The Slide Area

The Slide Area is the tenth studio album by Ry Cooder. It was released in 1982[5] and peaked at #105 on the Billboard album chart.[6]

The Slide Area
Studio album by Ry Cooder
Released	1982
Studio	Ocean Way Recording, Santa Monica, California
Genre	Blues rock, country rock, roots rock[1]
Length	39:11
Label	Warner Bros.[2]
Producer	Ry Cooder
Ry Cooder chronology
Borderline (1980) The Slide Area (1982) Get Rhythm (1987)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[3]
Robert Christgau	C+[4]

Track listing

Side A

1. "UFO Has Landed in the Ghetto" (Ry Cooder / Jim Keltner)
2. "I Need a Woman" (Bob Dylan)
3. "Gypsy Woman" (Curtis Mayfield)
4. "Blue Suede Shoes" (Carl Perkins)

Side B

1. "Mama, Don't Treat Your Daughter Mean" (Ry Cooder)
2. "I'm Drinking Again" (Ry Cooder / Jim Keltner)
3. "Which Came First" (Ry Cooder / Willie Dixon)
4. "That's the Way Love Turned Out for Me" (Quinton Claunch / Ry Cooder / Dave Hall)

Reception

Reviewing the album for AllMusic, Bob Gottlieb said:

Yes, it is a rhythm & blues, bordering at times on funk album, and rap is one direction R&B took, but..... The two gems on this are the phenomenal treatments of both "Blue Suede Shoes" and Bob Dylan's "I Need a Woman." Two songs as different in the original forms as pigs and gerbils are converted to R&B hit status. Both contain some memorable slide guitar work, but isn't that what we expect from this master of the guitar family. The album is very good but those two songs make it a gem.[1]

Personnel

Musicians

• Ry Cooder – guitar, vocals
• Jim Keltner – drums
• Jim Dickinson – keyboards (A1 – A3, B2, B4)
• William D. Smith – keyboards (A1 – A3, B2, B4)
• Miguel Cruz – percussion
• Bobby King – backing vocals (A1 – B1, B3, B4)
• Willie Greene – background vocals (A1 – B1, B3, B4)
• Herman Johnson – backing vocals (A1 – B1, B3, B4)
• John Hiatt – backing vocals (A1 – B1, B3, B4)

Technical

• Mark Ettel – Engineer Assistant
• Mark Linett – Engineer (Santa Monica) (A1, A2, A4, B1, B3)
• Bernie Grundman – mastering
• Allen Sides – mixing (A3, B2, B4)
• Masuru Mera – cover photography
• Ry Cooder – producer
• Leslie Morris – assistant producer

References

1. "The Slide Area – Ry Cooder – Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved February 23, 2019.
2. Larkin, Colin (September 30, 2013). The Virgin Encyclopedia of The Blues. Random House. ISBN 9781448132744 – via Google Books.
3. "The Slide Area - Ry Cooder | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic.
4. "Robert Christgau: CG: Ry Cooder". www.robertchristgau.com.
5. Prown, Pete; Newquist, Harvey P. (December 31, 1997). Legends of Rock Guitar: The Essential Reference of Rock's Greatest Guitarists. Hal Leonard Corporation. ISBN 9780793540426 – via Google Books.
6. "Ry Cooder The Slide Area Chart History". Billboard.