Now Available: Ry Cooder, Soundtracks

Late last year, we released a box set featuring Ry Cooder’s studio albums from 1970 through 1987, but those of you who know his catalog inside and out no doubt noticed the omission of his soundtrack work, which – not counting his handful of contributions to Nicolas Roeg’s Performance in 1970 – kicked off with The Long Riders in 1980. If you’re one of those individuals, you’ll be pleased to discover that, as of today, there’s now a companion piece to 1970 – 1987: the appropriately-named Soundtracks.

First, the bad news: although it starts with The Long Riders and continues chronologically through 1993’s Trespass, it’s not completely all inclusive of Cooder’s soundtrack work through those years.

That said, however, there’s still a heck of a lot to be said for the films that are included. Between the aforementioned titles, you’ll find Cooder’s musical contributions to Paris, Texas (1985), Alamo Bay (1985), Blue City (1986), Crossroads (1986), and Johnny Handsome (1989). As a result, you get a collection in which Cooder can be heard working with – among others – Jim Dickinson, David Hidalgo, Jim Keltner, David Lindley, Van Dyke Parks, Cesar Rosas, Benmont Tench, and Sonny Terry. There’s no hyperbole involved in suggesting that Ry Cooder is a musical legend, and with Soundtracks, you’ll get to hear a whole other side of the legendary music he continues to make to this day.