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Post new topic No Depression Rates Chavez Ravine #1 Album
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Author Topic:  No Depression Rates Chavez Ravine #1 Album
Bunky Markert


From:
Rehoboth Beach, DE, USA
Post  Posted 28 Dec 2005 8:51 pm    
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I was pleased to see the critics poll from the alternative music mag No Depression list Ry Cooder's opus Chavez Ravine the top pick in their selection of 2005 album releases. The top ten includes Mary Gauthier, Bettye Lavette, Marty Stuart, Robbie Fulks, James McMurtry, My Morning Jacket, Neil Young, Rodney Crowell, and the White Stripes. I can definitely do without the Stripes, but the rest are good company. I'm impressed, taste and talent reigns for once.
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Keith Cordell


From:
San Diego
Post  Posted 29 Dec 2005 6:50 am    
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A great album, in great company. Personally I'd have taken MMJ or The Stripes as my own faves, but the Cooder album is definitely the best crafted record I think he has ever made. VERY nicely done.
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Jim Peters


From:
St. Louis, Missouri, USA, R.I.P.
Post  Posted 29 Dec 2005 7:01 am    
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Chavez R. is my favorite CD of thr year, by far. I got to open for James McMurtry this last year, he was pretty cool too. JP
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Tucker Jackson

 

From:
Portland, Oregon, USA
Post  Posted 29 Dec 2005 1:33 pm    
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Eggs-cellent... my wife just got this album last night. Can't wait to check it out
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Stephan Miller

 

From:
Silver Spring, Maryland, USA
Post  Posted 29 Dec 2005 2:44 pm    
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Ry's a long-time favorite of mine. "Chavez Ravine" is a terrific concept "album" and has the advantage of extra PC bonus points.

Of the four on the list I've actually heard-- Cooder, MMJ, Crowell, Fulks-- I'd give my vote to Robbie.
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Janice Brooks


From:
Pleasant Gap Pa
Post  Posted 29 Dec 2005 5:21 pm    
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5 of my top 10 were on their overall list. I plan to order the Ry Cooder album and thank my south Austin buddies for recomending the McMurtry.

------------------
Janice "Busgal" Brooks
ICQ 44729047

[This message was edited by Janice Brooks on 31 December 2005 at 12:39 PM.]

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Darryl Hattenhauer


From:
Phoenix, Arizona, USA
Post  Posted 29 Dec 2005 10:13 pm    
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Once again, a great tip on SGF. Thanks Bunky. The many customer reviews on amazon.com are as positive as the comments here.

------------------
"Drinking up the future, and living down the past"--unknown singer in Phoenix
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Bobby Lee


From:
Cloverdale, California, USA
Post  Posted 31 Dec 2005 10:13 am    
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Neil Young, Rodney Crowell and Ry Cooder all tied for first place on my 2006 list. Three masterpieces.
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Janice Brooks


From:
Pleasant Gap Pa
Post  Posted 31 Dec 2005 12:38 pm    
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Bottom to top

5 points Robbie Fulks Georgia Hard
6 Dave Insley Just Call Me Lonesome
7 George Jones Hits I Missed
8 Tom Russell Hotwalker
9 James McMurtry Childish Things
11 Billie Dee When the Vow Breaks
12 Jimmie Dale Gilmore Come On Back
13 Delbert McClinton Cost of Living
14 Dallas Wayne I'm Your Biggest Fan
15 Miss Leslie and her Juke Jointers
Honkeytonk Revival
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Bunky Markert


From:
Rehoboth Beach, DE, USA
Post  Posted 4 Jan 2006 6:55 am    
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As a sidebar, Frank Wilkinson, the deposed Los Angeles housing commissioner written about in the song, Don't Call Me Red on Chavez Ravine died on Monday at age 91. The record is mentioned in his obituary.
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Mark Eaton


From:
Sonoma County in The Great State Of Northern California
Post  Posted 4 Jan 2006 11:17 am    
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First let me say, that on a scale of 1 to 10, I doubt that there are few bigger fans here of Ry Cooder than I.

Second, let me say that I don't listen to Chavez Ravine very often.

I bought it the day it was released at a local record store with huge anticipation.

I appreciate everything Ry is getting across on this album: the concept, the characters, the musicians and vocalists. And there are some fine songs there. It is an ambitious and artistic venture by one of my all-time favorites.



Cooder has said in interviews that he burned out on the making of albums consisting of three minute pop songs years ago. Then he went into a lot of soundtrack works for films, which he found more interesting. Then there was his work with the Buena Vista Social Club project, where he became sort of an ethno-musicologist to a greater extent than he had ever been.

He was Ry Cooder to the max for me during the era of Boomer Story, Paradise and Lunch, Chicken Skin Music,etc.

As I wrote above, I appreciate the artistry of Chavez Ravine. I just don't find myself reaching for it very often to put into the cd player.

------------------
Mark

[This message was edited by Mark Eaton on 04 January 2006 at 01:39 PM.]

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John Billings


From:
Ohio, USA
Post  Posted 5 Jan 2006 12:12 pm    
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Perfectly put, Mark! CR is a beautiful work, but it just doesn't excite me the way his older music does. I don't think it compares to stuff like "Alimony", "Dark is the Night", or "Money Honey." But, he's moved on, and I still enjoy his music very much.
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Stephan Miller

 

From:
Silver Spring, Maryland, USA
Post  Posted 5 Jan 2006 3:56 pm    
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Same for me-- I've listened to "Chavez Ravine" twice. Must've played "Into the Purple Valley" nearly every day for over a year when it came out.

[This message was edited by Stephan Miller on 05 January 2006 at 04:49 PM.]

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