• Haunted by Music – Ry Cooder, I think it’s going to work out fine

    Allan Y McDougall Posted On November 18, 2011
    0


    I think it’s going to work out fine is the last track on side one of the Bop Till You Drop album, released by Ry Cooder in 1979.

    It’s an instrumental track, a version of a song written by Rose Marie McCoy and Sylvia McKinney and it has been covered by a variety of artists, including Ike and Tina Turner and James Taylor and Linda Rondstadt.  The song is a real “couple” song, an interchange of comments, a conversation. 

    Here’s the first verse of the Turner’s version

    Darling (yes Tine) it’s time to get next to me
    (honey that was my plan from the very beginning)
    Darling (un huh) I never thought that this could be
    (What you mean) Oh yeah
    Your lips set my soul on fire
    You fulfill my one desire
    Oh darling (yes yes) I think it’s gonna work out fine
    (It’s gonna work out fine)

     

    Ry Cooder’s version is smooth and haunting – the emotions of the song are carried and conveyed solely by his slide guitar playing.  The playing of the session men is entirely sympathetic – he uses his regular players of the time – Jim Keltner on drums, Milt Holland on percussion, Tim Drummond on bass and David Lindley on guitar.
    This was the Ry Cooder album which moved away from his acoustic playing and began his weird and eclectic journey through a pandemonium of musical styles and genres.  This album is a mixture of R&B cover versions, all soulful and quirky, with great singing and wonderful playing.
     
    And, this album was the first digital “pop” record – a small step away from analogue to “an exact copy of the master tape” as it says on the album cover.  And what a cover; after the “Purple Valley” we now have a pink and blue portrait of the guitarist as a young man, more a pop image than a serious musical one – the guitarist as an icon, an image, a cypher.
     
    Looking back at the original recording I am confused.  I was sure this track was the perfect closer of a wonder sequence of tracks but instead it closes side one of the record; it isn’t the album’s final track.  Back then, order was important – I hear older albums in a strict order, the flow of the music is deliberate and vital.  In my mind this should be the last track – maybe I moved to the turntable and put on another LP rather than turn it over?
     
    Maybe.
     
    Also, I don’t think the emotions conveyed by this track match the song.  I think this is a sad tune, a melody about a bad situation which is going to be resolved, it’s all going to be alright, don’t worry.  The song is simpler, it’s about commitment and love realised, it is a hymn of bravado, a braying cock-crow of a lyric.
     
    Why is a wordless song more profound?



    • ADVERTISEMENT

    • SPOTIFY PLAYLIST

    • SUBSCRIBE NOW


    Enjoy this article? Support No Depression.

    Help us continue to keep our web content free and accessible to all – without paywalls or invasive pop-up ads.

    Your support is important because it helps us cover our costs so that we can continue bringing you the independent music journalism you know and trust. Please consider subscribing or donating to No Depression now.



    A Little Help Here?

    No Depression depends on reader support to bring you top-quality roots music journalism on our website and in our quarterly journals. Donations large and small are greatly appreciated, and will help us hit our goal of raising $15,000 by Dec. 31.

    Can you help us get there? Donate or subscribe using the buttons below. Thank you for your support!

    Please consider becoming a subscriber or providing a donation. With your help, No Depression can continue to grow and cover roots music the way it deserves.