Ry Cooder is one of my all-time favorite artists. [One of my first amazon.com reviews back in 1999 was for Cooder's classic PARADISE AND LUNCH.] And CHICKEN SKIN MUSIC is right there at the top of my list of favoirte Cooder albums. While he's spent the better part of the last two decades doing soundtrack work, this album displays his encylopedic knowledge of musical styles. He's also a gifted mulit-instrumentalist (bajo sexto, mandola, mandolin, even accordion, in addition to being a superb guitarist. Also, Cooder relies on a wealth of talented session musicians, including Jim Keltner, drums; Flaco Jimenez, accordion; and Chris Ethridge, bass.

The album opens and closes with a couple classic Leadbelly songs, "The Bourgeois Blues" and "Good Night Irene." In between he covers gospel ("I Got Mine"), Tex-Mex ("He'll Have to Go," "Stand By Me"), Hawaiian ("Yellow Roses, "Chloe"--both actually recorded in Hawaii, with native musicians Gabby Pahinui and Atta Isaacs), and all of it filtered though Cooder's vision of what constitutes the roots of American music.

In his liner notes, Cooder states, "For me, this album reaches a level of real understanding and mutuality in music." It is one of Cooder's most satisfying albums. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

A very nice effort from one of the most respected guitar players around. I'd say this resembles hawaiian folk music with strong US blues/rock influences, allthough the voice and guitar-playing of Ry Cooder and his companions really takes it all to another level. There's nothing new, nothing exceptional to be found here - it's this record's spirit that really drives it forward.
Oh, and just a comment to the previous reviewer; I think the cover art of this album fits the music quite nicely. It's a picture of a skeleton having a go with what seems to be a hawaiian woman - giving the record an edge while still justifying some of the more strange fusion stuff going on here.
Just my 2 cents off course.

I'd read a concert review of Ry Cooder in Rolling Stone; sounded fascinating, so I bought this Chicken Skin thing that'd just come out. Here I was tryin' t'stay hip with Dylan & Beatles solo mat.

He'll Have to Go was such a tear-jerker, you wished he could've recorded it with Jim Reeves. Always Lift Him Up: later this would be called world music (as opposed, I'd reckon, to non-world music), but back then it was just a loving confluence of modern pop & creaking standards.

This was basically a child's intro to my parents' music, although I think they thought Cooder was making fun of it, because of his off-kilter & animated singing. It was also my intro to jazz, really, & I never again looked to Dylan or Beatles for hip.

Ry Cooder is always very good. This album doesn't touch "Paradise and Lunch," Ry's previous offering, but then, there are only a handful of albums in the history of American music that do. Ry's delivery on the payoff line of "Always Lift Him Up" ("just remember, he's some mother's precious darlin'...") though is one of my favorite moments on record. What a gift the man has for phrasing, with his voice as well as instrumentally.

This is on par with the other albums of the period, and this is the last one that I really love). All told, Ry's 70s output is an incredible body of work, and I'll listen to all those albums as long as I live. So if you like the other albums of the period - and I sure hope you do - check this out. The stupid cover art and leftfield instrumentation disguise some great music.

With Buena vista, his new album, and the slick cameo on James Taylor's "October Road," it's great to see that Ry Cooder is still going strong.

For the uninformed, "chicken skin" is the Hawaiian equivalent of "goose bumps". In other words, this is the kind of music that is meant to send chills down your spine, whether it's the blues, folk, tejano, or Hawaiian music. This album, for me, is highlighted by Gabby Pahinui. Cooder played on a number of Pahinui's albums, and Pops felt it was important to return the favor. Anyone who enjoys the guitar, especially ki ho'alu (slack key) will enjoy hearing Gabby play along with Ry Cooder. But despite the title, it's not an all-Hawaiian album. Celebrate it for its diversity, and come out of it with chicken skin. Auwe!