Customer Reviews
Worn Vista - By: Bawbee McGee, 06 Aug 2008 
I'm afraid I was sadly disappointedin the latest offering by Mr. Cooder. Perhaps being British, & notin possession of the novella which apparently explains what the album is all about may have something to do with my lack of enthusiasm. Mr. Cooder is not a singer, & someonein his entourage should tell him so. His voice has a very limited range, & his singing appears to be strained. We are given two talking "songs" out of 14 on the album, which is an indication that too much of the Cooder vocals is not a good thing. In Chavez Ravine, he found some fine songs,the best of them written by others, & some fine singers, & assembled a package which was a delight. But since he has decided to do all the composing & all the singing, on Buddy as on Flathead, the magic has,I'm afraid, disappeared. The Johnny Cash song sounds as if it was made upin a bar on a Saturday night -indeed it's almost disrespectful, whilst his obsession with J.Edgar Hoover resurfaces
unnecessarily. And why ration the wonderful accordion player to one song? Arranging new sound combinations, & finding good tales & ,crucially, characterful singers connected to those tales, are what Mr.C. does best,in my opinion.
Keep em' coming Ry !!! - By: Mr. M. M. Waller, 27 Jun 2008 
These days, Ry Cooder is a musical novelist & I happen to believe that his format of album making is quietly revolutionary. Here is another great example of what a concept album should be like. Mysterious, Iconic, Intruiging & totally musical.
In an age where you select a few tracks of an album for a download, it's quite incredible that we have an artist who makes you realise what a lazy musical culture we live in.
It's time to wake up People !!! Music is still alive ...
