hassell. In this episode we also look at Cooder's session work from the late eighties and early nineties. Having long since outgrown his role as a mere contract worker, Cooder now became more of a mentor and producer.
This podcast frequently uses small snippets of musical recordings in podcast episodes for educational, review, and commentary purposes. In all cases, without exception, we believe this is protected by fair use in the U.S., fair dealing in the U.K. and EEA, and similar exceptions in the copyright laws of other nations. No more of the original than necessary is used, and excerpts are edited into long-form narratives, making the use transformative in nature.
Written, produced and edited by Frank Schnelle
Theme and background music by Chris Haugen
Additional background music The Mini Vandals
Voices produced with text-to-speech AI
Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Tik Tok and YouTube
The Ry Cooder Story Website
Support us on Patreon
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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In this episode we tell the story of Little Village, a band that existed for a short time in 1991-92. It consisted of Ry Cooder, John Hiatt, Jim Keltner and Nick Lowe, who had played together on Hiatt's album Bring The Family a few years earlier. Together they made another great album, but one that sounded different for a number of reasons. It wasn't a real hit, but it wasn't a disappointment either, just another ingenious effort from four very special musicians. We also take a quick look at Cooder and David Lindley's 1990 tour.
This podcast frequently uses small snippets of musical recordings in podcast episodes for educational, review, and commentary purposes. In all cases, without exception, we believe this is protected by fair use in the U.S., fair dealing in the U.K. and EEA, and similar exceptions in the copyright laws of other nations. No more of the original than necessary is used, and excerpts are edited into long-form narratives, making the use transformative in nature.
Written, produced and edited by Frank Schnelle
Theme and background music by Chris Haugen
Additional background music The Mini Vandals
Voices produced with text-to-speech AI
Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Tik Tok and YouTube
The Ry Cooder Story Website
Support us on Patreon
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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We're back for our third season! Episode 25 focuses on 1989's Johnny Handsome, another underrated but truly spectacular Walter Hill film. Cooder's score is one of his best, if not THE best. It's surprising, moving, and has a great interplay between slide guitar, keyboards, and horn section. We also take a look at several other productions, including Pecos Bill, Tales From The Crypt, The Ghost Of Faffner Hall, several session albums, and the great Bobby King and Terry Evans debut, Live And Let Live!, which is as close to a Cooder album as you can get without actually being a Cooder album.
This podcast frequently uses small snippets of musical recordings in podcast episodes for educational, review, and commentary purposes. In all cases, without exception, we believe this is protected by fair use in the U.S., fair dealing in the U.K. and EEA, and similar exceptions in the copyright laws of other nations. No more of the original than necessary is used, and excerpts are edited into long-form narratives, making the use transformative in nature.
Written, produced and edited by Frank Schnelle
Theme and background music by Chris Haugen
Additional background music The Mini Vandals
Voices produced with text-to-speech AI
Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Tik Tok and YouTube
The Ry Cooder Story Website
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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There is good news. Season 3 is in the works, and now we have a start date. In exactly one month, on September 26, episode 25 will be on the schedule. It will mainly be dedicated to Johnny Handsome, a really great Walter Hill movie. Later episodes will deal with world music highlights such as Talking Timbuktu, Meeting By The River, and of course Buena Vista Social Club. We will also take a close look at the Walter Hill films Trespass, Geronimo, and Last Man Standing that followed. Every episode will be also be devoted to side projects, of which there continued to be many. Think John Lee Hooker, the Chieftains, Jon Hassel and many more. Then we get to the grand finale: the late work with the great solo albums.
Written, produced and edited by Frank Schnelle
Theme and background music by Chris Haugen
Additional background music The Mini Vandals
Voices produced with text-to-speech AI
Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Tik Tok and YouTube
The Ry Cooder Story Website
Support us on Patreon
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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We end our second season with what can be called Cooder's last classic album: Get Rhythm. As the title suggests, it's all about energy, speed and fun. It presents us with Cooder's very own world music and should have been a real chart breaker. Instead, it was just another solo effort with disappointing commercial results. Its release in 1987 was framed by two tours. We listen in on the famous Santa Cruz show, which spawned several bootlegs and a concert film. And we also uncover some very raw recordings from the '88 European tour.
This podcast frequently uses small snippets of musical recordings in podcast episodes for educational, review, and commentary purposes. In all cases, without exception, we believe this is protected by fair use in the U.S., fair dealing in the U.K. and EEA, and similar exceptions in the copyright laws of other nations. No more of the original than necessary is used, and excerpts are edited into long-form narratives, making the use transformative in nature.
