''I, Flathead: The Songs of Kash Buk and the Klowns'' is the fourteenth studio album by Ry Cooder. It is the final concept album by Ry Cooder. It is the third in his "California

trilogy A trilogy is a set of three works of art that are connected and can be seen either as a single work or as three individual works. They are commonly found in literature, film, and video games, and are less common in other art forms. Three-part wor ...

", which began with '' Chávez Ravine'' (2005) and '' My Name Is Buddy'' (2007).John Kruth, "Three (or Four) Chords and the Truth", ''

Sing Out! ''Sing Out!'' was a quarterly journal of folk music and folk songs that was published from May 1950 through spring 2014. It was originally based in New York City, with a national circulation of approximately 10,000 by 1960. Background ''Sing Out ...

'', 51:3, Autumn 2007 The Deluxe Edition of the album is accompanied by a 104-page hardback book which included a CD in paper pocket, a novella (on 97 pages) and song lyrics. The title is a play on the Isaac Asimov novel " I, Robot", but the flathead in question is the

Ford Flathead engine Ford commonly refers to: * Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford * Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river Ford may also refer to: Ford Motor Company * Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company * Ford ...

Track listing

All tracks composed by Ry Cooder; except where indicated # "Drive Like I Never Been Hurt" (Ry Cooder, Joachim Cooder) - 4:07 # "Waitin' for Some Girl" - 3:48 # "Johnny Cash" - 3:08 # "Can I Smoke in Here?" - 4:19 # "Steel Guitar Heaven" - 3:40 # "Ridin' with the Blues" - 3:01 # "Pink-O Boogie" - 3:05 # "Fernando Sez" - 4:44 # " Spayed Kooley" - 2:09 # "Filipino Dancehall Girl" - 3:54 # "My Dwarf is Getting Tired" - 3:59 # "Flathead One More Time" (Ry Cooder, Joachim Cooder, Jared Smith) - 3:12 # "5000 Country Music Songs" - 6:41 # "Little Trona Girl" (Ry Cooder, Joachim Cooder) - 3:13

Personnel

Musicians

* Gil Bernal -

Tenor saxophone The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor and the alto are the two most commonly used saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B (while ...

* Ron Blake –

Trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard ...

* Rene Camacho –

Double bass The double bass (), also known simply as the bass () (or by other names), is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed (or plucked) string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra (excluding unorthodox additions such as the octobass). Similar i ...

* Juliette Commagere – Vocals (14) * Joachim Cooder – Drums,

Timbales Timbales () or pailas are shallow single-headed drums with metal casing. They are shallower than single-headed tom-toms and usually tuned much higher, especially for their size.Orovio, Helio 1981. ''Diccionario de la música cubana: biográfico ...

* Ry Cooder – Vocals, Guitars,

Bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

, Mandolin, Electric piano, Producer, Package Design, Laud * Jesús Guzmán – Arranger, String Arrangements *

Jon Hassell Jon Hassell (March 22, 1937 – June 26, 2021) was an American trumpet player and composer. He was best known for developing the concept of "Fourth World" music, which describes a "unified primitive/futurist sound" combining elements of various ...

– Trumpet *

Flaco Jiménez Leonardo "Flaco" Jiménez (born March 11, 1939) is an American singer, songwriter and accordionist from San Antonio, Texas. He is known for playing Norteño, Tex Mex and Tejano music. Jiménez has been a solo performer and session musician, as ...

– Accordion *

Jim Keltner James Lee Keltner (born April 27, 1942) is an American drummer and percussionist known primarily for his session work. He was characterized by Bob Dylan biographer Howard Sounes as "the leading session drummer in America". Howard Sounes. ''Dow ...

– Drums * Martin Pradler – Drums, Electric piano, Engineer, Mixing, Package Design *

Jared Smith Jared Smith (born March 20, 1990) is a former American football Guard (gridiron football), guard. He played college football at New Hampshire Wildcats football, New Hampshire. He was invited to the 2013 NFL Combine as a defensive lineman. He was ...

- Keyboards * Francisco Torres –

Trombone The trombone (german: Posaune, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate ...

* Mariachi Los Campreros

Production

*Producer - Ry Cooder Recorded & mixed by Martin Pradler *Production Supervisor, Karina Benznicki *Production Coordination, Eli Cane *Editorial Coordinator, Ronen Givony *Mastering by

Stephen Marcussen Stephen Marcussen is the founder and chief mastering engineer at Marcussen Mastering in Hollywood, California, United States. He has been mastering music since 1979. Biography Marcussen's introduction to music recording happened in 1976 when, at ...

*Assistant, Alex Pavlides

Artwork

*Cover photo by Robert Wilson Kellogg

Releases

References

External links

*
My Name is Buddy
', site at

Nonesuch Records Nonesuch Records is an American record company and label owned by Warner Music Group, distributed by Warner Records (formerly called Warner Bros. Records), and based in New York City. Founded by Jac Holzman in 1964 as a budget classical label, No ...

{{Authority control 2008 albums Ry Cooder albums Concept albums Nonesuch Records albums Albums produced by Ry Cooder