On their current tour these virtuosos have taken on new
roles: Master Gardeners charged with preserving and protecting American Roots
Music. All their years of laboring
in the vineyards of country,
bluegrass, and gospel have produced a vintage sound that was on display at the
Birchmere in Alexandria, VA this week.
A set list that began with the Louvin Brothers’ The Family
Who Prays and ended with the
Stanley Brothers’ Over in Gloryland might have foreshadowed a fire and
brimstone tent revival. And at one point Ricky looked across the stage and
asked “Ry, when you were growing up in Santa Monica did you think you’d end up
playing bass in a gospel quartet?”
“Yes I did,” Cooder deadpanned.
But there was too much fun to be had on this trip down
memory lane for anyone to feel pressured into baptism. As they played and sang, it became
clear that the longing for love and the need for spiritual sustenance are only
separated by a few chords and a chorus.
They moved from Merle Travis (Sweet Temptation) to Hank
Williams (Mansion on the Hill) to Stanley Brothers (Cold Jordan) effortlessly
as changing guitars.
At one point, Cooder picked up what he called “a 100 lb
guitar” that he had never played on stage before. The result was a rollicking
duet with Skaggs’ mandolin on Hold
Whatcha Got with the audience singing along to the chorus:
Don’t sell the house, don’t wreck the car
Stay there, honey, right where you are
Hold whatcha got, I’m coming home to stay.
Cooder was similarly self-effacing when he strapped on a
banjo that he said once belonged to Mike Seger and that he learned how to play it by watching You Tube videos.
Skaggs, his wife Sharon White, and Ry often suggested the
audience turn to You Tube to hear the originals of the songwriters they were
highlighting.
The legacies of Hank Snow (Now and Then There’s a Fool Such
as I) and Lester Flatt & Earl Scruggs (Gone Home) are in good hands as
these ‘young’ legends add their own lustrous versions to the country-gospel
canon.
Rounding out the troupe was Sharon’s sister Cheryl on
vocals, her father, 84-year-old Buck, on piano, Mark Fain on bass and Ry’s son,
Joaquin Cooder, on drums.
When the road is called up yonder this band will be ready.
As for me, I heard the spirit listening to Ry
Cooder’s solo intro to Tennessee Waltz. It is still ringing in my ears.
