Name: Chicken Skin Music
Brand: Reprise / Wea
SKU: 322272
Price: 141 HKD
Availability: InStock

Tracks

1. The Bourgeois Blues

2. I Got Mine

3. Always Lift Him Up / Kanaka Wai Wai

4. He'ii Have To Go

5. Smack Dab In The Middle

6. Stand By Me

7. Yellow Roses

8. Chloe

9. Goodnight Irene

Performer Notes

Personnel: Ry Cooder (vocals, guitars, mandolin, Hawaiian guitar, mandola, bajo sexto, French accordion); Bobby King, Terry Evans, Herman Johnson, James Adams, Cliff Givens (vocals); Atta Isaacs (guitar); Russ Titelman, Hugo Gonzales (bajo sexto); Gabby Pahinui (steel guitar, vocals); Flaco Jimenez (accordion); Pat Rizzo, Frank Villarreal (alto saxophone); Fred Jackson, Jr. (tenor saxophone); Oscar Brashear (cornet); George Bohanon (baritone horn); Benny Powell (trombone); Chris Ethridge, Red Callender, Henry "Red" Ojeda (bass); Jim Keltner, Isacc Garcia (drums); Milt Holland (drums, percussion).
Engineers: Loyd Clifft, Chet Himes, John Ingle, Lee Herschberg.
Ry Cooder has always believed in the "mutuality in music," and this may be no more evident in his career than with his fifth album, Chicken Skin Music (a Hawaiian colloquialism, synonymous with goosebumps). Even more than usual, Cooder refuses to recognize borders -- geographical or musical -- presenting "Stand By Me" as a gospel song with a norte¤o arrangement, or giving the Jim Reeves country-pop classic, "He'll Have to Go," a bolero rhythm, featuring the interplay of Flaco Jimenez's accordion and Pat Rizzo's alto sax. Elsewhere, he teams with a pair of Hawaiian greats -- steel guitarist and singer Gabby Pahinui and slack key guitar master Atta Isaacs -- on the Hank Snow hit "Yellow Roses" and the beautiful instrumental "Chloe." If Cooder's approach to the music is stylistically diverse, his choice of material certainly follows suit. Bookended by a couple of Leadbelly compositions, Chicken Skin Music sports a collection of songs ranging from the aforementioned tracks to the charming old minstrel/medicine show number "I Got Mine" and the syncopated R&B of "Smack Dab in the Middle." Also included is Appalachian songwriter Blind Alfred Reed's "Always Lift Him Up," complete with a Hawaiian gospel tune, "Kanaka Wai Wai," woven into the instrumental section. As he explains in the album's liner notes, Cooder understands the connection between these seemingly disparate styles. This is not merely eclecticism for its own sake. Chicken Skin Music is probably Ry Cooder's most eccentric record since his first, but it's also one of his most entertaining. ~ Brett Hartenbach

Professional Reviews

Uncut (12/02, p.164) - "...CHICKEN SKIN MUSIC is a record that expanded the definition of rock'n'roll. And how many albums can you say that about?..."

Album: Chicken Skin Music
#	Song Title		Time
1)	The Bourgeois Blues	More Info...	0:03
2)	I Got Mine	More Info...	0:04
3)	Always Lift Him Up/Kanaka Wai Wai	More Info...	0:06
4)	He'll Have to Go	More Info...	0:05
5)	Smack Dab in the Middle	More Info...	0:03
6)	Stand By Me	More Info...	0:03
7)	Yellow Roses	More Info...	0:06
8)	Chloe	More Info...	0:03
9)	Goodnight Irene	More Info...	0:04

Album: Chicken Skin Music
#	Song Title		Time
1)	The Bourgeois Blues	More Info...	0:03
2)	I Got Mine	More Info...	0:04
3)	Always Lift Him Up/Kanaka Wai Wai	More Info...	0:06
4)	He'll Have to Go	More Info...	0:05
5)	Smack Dab in the Middle	More Info...	0:03
6)	Stand By Me	More Info...	0:03
7)	Yellow Roses	More Info...	0:06
8)	Chloe	More Info...	0:03
9)	Goodnight Irene	More Info...	0:04