Following his conceptual 1978 release,
Jazz,
Ry Cooder returned the next year with the R&B/soul-based
Bop Till You Drop. The first major-label, digitally recorded album,
Bop is a nice set of moderately known to obscure tunes from the '50s and '60s (along with a
Cooder/
Tim Drummond original) that doesn't always live up to its promise.
Cooder and his excellent band, which includes the rhythm section of
Tim Drummond and
Jim Keltner along with guitarist
David Lindley, understand the material and are more than capable of laying down a decent groove, but something must have gotten lost in translation from what was played to what came across on the recording. There's a thinness to the tracks that undermines the performances, which according to
Cooder is due to the digital recording. If you check out the live version of
Bop Till You Drop's opener, "Little Sister," from the No Nukes record (using the same band), you can see what surely could have been. Still,
Bop is worthwhile given
Cooder's penchant for choosing great tunes, as well as the tight performances, brilliant guitar work, and a handful of great guest vocalists (including
Chaka Khan). A few of the highlights include his arrangement of the early-'60s
Elvis hit "Little Sister," the soulful "The Very Thing That Makes You Rich (Makes Me Poor)," an instrumental take on
Ike & Tina Turner's "I Think It's Gonna Work Out Fine," and "I Can't Win," featuring
Cooder's longtime cohort
Bobby King on lead vocal. ~ Brett Hartenbach