Album Description: On My Name Is Buddy, Ry Cooder revisits, in a new set of original material, the sound and feeling of the "dust bowl songs" he first explored more than three decades ago on such groundbreaking albums as his self-titled 1970 debut and 1971's In The Purple Valley. In fact, he's joined by old friends like pianist Van Dyke Parks and drummer Jim Keltner who were with him at the start of his extraordinary, ultimately globe-spanning musical odyssey, which has yielded him six Grammy Awards to date, several more nominations, and perennial acclaim. My Name Is Buddy is also a journey, a phantasmagorical rendering in music, words and pictures of the travels of three unlikely cohorts - Buddy Red Cat, Lefty Mouse and Reverend Tom Toad - as they meander through the west "in the days of labor, big bosses, farm failures, strikes, company cops, sundown towns, hobos and trains...the America of yesteryear." For this allegorical tale, Cooder marshals all his remarkable skills as a producer, arranger, songwriter, soundtrack composer and musicologist. (The Christian Science Monitor recently dubbed him "a modern-day Alan Lomax.") My Name Is Buddy recalls Woody Guthrie's Bound for Glory - that is, if it had been enacted by the articulate animal characters of Walt Kelly's classic comic Pogo. Cooder conjures up the dark shadows of an earlier time to wryly comment on the political and social issues of the present. As back-story to his songs, Cooder has written short stories for each one and they're accompanied by evocative illustrations from noted San Antonio-based painter and muralist Vincent Valdez, all of which are included in a specially designed package.
Amazon.com: Though this release carries the deceptive subtitle Another Record by Ry Cooder, the virtuosic guitarist and ethnomusicological adventurer has never released another album quite like this. And neither has anyone else. After brilliant side trips into the music of pre-Castro Cuba and pre-baseball Chavez Ravine, Cooder returns to the Depression-era and Dust Bowl ballads that marked his earliest solo releases of the 1970s. Yet most of this material is original, offering a populist parable of three fellow travelers: Buddy Red Cat, Lefty Mouse, and the Reverend Tom Toad. The tradition of putting pointed social commentary in the mouths of animals extends from Animal Farm to Pogo, and Buddy seems like a feline cross between Woody Guthrie and Joe Hill--a troubadour of union solidarity, interspecies brotherhood, and radical populism. Though Cooder's cartoon vocals occasionally sound a little mannered, the music throughout ranks with his best, as he reunites with conjunto accordion master Flaco Jimenez and soul singers Terry Evans and Bobby King, enlists banjo brothers Pete and Mike Seeger, and receives inspired support from the Chieftains' Paddy Moloney, pianist Van Dyke Parks, and drummers Jim Keltner and (his son) Joachim Cooder. Whether he's channeling his inner Chet Baker on "Green Dog" or closing with the utopian vision of "There's a Bright Side Somewhere," Cooder shows more sides of his multifaceted music than he has on any previous release. --Don McLeese
Worst CD I bought in 5 years I preordered this CD. I just listen to it for the second time. This is satire at it's most boring. Don't bother with this CD. Ry has done much more interesting stuff, both lyrically and musically. Listen to the samples before you buy. I wish I did. If you like what you hear ignore this and go with your own tastes but for me "yuck!"
A Bizarre Concept Album About A Cat This new album might be strange to some, while others may hail it as an instant classic. I'm sort of torn between both emotions, primarily due to the subject matter (which is interesting the first five tracks, but then gets old very quickly). Still, for lovers of folk-rock with an unusual twist, this was perhaps one of the more 'out-there' releases in 2007.
From the cover shot of "Buddy the Cat", it would hard to imagine that the entire album is actually about this one cat. But you read that right. You have a cat, and his best friend, the mouse. Together with a 'Reverend', they travel the length and breadth of America. Whether this is a literal or metaphorical journey is never revealed, but we are given some truly unique insights into animal politics, the state of the world, and indeed America as a nation and a breathing soul.
This album strongly reminded me of my most favorite album of all time - "Scarlet's Walk" by Tori Amos. On that album, Amos took a cross country trip and each state was awarded a song based on the lead characters' experiences there. This album is VERY similar to that, but instead of a human, its a cat and mouse that are discovering what life and the nation is all about.
However, the lyrics and songwriting here are so clever, that you can juxtapose 'everyman' wherever the cat is mentioned, and come up with a reasonably spiritual, philosophically entertaining explanation for the entire album. I found this extremely vital to the CD, and can't think of any album than "Scarlet's Walk" to compare it to. Yes, the genre here is the dusty, early Americana acoustic folk-rock that Tori Amos could not possibly emulate, but the spirit is the same.
A fantastic slice of post-modern, early-Depression-evocating brilliance, all told through the eyes of that most remarkable mammal (after the dog) - the cat. Unique, and quite visionary, I think.
Four Solid Stars.
myname is buddy - Ry Cooder An excellent addition to Ry Cooder. I enjoyed all the songs . He remains unique and as always the standard is excellent.
quite boring... I've been a fan of Ry Cooder's recordings for a long time, but noe I prefer him more like producer of other artist's records (listen to the latest M. Staples one..). "My name is Buddy" should be changed in "My name is BORING": I can save only 4/5 good songs (NOT masterpieces) in this cd, the sound is disjointed and the voice of Ry seems is really too tired...Finally, listening to the latest Ry's album, my favourite remains Chavez Ravine, that is strange and not perfect, but much better than Buddy!
My parakeet's a necon Ry Cooder is one of those musicians who at times makes you wonder if he's just daring critics, and the buying public, terrified at seeming uncool, to come to their senses and see that he's just trying to yank everybody's chain. While I respect Cooder as a musician and to a lesser degree as a social activist, this latest effort seems really silly and forced, like a bunch of knockoff tracks done in his living room with lyrics written on the spot. Perhaps it should be marketed as a kid's CD who's families hope to inspire them to joint the International Workers of the World when they grow up. Makes you wonder if he was just fulfilling his contractual duties to his label, or to help pay off that big fine he got from the Treasury Department for doing business with Cuban musicians.
And none of my opinion is due to his politics, as mine are probably even further to the left than his.
Buddy has, however, inspired my parakeet, Sheetbird, to come out with a CD of his own. It might sadden Mr. Cooder to learn that Sheetbird's politics and Buddy's are at the opposite ends of the spectrum. Sadly, my budgie's a neonconservative.
I gave it 2 stars only because of some inspired guitar playing and Cooder's characteristically interesting arranging, particularly on "Redcat Till I Die".
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