Ry Cooder: The Slide Area : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone

Album Reviews

Ry Cooder has made ten albums (excluding soundtracks) since his 1970 debut LP, and with the exception of one overly precious stiff (Jazz), each new record has gathered critical bouquets and kept his slowly expanding audience happy. What's made Cooder so likable is not just his well-tracked repertoire of expressive slide-guitar licks but his ability to unearth obscure tunes representing a wide variety of American music. On The Slide Area, however, Cooder himself has taken over the bulk of the songwriting chores, and the results are disappointing. "UFO Has Landed in the Ghetto," written by Cooder and drummer Jim Keltner, is bloodless funk with unfunny lyrics, and "Mama, Don't Treat Your Daughter Mean" finds Cooder the songwriter striking an awkward ethnic pose. He also shares a writing credit with bluesman Willie Dixon on "Which Came First," a knock-off Dixon doesn't need in his admirable résumé. Even the covers don't work this time out: there's a Dylan throwaway, a lead-footed reading of Curtis Mayfield's "Gypsy Woman" and a positively ghastly version of "Blue Suede Shoes."

Only "That's the Way Love Turned Out for Me," a tiptoeing weeper with a couple of good lines, brings some distinction to this homemade offering. Perhaps Cooder's lack of focus is due to his recent involvement with two fine soundtracks, The Long Riders and The Border. In any event, The Slide Area will be easily forgotten as soon as the next good new Ry Cooder album hits the shelves.