Description After Ry Cooder issued 2012’s biting 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 he’d go next. 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.
