Borderline (Ry Cooder album)

Borderline is an album by Ry Cooder, released in 1980.[1][2] "The Way We Make a Broken Heart" is a cover of the John Hiatt song.[3]

Borderline
Studio album by
ReleasedOctober 1980
RecordedWarner Bros. Recording Studio, Burbank, CA
GenreRoots rock
Length43:30
LabelWarner Bros.
ProducerRy Cooder
Ry Cooder chronology
Bop till You Drop
(1979)
Borderline
(1980)
The Slide Area
(1982)

Critical reception edit

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic     [4]
Robert ChristgauB−[5]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide     [6]

Robert Christgau wrote that "Cooder's current soul/r&b interests inhibit his songfinding."[5] The Globe and Mail wrote that "Borderline" "is a lovely instrumental which features the least slick, most emotional playing by an efficient set of hired guns."[7]

Track listing edit

Side one edit

  1. "634–5789" (Steve Cropper, Eddie Floyd) – 2:56
  2. "Speedo" (Esther Navarro) – 3:20
  3. "Why Don't You Try Me" (E. Young) – 4:54
  4. "Down in the Boondocks" (Joe South) – 3:21
  5. "Johnny Porter" (Bobby Ray Appleberry, William Cuomo) – 5:21

Side two edit

  1. "The Way We Make a Broken Heart" (John Hiatt) – 4:28
  2. "Crazy 'Bout an Automobile" (William R. Emerson) – 5:03
  3. "The Girls from Texas" (James Lewis, Jimmy Holiday, Cliff Chambers) – 4:40
  4. "Borderline" (Ry Cooder) – 3:19
  5. "Never Make Your Move Too Soon" (Will Jennings, Nesbert Hooper Jr.) – 6:08

Charts edit

Year Chart Peak
1980 Australian (Kent Music Report) 43[8]

Personnel edit

Source: album cover

Technical edit

  • Leslie Morris – production assistant
  • Lee Herschberg – recording, mixing
  • Carlos Ruano Llopis – artwork[citation needed]

References edit

  1. ^ Plasketes, George (2016). B-Sides, Undercurrents and Overtones: Peripheries to Popular in Music, 1960 to the Present. Taylor & Francis. p. 72.
  2. ^ The Rough Guide to Rock (3rd ed.). Rough Guides. 2003. p. 224.
  3. ^ Elliott, Michael (2021). Have a Little Faith: The John Hiatt Story. Chicago Review Press.
  4. ^ "Borderline > Overview". www.allmusic.com. Retrieved July 21, 2010.
  5. ^ a b "Ry Cooder". Robert Christgau. Retrieved 6 October 2023.
  6. ^ The Rolling Stone Album Guide. Random House. 1992. pp. 158, 159.
  7. ^ McGrath, Paul (24 Jan 1981). "Borderline Ry Cooder". The Globe and Mail. p. F6.
  8. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 73. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.