After Ry Cooder issued 2012's bitingly observant Election Special with its indictments of the GOP, Mitt Romney, and the Koch Brothers in a meld of sounds that included folk, blues, and roots rock, fans wondered where, if anyplace, he'd go next. But he was silent. Prodigal Son, his debut album for Fantasy, takes him back to the beginning when he recorded old blues, gospel, folk, and swing tunes that reflected the musical past as illumination for the historical present. Co-produced with son Joachim -- who also contributes drums and percussion -- Cooder takes control; he plays guitars, bass, banjo, mandolin, and keyboards in a program of eight covers and three fine originals.
He opens with an intimate version of the Pilgrim Travelers' 1950s gospel hit "Straight Street." With banjo and mandolin buoyed by his electric guitar fills and Joachim's snare, Cooder presents evidence of his protagonist's difficulties living "...on Broadway right next to the liar's house...." before finding solace in God's light. The title cut is traditional…Cooder renders it a grimy, electric, country blues -- complete with an homage to country legend Ralph Mooney's pedal steel guitar playing. Banjo, mandolin, and snares create a frame for Blind Roosevelt Graves' strident "I'll Be Rested When the Roll Is Called," while Carter Stanley's "Harbor of Love" has been recontextualized as a gently soulful, painterly, country-gospel tune. His reliance on gospel here illuminates his commitment to equality. Prodigal Son is yet another act of committed intention from one of American music's greatest guardians and purveyors. In its grain, aesthetic pleasure and the will for justice converse and ultimately convince the rest of us to act. ~Thom Jurek, allmusic.com