Into the Purple Valley

Into the Purple Valley
Studio album by
ReleasedJanuary 1972
Recorded1971
GenreCountry folk[1]
Length37:06
LabelReprise[2]
ProducerJim Dickinson, Lenny Waronker[3]
Ry Cooder chronology
Ry Cooder
(1970)
Into the Purple Valley
(1972)
Boomer's Story
(1972)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[4]
Christgau's Record GuideB+[5]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music[2]
MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide[3]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[6]

Into the Purple Valley is the second studio album by roots rock musician Ry Cooder, released in 1972.[7][8]

The album's front cover is listed at number 12 on Rolling Stone's 100 Greatest Album Covers.[9] It shows Cooder and his then wife, Susan Titelman, in a Buick convertible at the Warner Bros. film lot in Burbank, California.

Critical reception

Record Collector wrote that the album "reached deep into tradition, unearthing neglected treasures from America’s past and reshaping them for the post-Woodstock generation."[10]

Track listing

Side One

  1. "How Can You Keep On Moving (Unless You Migrate Too)" (Agnes "Sis" Cunningham) – 2:25
  2. "Billy the Kid" (Traditional; arranged by Ry Cooder) – 3:45
  3. "Money Honey" (Jesse Stone) – 3:28
  4. "FDR in Trinidad" (Fitz McLean) – 3:01
  5. "Teardrops Will Fall" (Gerry "Dickey Doo" Granahan, Marion Smith) – 3:03
  6. "Denomination Blues" (George Washington Phillips) – 3:58

Side Two

  1. "On a Monday" (Lead Belly) – 2:52
  2. "Hey Porter" (Johnny Cash) – 4:34
  3. "Great Dream from Heaven" (instrumental) (Joseph Spence) – 1:53
  4. "Taxes on the Farmer Feeds Us All" (Traditional; arranged by Ry Cooder) – 3:52
  5. "Vigilante Man" (Woody Guthrie) – 4:15

(Note: "Taxes on the Farmer Feeds Us All" was actually composed by Fiddlin' John Carson.)

Personnel

Technical
  • Mike Salisbury - cover design
  • Marty Evans - cover photography

Billboard charts

Chart Peak
Pop albums 113[11]

References

  1. ^ Larkin, Colin (1999). All-Time Top 1000 Albums. Virgin Books. p. 162. ISBN 0-7535-0354-9. Archived from the original on October 8, 2021.
  2. ^ a b Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 2. MUZE. pp. 527–528.
  3. ^ a b MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Visible Ink Press. 1999. p. 267.
  4. ^ "AllMusic Review by Bob Gottlieb". AllMusic. Retrieved 29 March 2021.
  5. ^ Christgau, Robert (1981). "Consumer Guide '70s: C". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor & Fields. ISBN 089919026X. Retrieved February 23, 2019 – via robertchristgau.com.
  6. ^ The Rolling Stone Album Guide. Random House. 1992. pp. 158–159.
  7. ^ "Artist Biography by Steve Huey". AllMusic. Retrieved 29 March 2021.
  8. ^ The Rough Guide to Rock (2nd ed.). Rough Guides Ltd. 1999. p. 211.
  9. ^ "Rolling Stone's 100 Greatest Album Covers by 2tec". Discogs Lists. 1991-11-14. Retrieved 2023-02-16.
  10. ^ "COODER BEEN A CONTENDER". Record Collector. Retrieved 29 March 2021.
  11. ^ "Chart History Ry Cooder". Billboard. Retrieved 29 March 2021.