A review of the week's roots CDs

RY COODER

The Ry Cooder Anthology:The UFO has landed Rhino

There are 33 tracks on this double CD selected by the great 61-year-old LA guitarist and his percussionist son Joachim. There is nary a dud in earshot. Indeed there would be no problem picking another 33 tracks from his 38-year solo career, such is the wealth of music he has recorded. Cooder's back pages include blues, rock, country, folk, jazz, Hawaiian, Latin, 1950s R&B, gospel, mambo and
more. He has always been besotted by vernacular music, from his first eponymous album in 1970 through to the wonderful I Flathead earlier this year. He sources forgotten genres, kick-starts them with skill, knowledge and affection, and smiles as the music lifts off. Though he is encyclopedic about American roots music (and world music generally) his albums are always rich in humour, emotion and humanity. If all this is news to you then this collection is an ideal primer.
www.rhino.com

JOE BREEN
Download tracks: Jesus on the Mainline, Get Rhythm, Dark End of the Street