Written by John Winters   

As Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan fine tune their “Plan to Destroy America,” and the truth is out about how little Obama’s done for the poor who inspired him to run for office in the first place (see last week’s New York Times Magazine), that famous Simon & Garfunkel refrain comes to mind: “Any way you look at it you lose.”

It makes you want to throw up your hands and walk away in disgust.

Ry Cooder is having none of that. The middle and lower classes may be going down, but he’s still swinging. On his new CD, Election Special, the singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist is speaking his mind. And dirty-dealing, two-timing leaders and would-be leaders be damned.

Cooder hails from the Left coast and his roots take him back to the folk movement of the ’60s. On his early records he covered tunes made famous by the Weavers, as well as songs written by Woody Guthrie, and others with titles like “How Can a Poor Man Stand Such Times and Live.” If Nixon and Vietnam gave his generation something to take to the streets about back then, today’s headlines must have this sixty-something true believer apoplectic. Indeed, how can an angry man stand such times and be silent?

The politics of this dyed-in-the-wool Lefty may be more Wavy Gravy than Woody, but he’s having a howling good time layin’ ‘em down. There’s a snarling little laugh that pops up twice in “Brother Is Gone,” and it tells you everything you need to know about this CD. Cooder’s singing the political blues and wondering why it makes him feel so good. His last CD, Pull up Some Dust and Sit Down, was of the same ilk, only this time out things are a little murkier and more down and dirty – like American politics itself.

The music on Special is sly and funky, with an occasional nasty turn slipped in for good effect. On “Kool-Aid,” Cooder takes a worn-out phrase about blindly following a person or cause and spices it with spikes of slide guitar and a low, grind of a beat. The accusatory tone of the lyrics and the scowl in the vocal erases any hint of triteness in the song’s conceit.

“The Wall Street Part of Town,” meanwhile, cooks like the roadhouse blues it was meant to be. Elsewhere, Cooder scores his points musically, from the slow blues of “Cold, Cold Feeling” to the pretty mandolin-based ballad “Brother Is Gone,” he shines.

Though politics in our modern era are most effective when served up in bumper sticker-sized bites, in reality it’s complex stuff. Capturing the vicissitudes, substance and craziness of it in a lyric is impossible. One is left to deal in pointed phrases and sharp jabs, maybe the occasional allegory. This is what Cooder does, and when it’s a bit too broad or even downright goofy (the opening track of Special is called “Mutt Romney Blues”) the music has to carry the day. Fortunately that’s always been Cooder’s strong suit.

Will Election Special change any votes? Probably not. But it’s good to see that it’s inspiring this old troubadour to stomp his foot and raise a ruckus. The dream continues to die but that doesn’t mean we can’t throw a party as we wave the flag one more time. If you’ve got to lose, lose loud.

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