superior instrumental technique and his fervent honesty and modesty. He's not afraid to switch to the background for a number or two, allowing one of his mentors the spotlight. The singing of Sleepy John Estes on "President Kennedy" and the piano of Earl Hines on "Ditty Wa Ditty" have been featured in the past. On this album, Cooder introduces Gabby Pahinui, king of Hawaiian guitarists, and Flace Jiminez, a legendary accordion player.

Similarities within these genres are brought out by the arrangements; "He'll Have to Go," a Jim Reeves country & western song, maintains the original flavor but Jiminez's accordion transports the tune from Bavaria to Mexico City to Venice. The effect is uncanny but never forced. In contrast, "Yellow Roses," an old Hank Snow song, is given a strong Hawaiian treatment, sparked by Pahinui.

The only country-blues numbers here are a pair of Leadbelly songs, "The Bourgeois Blues" and "Goodnight Irene." "Irene" closes the album with one of Cooder's magnificent cross-breedings: a mariachi feel filtered through a classic American folk song. It echoes the words of "Smack Dab in the Middle," the rocker which opens side two:

Pick me a town in any clime

People like a rocking time

Stay awake all day and night

And everybody's feeling good and right.

This might be Cooder's own motto. His ability to integrate such diverse musical traditions should keep quite a few of those towns singing. (RS 222)

DAVID LEISHMAN