Written, produced and edited by Frank Schnelle
Theme and background music by Chris Haugen
Additional background music The Mini Vandals
Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Tik Tok and YouTube
The Ry Cooder Story Website
Support us on Patreon
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Cooder was not involved in the original development of John Hiatt's Bring The Family, nor did he act as producer, as he did a year later with Bobby King and Terry Evans. Nevertheless, this album is more significant than most of his previous session work and became something of a blueprint for the next phase of his career after Get Rhythm from the same year. It would be a period in which solo albums would no longer play a role, and film scores would gradually become less influential. Instead, a phase of more personal collaborations began, marked by work with long-time friends and ever new excursions into the realm of world music. Bring The Family was also the starting signal for the band Little Village, which was to be formed five years later.
This podcast frequently uses small snippets of musical recordings in podcast episodes for educational, review, and commentary purposes. In all cases, without exception, we believe this is protected by fair use in the U.S., fair dealing in the U.K. and EEA, and similar exceptions in the copyright laws of other nations. No more of the original than necessary is used, and excerpts are edited into long-form narratives, making the use transformative in nature.
Written, produced and edited by Frank Schnelle
Theme and background music by Chris Haugen
Additional background music The Mini Vandals
Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Tik Tok and YouTube
The Ry Cooder Story Website
Support us on Patreon
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Robert Johnson was one of the most important blues guitarists of all time. Cooder didn't cover any of Johnson's songs on his early albums, which is kind of a surprise when you think about it. But in the mid-eighties, a project came along that more than made up for the wait. Crossroads, another Walter Hill film, was a wonderful journey into the history of the blues. It led back to the roots of the Johnson legend, and - interestingly - back to Cooder’s own roots as well. It required him to make a whole variety of music, from juke-joint stomps to a famous electric guitar duel.
This podcast frequently uses small snippets of musical recordings in podcast episodes for educational, review, and commentary purposes. In all cases, without exception, we believe this is protected by fair use in the U.S., fair dealing in the U.K. and EEA, and similar exceptions in the copyright laws of other nations. No more of the original than necessary is used, and excerpts are edited into long-form narratives, making the use transformative in nature.
Written, produced and edited by Frank Schnelle
Theme and background music by Chris Haugen
Additional background music The Mini Vandals
Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Tik Tok and YouTube
The Ry Cooder Story Website
Support us on Patreon
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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We're actually talking about a whole bunch of projects in this episode: 1985's Brewster's Millions, the rare case of a Cooder film comedy; the quirky TV western Tall Tales & Legends; the five-time Golden Raspberry Award nominee Blue City, a film we certainly wouldn't be talking about today without Cooder's contribution. Our little mid-'80s journey also includes three session albums, a festival, and Cooder's first-ever best-of album.
This podcast frequently uses small snippets of musical recordings in podcast episodes for educational, review, and commentary purposes. In all cases, without exception, we believe this is protected by fair use in the U.S., fair dealing in the U.K. and EEA, and similar exceptions in the copyright laws of other nations. No more of the original than necessary is used, and excerpts are edited into long-form narratives, making the use transformative in nature.
Written, produced and edited by Frank Schnelle
Theme and background music by Chris Haugen
Additional background music The Mini Vandals
Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Tik Tok and YouTube
The Ry Cooder Story Website
Support us on Patreon
Annie Oakley on YouTube
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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1984 was a busy year for Cooder. Not only did he produce the soundtracks for Paris, Texas and Streets of Fire almost simultaneously. He also ended up juggling both jobs with Alamo Bay, Louis Malle's drama about the clashes between Texas and Vietnamese fishermen in the Gulf of Mexico. Cooder saw the movie as a simple working man's story in the tradition of John Ford. His goal was "a Chinese cowboy thing without an overt ethnic statement.” Alamo Bay has a great soundtrack album with references to Paris Texas, The Border, and even Southern Comfort.
This podcast frequently uses small snippets of musical recordings in podcast episodes for educational, review, and commentary purposes. In all cases, without exception, we believe this is protected by fair use in the U.S., fair dealing in the U.K. and EEA, and similar exceptions in the copyright laws of other nations. No more of the original than necessary is used, and excerpts are edited into long-form narratives, making the use transformative in nature.
Written, produced and edited by Frank Schnelle
Theme and background music by Chris Haugen
Additional background music The Mini Vandals
Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Tik Tok and YouTube
The Ry Cooder Story Website
Support us on Patreon
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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There were a lot of what-ifs when it came to the score for 1984's Streets of Fire. After rejecting James Horner's compositions, director Walter Hill had a movie that had no music. Cooder, on the other hand, had music that had no movie! His score for Stroker Ace had been rejected by director Hal Needham. So it was a stroke of luck for both of them. Hill's ultra-artificial "rock & roll fable" may have bombed at the box office at the time, but four decades later the movie has long since received the recognition it deserves. It’s a masterful cult classic with a fantastic Cooder score.
