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

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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

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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

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

Billboard charts

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Chart Peak
Pop albums 113[11]

References

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  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.