Ry Cooder brought the Buena Vista Social Club, the famed celebration of old Cuban music,to fruition, but his career is more diverse and stylized in the music of Americana. On Paradise and Lunch, arguably his best LP, he merges traditional spirituals, delta blues, soul numbers and even a Burt Bacharach tune into one big melting pot of the American songbook. It’s quite a thrilling expedition and despite its rampant anachronism, it contextualizes quite well. “It’s All Over Now”, written by Sam Cooke protege Bobby Womack, and made famous by The Rolling Stones was by all means a sweaty 60’s r&b number but Cooder turns it on its head, making it into a soul/reggae fusion with great vocal harmonies that truly makes you pause on realizing this is a number by a white virtuoso session man. It’s one of the many reasons to grab the complete album. I’m also including “Tamp ‘Em Up Solid”, the traditional ballad that leads off the album which wouldn’t be out of place on a soundtrack for a modern film about the Civil War (or perhaps on Quentin Tarantino’s Django Unchained).
The Art of the Mixtape 