This podcast frequently uses small snippets of musical recordings in podcast episodes for educational, review, and commentary purposes. In all cases, without exception, we believe this is protected by fair use in the U.S., fair dealing in the U.K. and EEA, and similar exceptions in the copyright laws of other nations. No more of the original than necessary is used, and excerpts are edited into long-form narratives, making the use transformative in nature.
Written, produced and edited by Frank Schnelle
Theme and background music by Chris Haugen
Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Tik Tok and YouTube
The Ry Cooder Story Website
Support us on Patreon
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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German director Wim Wenders first met Cooder during the production of Hammett, his first Hollywood film. He wanted him to score the movie, but the studio didn't want a guitarist, they wanted a more traditional composer. When Wenders made Paris, Texas a few years later, he could make his own decisions. Naturally, he hired Cooder. Cooder's majestic soundtrack, completely original for its time, became one of the most influential film scores of the eighties. Imitations could be heard in other films, on prime time television, and in countless commercials.
This podcast frequently uses small snippets of musical recordings in podcast episodes for educational, review, and commentary purposes. In all cases, without exception, we believe this is protected by fair use in the U.S., fair dealing in the U.K. and EEA, and similar exceptions in the copyright laws of other nations. No more of the original than necessary is used, and excerpts are edited into long-form narratives, making the use transformative in nature.
Written, produced and edited by Frank Schnelle
Theme and background music by Chris Haugen
Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Tik Tok and YouTube
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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From 1980 to '82, Cooder had made no less than two solo albums, two live albums, and three film scores. But '83 was different. Apparently in need of a change of scenery, Cooder instead worked with a number of very interesting musicians, including Eric Clapton, Duane Eddy, T-Bone Burnett, and John Hiatt. He also toured quite a bit, by his standards. There's a little more (live) music than usual in this episode.
This podcast frequently uses small snippets of musical recordings in podcast episodes for educational, review, and commentary purposes. In all cases, without exception, we believe this is protected by fair use in the U.S., fair dealing in the U.K. and EEA, and similar exceptions in the copyright laws of other nations. No more of the original than necessary is used, and excerpts are edited into long-form narratives, making the use transformative in nature.
Written, produced and edited by Frank Schnelle
Theme and background music by Chris Haugen
Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Tik Tok and YouTube
The Ry Cooder Story Website
Support us on Patreon
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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With his ninth studio album, Cooder maneuvered himself into a dead end. While not a bad record by any means, it is one of his few controversial works and received some unfriendly reviews at the time. Cooder must have felt the same way, because after The Slide Area he stopped making solo albums for no less than five years. While he turned mostly to film scoring, he also scored a number of commercials. This episode features some of Cooder's commercial music for brands like Levy's, Early Times, and Pioneer.
This podcast frequently uses small snippets of musical recordings in podcast episodes for educational, review, and commentary purposes. In all cases, without exception, we believe this is protected by fair use in the U.S., fair dealing in the U.K. and EEA, and similar exceptions in the copyright laws of other nations. No more of the original than necessary is used, and excerpts are edited into long-form narratives, making the use transformative in nature.
Written, produced and edited by Frank Schnelle
Theme and background music by Chris Haugen
Additional background music The Mini Vandals
Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Tik Tok and YouTube
The Ry Cooder Story Website
Support us on Patreon
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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A movie about the border region between Texas and Mexico was naturally made for Ry Cooder – and vice versa. The Border defies easy categorization. Directed by Tony Richardson and starring Jack Nicholson, it’s half cop thriller, half refugee tragedy. For the soundtrack, Cooder assembled much of his usual band: Jim Dickinson on piano, John Hiatt on guitar and vocals, Jim Keltner on drums and Tim Drummond on bass. He also included contributions from Freddy Fender and Sam Samudio, better known as Sam the Sham. The much-recorded title theme, Across The Borderline, sensitively depicts the paradoxical emotional world and the absurd situation of the refugees.
This podcast frequently uses small snippets of musical recordings in podcast episodes for educational, review, and commentary purposes. In all cases, without exception, we believe this is protected by fair use in the U.S., fair dealing in the U.K. and EEA, and similar exceptions in the copyright laws of other nations. No more of the original than necessary is used, and excerpts are edited into long-form narratives, making the use transformative in nature.
