SACD Ry Cooder – Chicken Skin Music

Chicken Skin Music as a hybrid stereo SACD from Analogue Productions’ Acoustic Sounds 40th Anniversary Series, mastered to DSD from the original master tape. All nine tracks play in one sequence – from “The Bourgeois Blues” to “Goodnight Irene”.

An album that opens doors

A familiar song can suddenly find a new home – and on Chicken Skin Music it happens again and again: an accordion joins in, a guitar answers, and a tune you know becomes an encounter you never expected.

Curiosity holds Ry Cooder’s 1976 album together. Flaco Jiménez brings the supple language of Tex-Mex accordion, while Gabby Pahinui and Atta Isaacs open a path to Hawaii. Cooder never stands in front of these musicians – his guitar enters into conversation with them, and that willingness to listen becomes a signature of its own.

Familiar songs, unexpected company

“He’ll Have To Go” shows how gently a song can change: accordion and Pat Rizzo’s alto saxophone shift its movement without touching its familiar heart. The point is not the cleverest arrangement, but discovering what else a song has to offer.

On “Chloe”, follow the exchange between the guitars; “Stand By Me” opens up through accordion and shared voices. These colours are no decoration added to finished songs – they change the way the music breathes and the way it reaches you.

Several musical worlds, not one backing band

The credits for “Yellow Rose” and “Chloe” distinguish different kinds of guitar playing: Gabby Pahinui plays steel guitar, Atta Isaacs guitar, and Cooder adds tiple and mandolin respectively. The sliding steel voice and the plucked strings give these performances their own ensemble language, with Red Callender’s double bass and Milt Holland’s drums laying a foundation quite different from the Tex-Mex selections.

Pahinui also brought the experience of a living musical community: his gatherings in Waimānalo connected musicians and families – music shared between people rather than a style kept behind glass. And “Goodnight Irene” doesn’t simply bring the same studio group back for a final number: next to Flaco Jiménez, the credits include Henry Ojeda, Isaac Garcia, Hugo Gonzales and Frank Villarreal. The album’s continuity comes less from a fixed band than from Cooder’s readiness to let familiar songs find a new musical neighbourhood.

The hybrid stereo SACD from Analogue Productions

CAPR 021 SA is a hybrid stereo SACD from Analogue Productions’ Acoustic Sounds 40th Anniversary Series. According to the publisher, it was mastered to DSD from the original master tape. The SACD layer plays on SACD-capable players, the CD layer on any conventional CD player. The disc contains the nine tracks of the original album.

You order from Michael 45 in Germany. We arrange the US import and ship from Hilden.

More from the series: Acoustic Sounds 40th Anniversary Series

Also in another edition: Chicken Skin Music

More SACDs by Ry Cooder: Paradise And Lunch · Paris, Texas

Customer question: Buying Analogue Productions records in Europe

Musicians

Documented selection of participating musicians. Personnel may vary by track; this list does not claim to be complete.

• Ry CooderElectric guitar, Accordion, Mandolin, Vocals, Guitar
• Flaco JiménezAccordion
• Gabby PahinuiGuitar