6 Highlights From Ry Cooder’s Into the Purple Valley
- The album is built entirely from deep Americana covers, drawing from traditional folk, blues, and country songs.
- It includes Woody Guthrie’s ‘Vigilante Man,’ a stark folk protest song about vigilante violence.
- Jesse Stone’s ‘Money Honey’ appears, a rhythm and blues track originally popularized by the Drifters.
- Cooder’s slide guitar work is a standout, adding a raw, gritty texture to each track.
- The arrangements stay faithful to the original sources, avoiding overproduction or modern gloss.
- The album’s cohesive focus on overlooked American roots music makes it a definitive statement of Cooder’s style.