Ry Cooder To Release New Album ‘The Prodigal Son,’ May 11th, Hear The Cut ‘Shrinking Man’ Now

The words Renaissance Man is often thrown around to apply to anyone that has more than one interest. When applied to Ry Cooder his nearly 50 years as a master guitarist/musician, producer, songwriter and mentor give those words their proper significance.
The Santa Monica, California native has explored music and culture from across the USA with his roots rock solo offerings as well as the rest of the world, as with his collaborations with Malian singer and multi-instrumentalist Ali Farka Toure and his Grammy-winning work with the Cuban musician ensemble Buena Vista Social Club.

Ry Cooder will release ‘The Prodigal Son,’ his first new solo release in six years on May 11th, 2018 on Fantasy Records.

Recorded in Hollywood, CA, and produced by Ry and his chief collaborator, drummer (and his son) Joachim Cooder, ‘The Prodigal Son’ is all America – our spiritual, hopeful voices, our raw cries and our sly provocations, voiced through the songs of the Pilgrim Travelers, The Stanley Brothers, Blind Willie Johnson, and Ry Cooder himself.

The album’s 11 tracks, including three Cooder originals and a carefully selected collection of his favorite spirituals of the last century, share a particular resonance in this time and place, forming an unflinching look at the state of play in modern America. “I do connect the political/economic dimensions with the inner life of people since people are at risk and oppressed on all sides in our world today,” he stated. “There’s some kind of reverence mood that takes hold when you play and sing these songs. ‘Reverence’ is a word I heard my granddaughter’s nursery school teacher use, a Kashmiri woman. She said, ‘We don’t want to teach religion, but instill reverence.’ I thought that was a good word for the feeling of this music.”

Cooder will bring The Prodigal Son Tour to venues throughout North America this spring and summer, his first full tour since 2009. Confirmed tour dates are below with more to be added soon. For ticket information, please visit: RyCooder.com

Listen to the lead track, “Shrinking Man” below.

Pre-order The Prodigal Son here.

The Prodigal Son Track List:
 
 1. straight street (James W. Alexander / Jesse Whitaker)
2. shrinking man (Ry Cooder)
3. gentrification (Ry Cooder / Joachim Cooder)
4. everybody ought to treat a stranger right (Traditional; Blind Willie Johnson, Arr. by Ry Cooder)
5. the prodigal son (Traditional: Arranged by Ry Cooder /Joachim Cooder)
6. nobody’s fault but mine (Blind Willie Johnson / Arranged Ry Cooder / Joachim Cooder)
7. you must unload (Alfred Reed)    
8. I’ll be rested when the roll is called (Blind Roosevelt Graves)
9. harbor of love (Carter Stanley)
10.Jesus and woody (Ry Cooder)
11. in his care (William L. Dawson)
 
Ry Cooder – Tour Dates:
 
June 3 – Alexandria, VA – Birchmere 
June 4 – Alexandria, VA – Birchmere 
June 6 – Ridgefield, CT – Ridgefield Playhouse 
June 7 – Boston, MA – Wilbur Theatre 
June 8 – New York, NY – Town Hall Theatre 
June 9 – Derry, NH – Tupelo 
June 26 – Toronto, ONT – Massey Hall 
June 27 – Ottawa, ONT – Centerpoint 
June 29 – Montréal, QE – Jazz Festival @ Maisonneuve 
June 30 – Burlington, VT – Flynn Theater 
July 1 – Lenox, MA – Tanglewood 
July 3 – Philadelphia, PA – Mann Center 
July 14 – Courtenay, BC – Vancouver Island MusicFest 
July 17 – Portland, OR – Revolution Hall 
July 20 – San Francisco, CA – Great American Music Hall 
July 21 – Napa, CA – Uptown Theatre