For fuck's sake, who'd have ever guessed--a Friday Night Jukebox post that actually appears on a fucking Friday night!
I don't feature instrumentals on Friday Night Jukebox too often, but this week's tune is one of the best rock and roll has ever had to offer, and sadly, it isn't nearly as well known as it should be (though the Ike and Tina Turner song it covers is considerably more well known...if you're of a certain age). It's also proof that at one time Rolling Stone magazine had some sway over my musical tastes--the album the song came from I bought solely based on their review proclaiming it one of the best albums of..gulp...1979....
In an historic first for FNJ, this week's featured artist is the only one (and it isn't likely to be repeated) whose first name is Ryland. Ry Cooder was born in Los Angeles in 1947, began playing music professionally in his teens, and released his last album just three short years ago in 2018. Along the way he became known as one of the greatest guitar players of all-time (#8 on Rolling Stone's top 100 in 2003; #32 on Gibson--of guitar making fame--list of 2010). Cooder has become a composer of soundtracks extraordinaire, with over 17 for his career. He has 59 listings on LPs as a guest musician, as well as 19 collaborative efforts (including Buena Vista Social Club which brought Cuban music back into the spotlight, won a Grammy, as well as leading to an Academy Award nominated documentary). For his solo career, Cooder has released seventeen solo studio albums, and seven singles. He's also won six Grammy Awards. And to put a cherry on the top of his illustrious body of work, Cooder is an unabashed Democrat who has supported numerous liberal causes, including civil rights, immigration, and income inequality to name but a few.
Fun Fact: As noted above, this week's song is a cover of an Ike and Tina Turner song from 1961 which was entitled "It's Gonna Work Out Fine." It reached #4 (with a bullet!) on the Billboard Hot 100 and was nominated for a Grammy Award. I'd never heard it before doing my half-assed research this week, but would highly recommend it (it can be found here)--it's considerably (and I do mean considerably) more sultry that Cooder's more laid back instrumental, but well worth the listen.
"I Think It's Going to Work Out Fine" was released in 1979 on Cooder's stellar (and wonderfully entitled) LP, Bop Till You Drop. The song was not released as a single, and the album reached a tragically low chart position of #62.
Imagine a movie where a protagonist goes through a long and protracted struggle to reach an end result, and at the end, while the end result may not have been exactly what our hero was hoping for, it worked out well enough. The song that could be playing while he's walking into the setting sun would be "I Think It's Going to Work Out Fine." Every time I hear it, oddly enough, the song sounds to me as if yes, indeed, everything is going to work out fine. While Cooder plays the bulk of the guitar parts (and plays them exquisitely), he and David Lindley play off one another throughout and if you're a guitar aficionado like me it's pure six string heaven. I can guarantee you that if when I was ten I'd chosen guitar lessons instead of Little League (still one of the worst decisions of my life), this is a song I'd either be playing or still trying to learn, even now, forty-two years later. If joy was a song instead of a word, this is what it would sound like.
Lyric Sheet: Obviously an instrumental, but lyrics inserted for anyone interested in Ike and Tina's version...
Enjoy:
You Have a Choice: Pass a Voting Rights Bill, or Welcome Fascism to America
Peace,
emaycee
