Released this week: Ry Cooder - Down At The Field...

Ry Cooder - Down At The Field (Left Field Media)
Having spent the 1960's honing his talent as one the most accomplished guitarists around and playing with such luminaries as Captain Beefheart, Randy Newman and the Rolling Stones, by 1970 Ry Cooder was ready to break out alone and grab has own piece of the limelight. Having signed a multi album deal with Warner Brothers, Cooder at last had a platform on which he could illustrate just why his skills were so in demand by others, and he subsequently released eight majestic albums over the course of the decade. Not bound to any fixed musical genre, over this time he displayed a full range of influences to create a quite staggering body of work which has earned him recognition as one of the all time guitar greats.

It was in the spring of 1974, having just released his forth studio record, Paradise and Lunch, that Cooder took to the stage within the intimate surrounds of Ebbetts Field in Denver, Colorado - a venue which holds just 200 at full capacity. With KCUV FM on hand to broadcast the whole event to those not lucky enough to gain entry, 20th May 74 was an inspired evening regardless of which end of the radio you were listening to. Showcasing the maestros deft touch, inventive musicianship and legendary ability to turn the songs of others into Cooder classics, the hour that followed clearly left the audience mesmerised - and upon listening back today, it is easy to understand why.

Drawing from the alternative Great American Songbook, choice covers of compositions by a host of Ry's musical heroes, including Sleepy John Estes, Blind Blake and Joseph Spence, Cooder elegantly graces the venue, the airwaves and now, almost 40 years on, this CD, with a display of breathtaking guitar mastery and a truly magnificent performance. Also included here are several bonus tracks taken from a show at New York s Bottom Line just four days before, also part of a radio broadcast, this time by NYCs WNYU FM.