Ry Cooder Premieres Title Track from THE PRODIGAL SON, Plus Announces Tour Line-Up

Ry Cooder has shared the title track from his first new solo release in six years, The Prodigal Son set for release by Fantasy Records on May 11th, 2018. Listen to the track here and Pre-Order The Prodigal Son: HERE.

Cooder also shared the details of The Prodigal Son Tour, his first full solo outing since 2009. The fabled musician will be joined by chief collaborator, drummer, percussionist, and keyboardist, Joachim Cooder; accomplished singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist,Robert Francis; a unique saxophonist who has recorded with some of the most recognizable names in jazz and popular music, Sam Gendel, and the Grammy-award winning vocal trio from North Carolina, The Hamiltones. The tour will visit venues throughout North America this spring and summer (see dates below).

The Prodigal Son, is essential Cooder. A masterwork of roots, blues and R&B, the album conjures our own history of the spirit, sounding completely fresh and contemporary, framed by Cooder's expressive vocals and graceful, elegant guitar work. The album's 11 tracks include three Cooder originals along with a carefully selected collection of vintage blues, gospel and bluegrass by the likes of The Pilgrim Travelers, The Stanley Brothers and Blind Willie Johnson. Taken together, it forms an unflinching look at the state of play in modern America.

The LA Times described "Shrinking Man," (a Cooder original and first track released off the album) as "an up-tempo blues shuffle featuring scratchy bottleneck guitar work for a treatise on living more responsibly and respectfully."

"I do connect the political/economic dimensions with the inner life of people, since people are at risk and oppressed on all sides in our world today," Cooder states in the album's liner notes. "There's some kind of reverence mood that takes hold when you play and sing these songs. 'Reverence' is a word I heard my granddaughter's nursery school teacher use, a Kashmiri woman. She said, 'We don't want to teach religion, but instill reverence.' I thought that was a good word for the feeling of this music."

For nearly 50 years, the immense scope and influence of Ry Cooder's music has been felt as much, or more than heard. As master musician, producer, songwriter and sage, the Santa Monica, California native has explored music and culture from across the city, the state, the country and around the world. Sounding completely fresh and contemporary, The Prodigal Son is music for these times, a deft commentary on our ailing moral state and a fearless dive into the country's soul and the man himself, Ry Cooder.

For tour and ticket information, please visit: RyCooder.com

The Prodigal Son Track List:

1. straight street (James W. Alexander / Jesse Whitaker)

2. shrinking man (Ry Cooder)

3. gentrification (Ry Cooder / Joachim Cooder)

4. everybody ought to treat a stranger right (Traditional; Blind Willie Johnson, Arr.by Ry Cooder)

5. the prodigal son (Traditional: Arranged by Ry Cooder /Joachim Cooder)

6. nobody's fault but mine (Blind Willie Johnson / Arranged Ry Cooder / Joachim Cooder)

7. you must unload (Alfred Reed)

8. i'll be rested when the roll is called (Blind Roosevelt Graves)

9. harbor of love (Carter Stanley)

10.Jesus and woody (Ry Cooder)

11. in his care (William L. Dawson)

Ry Cooder - Tour Dates :

June 4 - Alexandria, VA - Birchmere

June 6 - Ridgefield, CT - Ridgefield Playhouse

June 7 - Boston, MA - Wilbur Theatre

June 8 - New York, NY - Town Hall Theatre

June 11 - Alexandria, VA - Birchmere

June 12 - Derry, NH - Tupelo

June 22 - Ann Arbor, MI - Michigan Theater

June 24 - Chicago, IL - Thalia Hall

June 26 - Toronto, ONT - Massey Hall

June 27 - Ottawa, ONT - Centerpoint

June 29 - Montréal, QE - Jazz Festival @ Maisonneuve

June 30 - Burlington, VT - Flynn Theater

July 1 - Lenox, MA - Tanglewood

July 3 - Philadelphia, PA - Mann Center

July 13 - Seattle, WA - Moore Theatre

July 14 - Courtenay, BC - Vancouver Island MusicFest

July 17 - Portland, OR - Revolution Hall

July 20 - San Francisco, CA - Great American Music Hall

July 21 - Napa, CA - Uptown Theatre

Aug 10 - Calgary, AB - Jack Singer

Aug 14 - Denver, CO - Paramount

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