The Ry Cooder Anthology: The UFO Has Landed (CD - 2008)

Personnel: Ry Cooder (vocals, guitar, guitars, electric guitar, tiple, tres, mandola, mandolin, fiddle, accordion, piano, organ, keyboards, vibraphone, bass instrument, percussion); Buckwheat Zydeco (vocals, accordion); Jim Dickinson (vocals, piano, organ, bass instrument); William D. "Smitty" Smith (vocals, piano, organ); Russ Titelman (vocals, electric bass); Bobby "Blanco" King, Terry Evans, Bill Johnson, Herman "P Nut" Johnson, Bobby King (vocals, background vocals); Walter Cook, George McCurn, Gene Mumford, Dan Penn, Richard Jones , George McCurn, Walter Cook, Gene Mumford, Karl Russell, Richard Jones , Gloria Jones, Juliette Commagere (vocals); David Lindley (guitar, electric guitar, banjo, mandolin, saz); Osamu Kitajima (biwa, koto); Curt Bouterse (dulcimer, flute); Gayle Levant (harp); David Mansfield (violin, cello); Tom Sauber (fiddle); Kazu Matsui (shakuhachi); Marc Savoie, Flaco Jiménez, Marc-Andre Savoie (accordion); Steve Douglas (saxophone, midi); Steve Douglas & the Rebel Rousers (saxophone); Plas Johnson (alto saxophone); Fred Jackson Jr., Fred Jackson, Jr. (tenor saxophone); Oscar Brashear (cornet); George Bohannon, George Bohanon (trombone, baritone horn); Benny Powell (trombone); Ronnie Barron (piano, organ); Van Dyke Parks (piano, keyboards); Jesse Harms (synthesizer); Jorge Calderon (bass instrument, electric bass); John Duke, Mike Elizondo, Red Callender, Tim Drummond, Tommy McClure , Bill Bryson (bass instrument); Chris Ethridge (electric bass); Joachim Cooder (drums, timbales); Jim Keltner, Milt Holland (drums, percussion); Roger Hawkins (drums); George Pierre, Baboo Pierre, Miguel Cruz (percussion); Willie Green, Jr. , Cliff Givens, Pico Payne, Greg Prestopino, William "Bill" Greene, Cliff Givens, John Hiatt, Arnold McCuller, Willie Green , Jimmy Adams, Chaka Khan (background vocals); John Barbeda, Max Bennett, Richard Hayward, Roy Estrada, Mariachi Los Camperos, Bobby Bruce.

Audio Remasterer: Bernie Grundman.

Liner Note Author: Michael Ondaatje.

Recording information: Amigo Studios, Los Angeles, CA; Ardent Recording, Memphis, TN; Little Pink Studio, Los Angeles, CA; Moula Banda Studio; Muscle Shoals Sound, Muscle Shoals, AL; Ocean Studio, Burbank, CA; Ocean Way Studios, Hollywood, CA; Sound City Studios, Van Nuys, CA; Susade Studios, Santa Monica, CA; The Burbank Studios; The Complex; The Sound Factory; Village Recorders, Los Angeles, CA; Warner Bros. Studios, North Hollywood, CA; Western Studios, Hollywood, CA; Young Avenue Sound, Memphis, TN.

Photographers: Carter Tomassi; Mika Hashimoto; Ed Thrasher; Alan Messer; Frank Bez; Marty Evans; Susan Titelman; Mike Salisbury.

Arrangers: Jesus Guzman; Jesús Guzmán; George Bohanon; Nick DeCaro; Ry Cooder.

Given its breadth and stunning stylistic range, summing up the 40-plus year career of guitarist and musical man of the world Ry Cooder is a logistical impossibility, but this two-disc anthology comes close to accomplishing the task. THE RY COODER ANTHOLOGY: THE UFO HAS LANDED skims the cream from the artist's massive output, representing his excursions into blues, folk, soul, rock, and Tex-Mex, among other genres, across 34 tracks.

The set kicks off with Cooder's cover of Johnny Cash's "Get Rhythm" and proceeds through traditional tunes ("Jesse James"), film soundtracks ("Paris, Texas"), and collaborations (like the previously unreleased "Let's Work Together" with Buckwheat Zydeco). Cooder's slide guitar work shines throughout, but it's the bringing together of such a remarkable span of music--across years and genres--that makes THE UFO HAS LANDED such a treat. minimize