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Post by fibrebundle on Mar 26, 2009 7:58:06 GMT
I am trying to pick up blues in open D, and have heard that Ry Cooder has played a lot in open D. Since he is an extremely versatile player and has played diverse styles, I am confused as to what to buy, which is exclusively blues . Can you recommend some blues albums by him? Thanks .
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Post by blueshome on Mar 26, 2009 8:24:44 GMT
There's not a lot of blues on any single Ry album, maybe his 1st eponymous has the most. If you want to learn blues in open D, I would recommend Fred McDowell and Tampa Red as good starting points.
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Post by Bill Stig on Mar 26, 2009 9:25:51 GMT
"Boomers Story" is another good blues album, though I seem to remember most of it was in G tuning. Into the Purple Valley" is worth getting for Vigilante Man which uses open D.
Bill
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Post by andys on Mar 26, 2009 9:50:38 GMT
Theres some classic Ry Cooder playing on Captain Beefhearts first album "Safe as Milk".
Mind you, its just a classic album IMO
He also did a sort of "lost album" with Taj Mahal called Rising Sons, which has a fair amount of bluesy stuff. The released it recently.
Personally I like most of his stuff, but my favorites are the album he did with Ali Farke Toure, the one he did with Manuel Galban, and the two albums called "Mambo Sinuendo" and "Chavez Ravine". All have roots in the Blues, but are not "Blues" themselves.
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Post by blueshome on Mar 26, 2009 13:38:54 GMT
Forgot to mention Ry's inspiration, Blind Willie Johnson, gospel not blues but it's all there.
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Post by maxxengland on Mar 26, 2009 13:54:16 GMT
As above, Blind Willie and Mr Macdowell. What about electric, clean-ish sounding players? Elmore James, Homesick James?
I think Son House was mostly in g. Or am I thinking of somebody else?
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Post by steverino on Mar 26, 2009 18:44:33 GMT
In addition to Blind Willie Johnson, I have found it useful to study Sleepy John Estes and Joseph Spence to gain a greater understanding of Ry's approach. He often sings in the manner of Estes, and his mandolin playing is reminiscent of Estes' frequent collaborator Yank Rachell. Spence is perhaps the greatest influence on Ry's guitar style. These folks can all be found on YouTube.
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Post by bod on Mar 26, 2009 19:27:01 GMT
Can't contribute anything about Cooder, I'm afraid - hell, I didn't even realise he was on Beefheart's Safe as Milk until I read as much here just now - and to make matters worse that's one of my all time favourite albums! (worse still, I'm really not joking about any of that), but in relation to the broader topic of blues in open D you might find the info on the other end of this link (and elsewhere on the same site weeniecampbell.com/wiki/index.php?title=Adventures_in_Vestapol interesting. Cheers,
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Post by fibrebundle on Mar 27, 2009 1:42:28 GMT
Can't contribute anything about Cooder, I'm afraid - hell, I didn't even realise he was on Beefheart's Safe as Milk until I read as much here just now - and to make matters worse that's one of my all time favourite albums! (worse still, I'm really not joking about any of that), but in relation to the broader topic of blues in open D you might find the info on the other end of this link (and elsewhere on the same site weeniecampbell.com/wiki/index.php?title=Adventures_in_Vestapol interesting. Cheers, This is Great! Just what I needed!
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Post by rickS on Mar 27, 2009 9:05:20 GMT
Mention of the good Captain & open D reminds me that one of his more acclaimed songs is 'Big Eyed Beans From Venus' ( from the 'Clear Spot' album - my favourite, full of great slide), with some stunning open-D slide from the mighty Zoot Horn Rollo - one foot in the blues, the other in outer space..also Lowell George of Little Feat (first incarnation) could play a bit - try 'Sailin Shoes'/'Tripe Face Boogie', more fine open-D stuff..
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Post by andys on Mar 27, 2009 11:25:56 GMT
Ah Don Van Vliet, and his Magic Band, who were pretty much instrumental into getting me into playing slide and more rootsy stuff, and taking me away from the increasingly dull indie scene in the mid 1980s.
He deserves a thread to himself IMO!
Another band who are heavily influenced by all of the above are the Black Keys. Their singer/guitarist plays in open D, with a slide, through ancient gear, and gets a great and glorious racket from it all.
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Post by steadyrollinman on Mar 27, 2009 17:33:15 GMT
Hi Fibrebundle, The best collection of Ry Cooder playing slide in open D tuning is the Paris Texas album. Pretty much every song except one is a slightly different take on Blind Willie Johnson's "Dark was the Night, Cold was the Ground" In my opinion, this is a really great album in terms on intense expression and emotion while playing the absolute minimum. A great slide blues album.
Regards,
Chris
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Post by fibrebundle on Mar 28, 2009 5:22:14 GMT
Hi Fibrebundle, The best collection of Ry Cooder playing slide in open D tuning is the Paris Texas album. Pretty much every song except one is a slightly different take on Blind Willie Johnson's "Dark was the Night, Cold was the Ground" In my opinion, this is a really great album in terms on intense expression and emotion while playing the absolute minimum. A great slide blues album. Regards, Chris Thanks a lot! I think I will, for starters, order for Paris Texas, and an anthology of his work as well.
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Post by toom on Mar 28, 2009 9:54:13 GMT
marvelous version of Paris Texas from Jacques Stotzem Beautiful guitar too. Going off topic a second, Jacques Stotzem's playing is well worth listening too - www.stotzem.com/Purple Haze is very impressive
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Post by steverino on Mar 29, 2009 5:57:37 GMT
Just to cover the ground, this clip is essential viewing:
For years in the '80s and '90s I used to frequent the used LP record stores around LA. One title I searched for endlessly was the soundtrack album for the movie Southern Comfort, as some of Ry's most haunting slide playing set the mood for that film. Turns out I couldn't find it because it had never been issued. Finally in 1995 a compilation of Ry's film music, "Music by Ry Cooder" appeared, containing three selections from the SC soundtrack.
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