Ry Cooder

It's shaping up to be a banner decade for cat-themed concept records (Donald Fagan's Morph the Cat, anyone?). Ry Cooder's Buddy was allegedly inspired by a piece of fan mail that included a photo of a feline head superimposed on Lead Belly's body. The record paints vignettes of the life and times of Buddy Red Cat, a kitty on the prowl in dust bowl America. Somehow, this concept works, helped greatly by Cooder's impeccable blues playing and tasteful production. The rowdy, protesting grind "One Cat, One Vote, One Beer" is a highlight.

Guitarist-producer Ry Cooder has had at least nine lives as a musician, having done
everything from playing on the Rolling Stones' Sticky Fingers to kick-starting the Buena
Vista Social Club. Now he's followed up his excellent 2005 Chicano concept album, Chavez
Ravine, with a concept album about a talking cat. Cooder was inspired by a mysterious
photo sent to him of a cat's head grafted onto Lead Belly's body: Set in the Dust... More >