Chicken Skin Music

About

Among the loosest and warmest collections Ry Cooder ever recorded, <i>Chicken Skin Music</i> is notable for its introduction of Tex-Mex and Hawaiian styles into the repertoire of blues, country, and gospel Cooder had been mining since his debut. With a cast that features Tejano accordionist Flaco Jimenez and Hawaiian slack-key guitar legends Gabby Pahinui and Atta Isaacs (not to mention jazz titans Red Callender, Benny Powell, and Oscar Brashear) there is a familial atmosphere to <i>Chicken Skin Music</i>, as Cooder brings together roots musicians from all different genres in an expression of cohesion among the regional musical styles of the United States. Never one to play a straight cover, Cooder conducts a Tejano version of Leadbelly’s “Goodnight Irene” and turns Ben E. King’s pop-soul standard “Stand By Me” into accordion-inflected gospel. “Chicken skin” is Hawaiian slang for “goose bumps,” and there is indeed something warmly mysterious and slightly supernatural about the album’s once-in-a-lifetime gathering of talent.

via Apple Music

The Clerk says

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