Ry Cooder recently stopped by Pacifica Radio's KPFK in Los Angeles to discuss his new album, Pull Up Some Dust and Sit Down, sharing insights on channeling the voice of John Lee Hooker and much more. "This is a fantastic album," says host Jon Wiener, who is joined in his praise by the Irish Times, which gives the album four stars, saying: "Cooder again defies the belief that music with a message can’t be fun." Sweden's Sydsvenskan credits it with "the most godlike groove you'll ever hear on a protest record." The New Zealand Herald gives it a perfect five stars, calling it "exceptional."
Ry Cooder, whose new album, Pull Up Some Dust and Sit Down, is out now on CD and is due out on vinyl from Perro Verde / Nonesuch Records this Tuesday, was recently the guest on Pacifica Radio station KPFK 90.7 FM in Los Angeles for Four O'Clock Wednesdays with host Jon Wiener. He stopped by the studio to talk with Wiener about the new album and shares some insight on such topics as channeling the voice of John Lee Hooker for one of the album's standout tracks, "John Lee Hooker for President"; his first meeting with famed accordionist Flaco Jimenez back in the mid-'70s and the recording session that elicited a warning from label mate Randy Newman; and much more.
Even with the strong political statements the album makes, "there's also a lot of totally joyous, beautiful music on this album," says Wiener, "and it's kind of an amazing combination ... This is a fantastic album."
Listen to the interview at kpfk.org.
To pick up a copy of Pull Up Some Dust and Sit Down, head to the Nonesuch Store, where CD orders and vinyl pre-orders (the LP is due out on September 13) include high-quality, 320 kbps MP3s of the album at checkout; you can also purchase the MP3s and FLAC lossless files there.
Critical praise for the album continues to pour in from around the world. The Irish Times gives Pull Up Some Dust four stars. Cooder "offers 13 incisive commentaries, set in the rich tradition of vernacular American music, including Tex-Mex, blues and gospel," writes reviewer Joe Breen, "but smack up to date in their anger and dismay at this world of war, wealth and want ... Cooder again defies the belief that music with a message can’t be fun." Read the review at irishtimes.com.
The New Zealand Herald calls the album "exceptional," giving it a perfect five stars. "Cooder delivers songs steeped in lacerating humour, wisdom, anger, the long traditions of American music," writes reviewer Graham Reid, "and closes with the weary, almost forgiving 'No Hard Feelings,' a nod to Woody Guthrie ('this land should have been our land, you took it for your land')." Read the five-star review at nzherald.co.nz.
Aftonbladet, Sweden's largest daily paper, gives the album four stars, saying its "lyrics never overshadow the songs. Instead, the record comes together in the meeting between bitterness and heartfelt music." Pull Up Some Dust earns four stars as well from Sweden's Sydsvenskan, which cites its "strong songs and the most godlike groove you'll ever hear on a protest record.
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