Into the Purple Valley

Leave it to guitar virtuoso Ry Cooder to tackle the Dust Bowl Era, the Great Depression, and the plight of sharecroppers in America. Into The Purple Valley is Cooder's musical take on John Steinbeck's The Grapes Of Wrath: impoverished farmers traveling to the Land Of Opportunity (I'm assuming that `purple' means `grape,' or the Napa Valley of California). Sounds pretty depressing? Not exactly. Into The Purple Valley is honest: musically and historically. The majority of the eleven songs are pre-fifties standards, but instead of updating the songs, Cooder captures the music (or perhaps the desperation) of the time. Outdated by contemporary standards (whether seventy-two or today), Into The Purple Valley is an inspired reworking of thirties and forties American music.

Desperation and misery are at the center of `How Can You Keep Moving,' `Hey Porter,' and `Vigilante Man.' What picks these numbers out of the melancholy doldrums and lifts then into the blissful clouds is Cooder's...Read more

Ry Cooder has shown us a wide variety and diversification of musical influences since this 1972 release, but to me, this is his best effort. I love the broad range of musical influences that he has taken over the years, including the commercially successful Buena Vista Social Club, however, Into the Purple Valley is where he is at home. From beginning to end, this album carries such a magical feel, particularly the struggles of the poor and oppressed from a long ago era, however, seems to give us an indication that maybe our own "blues" maybe waiting around the corner for us all. ( You must remember that Nixon was in office when this was released...need I say more?). My personal favorites are "FDR in Trinidad", " How Can a Man Stand Such Times and Live", and the ever amazing rendition of "Vigilante Man". I love Mr. Cooder's travels into the realms of other cultures and rhythems. Through these venture, he has broadened our knowledge and...Read more

Running a little longer than the first album and ditching some of the bugs that slightly marred it (the strings being one), "Into the Purple Valley" shows Ry Cooder coming into his own. While tackling most of the same issues and types of songs from his debut, "Into the Purple Valley" takes a more direct and stripped down approach to the music. He also takes on a few more musical styles with the gospel influenced Teardrops Will Fall and the calypso flavored FDR in Trinidad. While people claim that "Paradise and Lunch" was his greatest album, this one, his first true masterpiece, should not be ignored and was certainly a springboard for his more delicious mix of musical variations.