The Fat Angel Sings

Once upon a time there was a radio station like no other. For more than a decade starting in 1968, The JIVE 95, led by its patriarch Tom Donahue, fueled the flames of creative freedom on the airwaves and produced some of the most incredible, inspiring, outrageous radio ever broadcast. This site is dedicated to the spirit and memories of this most extraordinary station.

Throughout the 1970s, Ry Cooder released a series of Records albums that showcased his guitar work, initially on the Reprise Records label, before being reassigned to the main Warners label along with many of Reprise’s artists when the company retired the imprint. Cooder explored bygone musical genres and found old-time recordings which he then personalized and updated. Thus, on his breakthrough album, Into the Purple Valley, he chose unusual instrumentations and arrangements of blues, gospel, calypso, and country songs (giving a tempo change to the cowboy ballad “Billy the Kid”).

This recording from KSAN’s broadcast series, captured at the Record Plant in Sausalito, California, 1974 is essentially a solo acoustic show with Ry Cooder, although longtime associates Jim Dickinson and Jim Keltner participate on bass and drums, respectively. Ry Cooder was promoting his third solo album, ‘Paradise and Lunch,’ which most critics still regard as among his best LP to date. Among the highlights from this Record Plant session are ‘Police Dog Blues,’ ‘F.D.R. in Trinidad,’ ‘If Walls Could Talk,’ ‘Billy The Kid,’ and ‘Comin’ In On a Wing and a Prayer,’ which he dedicated to then-President Nixon for his mishandling of the Vietnam War. Ironically, less than four weeks after this recording was made, Nixon resigned from his presidency. Now available at Amazon

Ry Cooder remains one of the very few studio icons who has gained the reputation as a “musician’s musician.” This recording from KSAN’s broadcast series, captured at the Record Plant in Sausalito, California, is essentially a solo acoustic show with Cooder, although longtime associates Jim Dickinson and Jim Keltner participate on bass and drums, respectively. He performs a wide spectrum of material that includes covers and originals from his then-current and previous Reprise albums. Whether it’s a Depression-era styled blues classic, such as “Police Dog Blues,” or Little Miton’s “If The Walls Could Talk,” Cooder is a master at the craft of blending smooth vocals and tasteful guitar licks around a compelling storyline song. If you don’t love the characters he sings about, you are bound to love his true musicianship, which has graced hundreds of recordings by the likes of James Taylor and The Rolling Stones.

Ry Cooder – guitars, vocals, mandolin; Russ Titelman – bass; Jim Keltner – percussion, drums; Milt Holland – percussion, drums; Bobby King – backing vocals; Gene Mumford – backing vocals; Cliff Givens – backing vocals