Chicken Skin Music

Among the loosest and warmest collections Ry Cooder ever recorded, *Chicken Skin Music* is notable for its introduction of Tex-Mex and Hawaiian styles into the repertoire of blues, country, and gospel Cooder had been mining since his debut. With a cast that features Tejano accordionist Flaco Jimenez and Hawaiian slack-key guitar legends Gabby Pahinui and Atta Isaacs (not to mention jazz titans Red Callender, Benny Powell, and Oscar Brashear) there is a familial atmosphere to *Chicken Skin Music*, as Cooder brings together roots musicians from all different genres in an expression of cohesion among the regional musical styles of the United States. Never one to play a straight cover, Cooder conducts a Tejano version of Leadbelly’s “Goodnight Irene” and turns Ben E. King’s pop-soul standard “Stand By Me” into accordion-inflected gospel. “Chicken skin” is Hawaiian slang for “goose bumps,” and there is indeed something warmly mysterious and slightly supernatural about the album’s once-in-a-lifetime gathering of talent.

For the first time since 1992,Rolling Stone'sdefinitive classic returns to the scene, completely updated and revised to include the past decade's artists and sounds. When it comes to sorting the truly great from the merely mediocre, the enduring from the fleeting,The New Rolling Stone Album Guideprovides music buffs and amateurs alike with authoritative guidance from the best voices in the field. Filled with insightful commentary, it not only reviews the most influential albums of all time, but also features biographical overviews of key artists' careers, giving readers a look at the personalities behind the music.This fourth edition contains an impressive -- 70 percent -- amount of new material. Readers will find fresh updates to entries on established artists, hundreds of brand-new entries on the people and recordings that epitomize the '90s and the sounds of the 21st century -- from Beck to OutKast to the White Stripes and beyond -- along with a new introduction detailing changes in the music industry.Celebrating the diversity of popular music and its constant metamorphoses, with thousands of entries and reviews on every sound from blues to techno,The New Rolling Stone Album Guideis the only resource music lovers need to read.

Ry Cooder has always believed in the "mutuality in music," and this may be no more evident in his career than with his fifth album, Chicken Skin Music (a Hawaiian colloquialism, synonymous with goosebumps).