toomanyhatz wrote:I remember an interview with Ry Cooder in which he was laying into Omara Portuando for wanting to sound like Barbara Streisand, one of her favorite singers. Ry's point was she should stick to what makes her unique and special. Frankly I thought he was full of crap. Another argument that musicians should be limited in where they're allowed to take influence from. So is Portuondo a cultural imperialist? What are the implications of her using the music of American Jewish culture?
I haven't read the interview, but I have two comments:
1) it's interesting to hear what Cooder's take is on Streisand,
2) Having said that, if Cooder wanted to steer the singer towards a particular sound, the place to do it is in the studio, not in an interview. In an interview, you risk "showing up" the performer with criticisms that for tactical reasons might best be kept private.
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On the subject of Cooder and Buena Vista..., I don't really like the slide guitar. I don't think it fits in with the montuno and clave rhythms in son. This music is about interlocking rhythmic parts. Slide smudges all that up.
I do, however, like his guitar playing on the album with Manuel Galban. His guitar tone on "Secret Love" is fucking excellent.