Ry Cooder has always been a musical storyteller, from his self-titled debut album (which featured both well-known and under-recognized folk, blues, swing, and jug tunes) to Boomer's Story, his last two offerings for Nonesuch (Chavez Ravine and My Name Is Buddy), and his many film scores (including those for The Long Riders, Paris, Texas, Last Man Standing, Geronimo, and The End of Violence, just to mention a few).
When his contributions as a musicologist, producer, and collaborator -- such as his contributions to the various Buena Vista Social Club recordings (including the film score) and his work with V.M.
Bhatt, Pops Staples, Ersi Arvizu, and guitarist Manuel Galbán of Los Zafiros -- are included, he becomes a genuine mythmaker.
I, Flathead contributes to the weight of Cooder's legend in many ways.
First, there's the title, an obvious nod to the late Isaac Asimov's I, Robot; then there's the legend -- the entire story is told in a 100-page, hardbound novella that accompanies the Deluxe Edition -- about beatnik, country music nut, and salt-flats racer Kash Buk, his band the Klowns, the strange and wonderful extraterrestrial visitor called Shakey, and the Passenger who pursues him.
It's even subtitled "The Songs of Kash Buk and the Klowns." Finally, there's the music; it's a set of 14 original tunes that employ everything from country rockabilly to blues; strange, shimmering exotica; and Latin-influenced rock, swing, and mariachi music.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Drive Like I Never Been HurtJoachim Cooder, Ry Cooder | Ry Cooder | Play | 04:07 | 9 MB | 0 MB |
| 2 | Waitin' for Some GirlRy Cooder | Ry Cooder | Play | 03:48 | 8 MB | 0 MB |
| 3 | Johnny CashRy Cooder | Ry Cooder | Play | 03:07 | 7 MB | 0 MB |
| 4 | Steel Guitar HeavenRy Cooder | Ry Cooder | Play | 03:40 | 8 MB | 0 MB |
| 5 | Ridin' with the BluesRy Cooder | Ry Cooder | Play | 02:59 | 6 MB | 0 MB |
| 6 | Fernando SezRy Cooder | Ry Cooder | Play | 04:43 | 10 MB | 0 MB |
| 7 | Spayed KooleyRy Cooder | Ry Cooder | Play | 02:09 | 4 MB | 0 MB |
| 8 | Filipino Dancehall GirlRy Cooder | Ry Cooder | Play | 03:53 | 8 MB | 0 MB |
| 9 | My Dwarf Is Getting TiredRy Cooder | Ry Cooder | Play | 03:59 | 9 MB | 0 MB |
| 10 | Flathead One More TimeJoachim Cooder, Ry Cooder | Ry Cooder | Play | 03:11 | 7 MB | 0 MB |
| 11 | 5000 Country Music SongsRy Cooder | Ry Cooder | Play | 06:39 | 15 MB | 0 MB |
| 12 | Little Trona GirlJoachim Cooder, Ry Cooder | Ry Cooder | Play | 03:13 | 7 MB | 0 MB |
| 13 | Can I Smoke in Here? | Ry Cooder | Play | 04:19 | 9 MB | 0 MB |
| 14 | Pink-O-Boogie | Ry Cooder | Play | 03:04 | 7 MB | 0 MB |
| 52 mins | 121 MB | |||||
| 0 mins | 0 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Karina Benznicki | Production Supervisor |
| 2 | Gil Bernal | Sax (Tenor) |
| 3 | Ron Blake | Trumpet |
| 4 | Rene Camacho | Bass |
| 5 | Eli Cane | Production Coordination |
| 6 | Juliette Commagere | Main Personnel, Vocals |
| 7 | Joachim Cooder | Composer, Drums, Main Personnel, Timbales |
| 8 | Ry Cooder | Bass, Composer, Guitar, Guitar (Bass), Laud, Mandolin, Package Design, Piano (Electric), Primary Artist, Producer, Vocals |
| 9 | Anthony Gil | Sax (Bass) |
| 10 | Ronen Givony | Editorial Coordinator |
| 11 | Jesús Guzmán | Arranger, String Arrangements |
| 12 | Jon Hassell | Trumpet |
| 13 | Flaco Jiménez | Accordion |
| 14 | Robert Wilson Kellogg | Cover Photo |
| 15 | Jim Keltner | Drums |
| 16 | Stephen Marcussen | Mastering |
| 17 | Albert Mata | Assistant |
| 18 | Alex Pavlides | Assistant |
| 19 | Martin Pradler | Audio Engineer, Drums, Engineer, Mixing, Package Design, Piano (Electric) |
| 20 | Stewart Rouse | Drawing |
| 21 | Francisco Torres | Trombone |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |