^ I always meant to follow up on this comment, Frownland; sorry that it`s taken me, er, five months to do so.
Did you end up exploring any of
Ry Cooder`s albums ? He has some great material, but a discography that can make you wonder where to start. Well, this would be my advice for someone looking at Ry Cooder`s stuff for the first time:-
(i) don`t expect to hear anything remotely resembling Safe As Milk.
(ii) be aware that RC is one of those consumately polite musicians; when he collaborates his intention is to let his collaboree shine, so you may not hear the real Ry on those albums.
(iii) when Gavin B. recommended
Into The Purple Valley, the excellent double-cd complilation
The UFO has Landed hadn`t been released. This compilation album is easily the best way to get a handle on RC`s bewildering scope of styles. It does what only the best anthologies do; pulls together the various strands of the artists work, so you end up making connections that you hadn`t previously noticed. It was only after listening to
UFO that I could at last say with some confidence, "Ah, yes,
that is the RC sound !"