
23 Bring the Family (1987)
06/06/24 • 34 min
Cooder was not involved in the original development of John Hiatt's Bring The Family, nor did he act as producer, as he did a year later with Bobby King and Terry Evans. Nevertheless, this album is more significant than most of his previous session work and became something of a blueprint for the next phase of his career after Get Rhythm from the same year. It would be a period in which solo albums would no longer play a role, and film scores would gradually become less influential. Instead, a phase of more personal collaborations began, marked by work with long-time friends and ever new excursions into the realm of world music. Bring The Family was also the starting signal for the band Little Village, which was to be formed five years later.
This podcast frequently uses small snippets of musical recordings in podcast episodes for educational, review, and commentary purposes. In all cases, without exception, we believe this is protected by fair use in the U.S., fair dealing in the U.K. and EEA, and similar exceptions in the copyright laws of other nations. No more of the original than necessary is used, and excerpts are edited into long-form narratives, making the use transformative in nature.
Written, produced and edited by Frank Schnelle
Theme and background music by Chris Haugen
Additional background music The Mini Vandals
Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Tik Tok and YouTube
Support us on Patreon
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Cooder was not involved in the original development of John Hiatt's Bring The Family, nor did he act as producer, as he did a year later with Bobby King and Terry Evans. Nevertheless, this album is more significant than most of his previous session work and became something of a blueprint for the next phase of his career after Get Rhythm from the same year. It would be a period in which solo albums would no longer play a role, and film scores would gradually become less influential. Instead, a phase of more personal collaborations began, marked by work with long-time friends and ever new excursions into the realm of world music. Bring The Family was also the starting signal for the band Little Village, which was to be formed five years later.
This podcast frequently uses small snippets of musical recordings in podcast episodes for educational, review, and commentary purposes. In all cases, without exception, we believe this is protected by fair use in the U.S., fair dealing in the U.K. and EEA, and similar exceptions in the copyright laws of other nations. No more of the original than necessary is used, and excerpts are edited into long-form narratives, making the use transformative in nature.
Written, produced and edited by Frank Schnelle
Theme and background music by Chris Haugen
Additional background music The Mini Vandals
Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Tik Tok and YouTube
Support us on Patreon
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Previous Episode

22 Crossroads (1986)
Robert Johnson was one of the most important blues guitarists of all time. Cooder didn't cover any of Johnson's songs on his early albums, which is kind of a surprise when you think about it. But in the mid-eighties, a project came along that more than made up for the wait. Crossroads, another Walter Hill film, was a wonderful journey into the history of the blues. It led back to the roots of the Johnson legend, and - interestingly - back to Cooder’s own roots as well. It required him to make a whole variety of music, from juke-joint stomps to a famous electric guitar duel.
This podcast frequently uses small snippets of musical recordings in podcast episodes for educational, review, and commentary purposes. In all cases, without exception, we believe this is protected by fair use in the U.S., fair dealing in the U.K. and EEA, and similar exceptions in the copyright laws of other nations. No more of the original than necessary is used, and excerpts are edited into long-form narratives, making the use transformative in nature.
Written, produced and edited by Frank Schnelle
Theme and background music by Chris Haugen
Additional background music The Mini Vandals
Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Tik Tok and YouTube
Support us on Patreon
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Next Episode

24 Get Rhythm (1987)
We end our second season with what can be called Cooder's last classic album: Get Rhythm. As the title suggests, it's all about energy, speed and fun. It presents us with Cooder's very own world music and should have been a real chart breaker. Instead, it was just another solo effort with disappointing commercial results. Its release in 1987 was framed by two tours. We listen in on the famous Santa Cruz show, which spawned several bootlegs and a concert film. And we also uncover some very raw recordings from the '88 European tour.
This podcast frequently uses small snippets of musical recordings in podcast episodes for educational, review, and commentary purposes. In all cases, without exception, we believe this is protected by fair use in the U.S., fair dealing in the U.K. and EEA, and similar exceptions in the copyright laws of other nations. No more of the original than necessary is used, and excerpts are edited into long-form narratives, making the use transformative in nature.
Written, produced and edited by Frank Schnelle
Theme and background music by Chris Haugen
Additional background music The Mini Vandals
Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Tik Tok and YouTube
Support us on Patreon
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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