Paradise and Lunch
Paradise and Lunch is the fourth album by roots rock musician Ry Cooder, released on June 8, 1974 on Reprise Records. The album is composed of cover versions of jazz, blues and roots standards and obscurities recorded at the Warner Brothers Studios. The final track, "Ditty Wah Ditty," showcases a duet between Cooder and jazz pianist Earl "Fatha" Hines. It was produced by Russ Titelman and Lenny Waronker. The album reached #167 on the Billboard 200.
| Paradise and Lunch | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | June 1974 | |||
| Studio | Warner Brothers Studios, North Hollywood, CA and The Burbank Studios, Burbank, CA | |||
| Genre | Roots rock, blues, folk, Americana | |||
| Length | 36:51 | |||
| Label | Reprise | |||
| Producer | Russ Titelman, Lenny Waronker | |||
| Ry Cooder chronology | ||||
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| Music video | ||||
| Tattler on YouTube | ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic | |
| Christgau's Record Guide | A− |
| Rolling Stone | (favorable) |
| The Rolling Stone Record Guide | |
| Tom Hull | B− |
The album also includes Cooder's updated arrangement of bluesman Washington Phillips' "The Tattler" that stands out for its guitar playing. It was subsequently covered by Linda Ronstadt on her 1976 album Hasten Down the Wind and by David Soul on his 1977 album Playing To An Audience of One.
In 1990 the album was released on CD, while a remastered version appeared in 2007. It was newly remastered from the original master tapes for a high-resolution SACD in 2017.