Written, produced and edited by Frank Schnelle
Theme and background music by Chris Haugen
Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Tik Tok and YouTube
The Ry Cooder Story Website
Support us on Patreon
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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In this episode we discuss Cooder's second solo foray into the world of cinema, 1981's Southern Comfort. Cooder's second collaboration with action champion Walter Hill is a relatively unknown film, but one that is highly regarded among those in the know. The British Guardian even called it a masterpiece. The movie takes us deep into the swamps of the American South and into the world of the Cajun hinterland. For Cooder, it was a leap from the Wild West directly into the present and therefore a completely new challenge. He mastered it with flying colors.
This podcast frequently uses small snippets of musical recordings in podcast episodes for educational, review, and commentary purposes. In all cases, without exception, we believe this is protected by fair use in the U.S., fair dealing in the U.K. and EEA, and similar exceptions in the copyright laws of other nations. No more of the original than necessary is used, and excerpts are edited into long-form narratives, making the use transformative in nature.
Written, produced and edited by Frank Schnelle
Theme and background music by Chris Haugen
Additional background music The Mini Vandals
Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Tik Tok and YouTube
The Ry Cooder Story Website
Support us on Patreon
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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As we heard in our last episode, Cooder was on the verge of becoming a full-fledged film composer in the early 1980s. But he kept the beat for two more studio albums, and Borderline was the first of them, released just a few months after The Long Riders premiered in theaters. It's another foray into the world of soul and R&B and well worth a listen.
This podcast frequently uses small snippets of musical recordings in podcast episodes for educational, review, and commentary purposes. In all cases, without exception, we believe this is protected by fair use in the U.S., fair dealing in the U.K. and EEA, and similar exceptions in the copyright laws of other nations. No more of the original than necessary is used, and excerpts are edited into long-form narratives, making the use transformative in nature.
Written, produced and edited by Frank Schnelle
Theme and background music by Chris Haugen
Additional background music The Mini Vandals
Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Tik Tok and YouTube
The Ry Cooder Story Website
Support us on Patreon
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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In 1980, Cooder scored his first Hollywood movie, Walter Hill’s western The Long Riders about the adventures of the James-Younger Gang in the American Midwest. Cooder spent three months researching the period. He came up with authentic polkas, square dances, waltzes and other period evocations, and gathered a group of trusted collaborators. His sensitive score won him the first major award of his career, the Los Angeles Film Critics Association's award for Best Original Score.
This podcast frequently uses small snippets of musical recordings in podcast episodes for educational, review, and commentary purposes. In all cases, without exception, we believe this is protected by fair use in the U.S., fair dealing in the U.K. and EEA, and similar exceptions in the copyright laws of other nations. No more of the original than necessary is used, and excerpts are edited into long-form narratives, making the use transformative in nature.
Written, produced and edited by Frank Schnelle
Theme and background music by Chris Haugen
Additional background music The Mini Vandals
Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Tik Tok and YouTube
The Ry Cooder Story Website
Support us on Patreon
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Arlo Guthrie, the fifth child of Woody Guthrie, America's legendary Dust Bowl troubadour, shot to fame with "Alice's Restaurant Massacree," a nearly 19-minute talking blues song. Successful albums, drug anthems and even a major Hollywood movie followed - and a five-year collaboration with Ry Cooder, who appears on several of Arlo's albums. They even toured together in 1971. This bonus episode of The Ry Cooder Story tells the story of their projects together.
This podcast frequently uses small snippets of musical recordings in podcast episodes for educational, review, and commentary purposes. In all cases, without exception, we believe this is protected by fair use in the U.S., fair dealing in the U.K. and EEA, and similar exceptions in the copyright laws of other nations. No more of the original than necessary is used, and excerpts are edited into long-form narratives, making the use transformative in nature.
Written, produced and edited by Frank Schnelle
Theme and background music by Chris Haugen
Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Tik Tok and YouTube
The Ry Cooder Story Website
Support us on Patreon
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Today we celebrate Randy Newman's 80th birthday with a bonus episode. Of course, it is about the long collaboration between Ry Cooder and Randy Newman that started in the late 60s and lasted almost thirty years. It's another Warner Brothers connection that has produced numerous albums ("12 Songs", "Sail Away") and concerts, but surprisingly only one movie ("Performance").
This podcast frequently uses small snippets of musical recordings in podcast episodes for educational, review, and commentary purposes. In all cases, without exception, we believe this is protected by fair use in the U.S., fair dealing in the U.K. and EEA, and similar exceptions in the copyright laws of other nations. No more of the original than necessary is used, and excerpts are edited into long-form narratives, making the use transformative in nature.
Written, produced and edited by Frank Schnelle
Theme and background music by Chris Haugen
Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Tik Tok and YouTube
The Ry Cooder Story Website
Support us on Patreon
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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