The Ry Cooder Anthology: The UFO Has Landed [2 CD]

This is a wonderful anthology by one of most important unsung heroes of the last 50 years. I can't think of many anthologies that can present an artist to new fans as thoroughly and joyfully as this one.

I just have one complaint, and it's not a minor one. Where the heck is "Across the Borderline"?. Not only is it his most covered song, not many songs can capture a mindset that of hundreds of thousands of immigrants from the south like that. I'm not making a political statement here - this song is just like capturing lightning in a bottle and its omission leaves a big hole in this otherwise perfect collection.

I come to Ry Cooder via Captain Beefheart and Little Feat but I had never gotten around to checking out Ry. This anthology for the new comer contains two things in abundance fun and variety. The fun comes mainly in the joy that comes from the musicians having so much fun while playing this music. These guys are having a blast and it shows. Granted my musical tastes are all over the place and here you have 2 CDs worth of for lack of a better term "Roots" music. I'm no expert at this style of music but I can tell when music is being played with natural expertise, Ry is a master guitarist and one of the best slide guitarist I've ever heard. The songs are about life and a very full life at that, this set was lovingly put together by Ry's son Joachim who has been playing and writing songs with Ry for a number of years now. Filled with wonderful songs that should have been huge hits if they had been released during the right time periods. There are too many songs to create a list of...Read more

Looking through the songlist, this is a pretty good sampling of Cooder's work. I think the songs work well together as a collection and offer a chance for listeners to explore some of the many thingds he's done. There are a lot of things missing, as noted in the comment about 'Borderline', but I think that as hard as it would be for me to pick a handful of favorites from the many possibilities, this set has good balance. I have a collection that must include everything on this compilation and so much more, but I'll probably buy it soon just because it's there. Ry Cooder's tunes are like shoes that don't need breaking in. Fit right, first time, every time.