End of a long and winding road

Ry Cooder

I, Flathead (Nonesuch)

ESSENTIAL "Drive Like I've Never Been Hurt"

Ry Cooder has raised the bar for eccentricity since his great success producing the "Buena Vista Social Club" album just more than a decade ago. This new disc completes an off-the-wall California trilogy of concept albums that has included "Chavez Ravine" (about Chicanos displaced to make way for Dodger Stadium) and "My Name Is Buddy," about a traveling cat. The new "I, Flathead" is clearly the best of the lot, but its deluxe edition comes with a 96-page novella that is, frankly, ridiculous. The book is Cooder's fictional story of old-time drag-racing in the California desert, with shifting narratives and bewildering characters such as Kash Buk, Spayed Cooley, and Hung Too Far Low Brown. It tries to be funny but isn't. Skip it and just opt for the CD, which alludes to some characters in the book but is far easier to follow. He burns on "Ridin' With the Blues," "Pink-O Boogie" and the twangy rockabilly of "Johnny Cash." The songs, with incisive guest shots from Cooder soul brother Flaco Jimenez, trumpeter Jon Hassell, and singer Juliette Commagere of indie band Hello Stranger, also verge into spoken-word territory but are always anchored by Cooder's guitar brilliance. Cooder gets in some shots at racism, Homeland Security, and modern country music along the way. It's a fascinating journey by a maverick who won't be harnessed. [Steve Morse]