Album Reviews

Brooklyn Dodger fans weren't the only ones heartbroken when their beloved bums moved to Los Angeles. An entire L.A. neighborhood, Chávez Ravine, had to be sacrificed to make way for the new Dodger stadium. Despite the album title, Ry Cooder's Cinemascopic new album is as much about a lost time-the 1950's-as it is about a lost Mexican-American neighborhood known as Chávez Ravine.

Though in the annotation Cooder describes the Dodgers' acquisition of the ravine as “…a greasy handoff…,” and a measure of anger and regret simmer below the surface, he's hardly made a protest album. The Santa Monica native admits that he never visited Chávez Ravine as a youngster, but streetcar rides to Downtown L.A. took him to “…a world back 50 years in time,” and he remembers growing up, hearing about the loss of Chávez Ravine and of other older L.A. neighborhoods to “development.”

Against a complex “Chinatown”-like environment of urban power struggles, government corruption, racism, police harassment and forced evictions, Cooder describes a fantasy life he imagined on L.A.'s East Side using 50's ephemera like flying saucers, the “red scare” of J. Edgar Hoover and Joe McCarthy, and even the voice of Jack Webb's Sgt. Friday as props, and the musical styles and even some of the aging but still vital Mexican-American musicians of the era as the storytellers.

There are new songs, some of which Cooder sings-the first time he's done that since 1987's Get Rhythm-and some oldies (“3 Cool Cats” among them), though the idea was clearly not to faithfully recreate the musical past. Instead, there's an infectious stylistic mash-up of accordion flavored conjunto, latino-rock, blues, jazz, ambient psychedelia and pop, frequently visited by Cooder's lonely, soaring slide guitar.

Imaginary hipsters, race rioters, corrupt builders, a “Space Vato,” an idealistic urban planner, Chinamen and Pachucos populate the narrative, brought to life by guest musicians including Pachuco boogie-man Don Tosti, Little Willie G. of the 1950s group Thee Midnighters, the electrifying Ersi Arvizu, Flaco Jimenez, Los Lobos's David Hidalgo and jazz pianist Jacky Terrasson.

Everything Cooder has learned over the years writing music for movies comes to fruition here, as he weaves a complex, character and detail-rich fantasy as compellingly visual as any movie you're likely to see. Chávez Ravine took three years to produce, and costs ran into six figure territory (out of his own pocket), but the results easily justify the time and expense. It is a genuine musical masterpiece, and Cooder's finest recording, capping a long career filled with greatness-especially for a guy who thinks of himself as a sideman and a not particularly effective singer.

The recording is dark, somewhat distant, and purposefully lacking in sparkle and shimmer. It has a “jukebox” like, dark, bass- heavy tonal balance, with a "tubey" reverb ambience that's thoroughly appropriate given the cinematic, “film noir” nature of the project. Clearly the engineer and mixer had this sound in mind, as it's consistent throughout and works perfectly once you get used to it. It's as if the action is all taking place in a big, dark room, or you're standing just outside, listening in.

The album, rich with atmosphere, is best heard lights out, with the volume cranked up in order to get the top end to properly assert itself. Otherwise, cymbals, and other percussion instruments simply slip into the murk and get lost. The mix is skillfully accomplished, with a great deal of clarity and depth evident. The gauzy sonic quality of ProTools asserts itself to my ears, so if ProTools was not used and this was tracked analog, a finger in my eye!

As for the $15 or so bucks Chávez Ravine will cost you, it's worth spending it just for the albums' stunning closer “Soy Luz Y Sombra,” though I could point out a half dozen other magnificent musical highlights and the accompanying booklet — complete with Spanish to English lyric translations—adds great luster to the project.

Ry Cooder has put his heart, soul and dinero behind this album. Don't miss it. Chávez Ravine will make you think, massage your imagination, and have you dancing. It's an act of love and conscience that will endure.