Customer Reviews

Bop Till You Drop

5 star:		(30)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Ry Cooder, more than anyone who has touched the pop music scene, has done a great service to music lovers by resurrecting nearly-forgotten genres of indiginous American music. From his early inspiration by Hawaiian slack-key guitar master Gabby Pahinui and the gritty, passionate Sleepy John Estes, to very early jazz forms to Tex/Mex to gospel, bluesy mandolin, Depression-era worksongs, the list is very long. But you cannot accuse him of being a dilettante, because he is extremely respectful of all the traditions he explores, remaining true to their spirits while somehow adding his own distinctive imprint. His interests have ranged abroad in more recent years to India, East Africa and, most famously, Cuba.

Bop Till You Drop explores neglected corners of the rhythm 'n' blues genre. I am a 30-year enthusiastic fan of Ry Cooder's work, and I think this is one of his best. Start with "Down in Hollywood," as tight a piece of funk as you will find. The peerless Jim Keltner anchors the rhythm section with his drum work that manages to be aggressive and tightly restrained as well. Chaka Khan's backup vocal is searing. Cooder's trademark combination of sly humor and get-down musicianship make this song a classic. The gospel-based Trouble You Can't Fool Me and I Can't Win are masterpieces of vocal harmony. I Can't Win is as poignant an unrequited love song as the best Motown ever produced. The Very Thing is once again vintage Cooder, with its effortless, flawless backbeat rhythm, stunning vocal harmonies and just-right instrumental work. The man knows how to put an album together. The cover of the old Ike and Tina Turner number Don't Mess Up a Good Thing is better than the original.

You wouldn't think rhythm 'n' blues would need resurrecting by America's preeminent working musicologist. But as usual, Cooder explores neglected gems off in the corners of the genre and shows us influences on it that give us more clues as to how it evolved. But make no mistake, this is no dry exercise. Go and fill your brown bag and put on all your clean rags. Let's go downtown and see what's goin' on.

i don't seem to agree with the music critics and even with ry cooder himself on this one. i read at [...], that ry disowned this recording.... which i don't understand at all. for me this is one of his standout efforts. eclectic, yes. but unpretentious and at ease with itself. r&b how it could be: funky, bluesy, with a gospel touch here and there. great playingfrom all, specially from fellow guitarist david lindley. great singing from chaka khan and bobby king. i prefer this one many times over ry's much praised efforts as "tourist guide" presenting latin roots music to a greater audience with his buena vista social club efforts. not that i don't like son: i love son, afro american music at it's best, but it does'nt need ry to discover it. and also unfortunately with his putting the spot light on some few cuban musicians - albeit great - many others, specially those not from cuba are left in the dark. with bop till you drop he does not "discover", but "plays" what he knows best.

I cannot understand anyone flogging this album. It has got warmth, it has got depth, there are some very good songs and a few great ones on it, and the people involved can really sing and play their instruments... which is something too rare, nowadays.

My personal favorites are the first four tracks, with the instrumental 'I think it's gonna work out fine' as the absolute pinnacle of top notch playing without getting technical. I mean, there still is a lot of emotion and feeling going on behind the flawless playing.

This album drew my attention to Ry Cooder and I have been buying all his stuff before and after. I can strongly recommend Chicken Skin Music and his work with the Buena Vista Social Club, although both albums are quite different from this one.

As a bonus: this was one of the very first digitally recorded popular albums - if not THE first.

Enjoy. Go with the flow. You'll get back to this album once you've learned to enjoy it.

This is one of the best slide soul albums around. The arrangements are fabulous and the playing is excellent. It is an album that once listened to rings in your head for days. When you least expect it on a bus, in an elevator, or at work you will find yourself singing one of the songs. Ry Cooder's expressive play is straight from the heart and he knows how to pick his band and singers. This album will stay on or very near your stereo from the first day you put it on. Another recommended album, and one of Ry Cooder's best is a live album called Showtime. Incredible.

If there is one song on this album that is worth the price of purchase it is Look at Granny Run Run. That, for some reason, has always been one of my favorite Ry Cooder songs and I always lamented that it was on my least favorite Ry Cooder album. My lamentation is not so much a bad thing due to the fact that this, the first digitally recorded album ever, is ten times better than most artists' best work. The strange mix of tunes and styles such as the gospelization of Trouble, You Can't Fool Me and the oddball Down in Hollywood give this album a "late-night, late seventies LA, the party is over and we're all out of coke" feel. It seems that Cooder and producer Lee Herschberg threw everything they had into this album. And even though the production on this disc gives it an unnecessary sheen that sometimes drowns out Cooder's guitar and makes things a tinge tinny, Cooder's infectious playing and great selection of tunes make this one a winner.

For some reason critics have decided their is something wrong with this recording by the great Ry Cooder. That the digital recording somehow doesn't sound right or some such nonsense. Whatever...Uh this is an excellent record. What a great choice of songs here performed as only Ry Cooder can. Is there a better guitar player in the world? And the accompanying musicians and players make for an excellent and highly SATISFYING record. Bop Til you Drop!!!

This disc is one of the oddest but most satisfying in my collection. Ry Cooder's mastery of slide guitar, slack-key and nearly everything stringed is the stuff of legend. But here he proves he can turn soul and early rock nuggets on their heads with his off-the-wall interpretations --and warble as well as any blue-eyed soulman, Morrison included.

Cooder transforms Elvis' "Little Sister" from cheeky rockabilly into a lovesick plea set to a soulful, steamy pop melody. "The Very Thing That Makes You Rich (Makes Me Poor)" matches done-me-wrong blues lyrics with percolating, mid-tempo funk.

"Down in Hollywood" is silly and as greasy as a KFC three-piece, and it shines courtesy of a tensile background vocal workout by Chaka Khan. "Don't Mess Up a Good Thing" again showcases Khan and echoes its original counterpart more faithfully than any of the other tunes on the album.

Steeped in Staples gospel, the disc's closer, "I Can't Win," exposes the wounds of heartbreak naked to the world. Cooder lets his stellar backing vocalists do the heavy lifting, capping a late-night, melancholy tribute to rock and soul's earthy beginnings.

The contributions of Cooder's studio friends alone make this set a treat. In addition to Khan, notable co-conspirators include vocalist Bobby King and guitarist David Lindley, who stands shoulder-to-shoulder with Cooder in the pantheon of less-appreciated string wizards.

I don't own the CD - I have the original vinyl and have played it hundreds of times. This is one of my favorites "Look at Granny Run" and "Down in Hollywood" are great. In fact, I can't name a bad tune on this album. It might be time to buy the CD so I don't wear out the vinyl.

I am amazed that the Amazon.com review is so lukewarm - the reviewer must be cold-blooded! This is the most consistently excellent of ANY of Ry's albums. Many of the songs not even mentioned by Amazon.com are exceptional - his guitarwork is SO sweet - listen to the slide guitar break on "Look at Granny Run" - and the band is SO tight, that I still reach for this one all the time, after 20+ years.I saw Ry and this band perform at Princeton University's McCarter theatre and it remains to this day one of the best shows I have ever seen/heard. Great CD - Get it if you love great slide guitar.

Just wanted to mention that, even if you have the excellent Rhino compilation... Bop Till You Drop still contains (at least) three songs not on said compilation that are super great tracks. In my opinion these three tracks are: The fabulously beautiful instrumental "I Think It's Gonna Work Out Fine," the hugely entertaining "Trouble You Can't Fool Me" and the overwhelmingly soulful "I Can't Win." So even if you have the Rhino complation, it's still a great idea to own Bop Till You Drop!