The Complete Bottom Line Broadcast 1974

Having spent much of the 1960s making a name for himself as a session musician, Ry Cooder's sights during the 1970s were set clearly on making his own records, and across the decade he released a string of eclectic and critically-acclaimed solo albums. His 1974 set, Paradise And Lunch, focused on a folk and blues sound, and featured appearances from musicians Jim Keltner and Russ Titelman, with legendary jazz pianist Earl 'Fatha' Hines performing too on the record's closing cut, a version of Blind Blake's 'Ditty Wah Ditty'. Paradise and Lunch garnered praise from all corners, with esteemed music critic Robert Christgau hailing Cooder's unique ability to interpret and reimagine songs, both obscure and classic, as majestic. Despite only playing a handful of shows during the course of the year, each of Ry Cooder's appearances during 1974 was a momentous occasion in itself for various reasons. His performance at The Bottom Line in New York on 16th May 1974 was one such event. Cooder's performance, which was broadcast across the region by FM radio, was indeed majestic, and featured a fully acoustic set on which the maestro's finger-picking style is heard to its bewildering best. The entire show, featuring 17 complete songs and some wonderful between-number banter from the very dry but witty Ry, is now included on this CD. With two tracks from his latest album, Cooder also showcases a wide array of tunes from his back catalogue and elsewhere, proving just what an understated master of song and a truly awe-inspiring musician he really is. As a footnote, at the conclusion of Cooder's set, Neil Young, who'd been watching Cooder from the audience, felt so inspired by what he'd just heard that he took to the stage himself and performed his own set, which included his now infamous honey slides monologue. Track Listing Too Tight Blues No. 2 F.D.R. In Trinidad Tattler Crazy 'Bout an Automobile I Can Tell By The Way You Smell Feelin' Like A Submarine Billy The Kid Letter From Warner Brothers One Meat Ball How Can A Poor Man Stand Such Times and Live' Preacher Vigilante Man Ditty Wah Ditty Goin' To Brownsville Police Dog Blues Clean Up At Home President Kennedy Ditty Wah Ditty