#ray cooper

At the HandMade Films 10th anniversary party, musical entertainment was provided by Carl Perkins… Footage from the documentary The Movie Life of George.

Album Review: Elton John - Live from the Rainbow Theatre with Ray Cooper

Live from the Rainbow Theatre with Ray Cooper is a bonanza for fans of Elton John deep cuts.

Mostly solo, save for percussionist Cooper on a few tracks - a martial snare on “Better off Dead;” xylophone on “Idol” - and with John utilizing a harmonizer on his mic, the music has a small-band, but intimate, feel that gives insight to what such tracks as “Border Song” and “Where to Now St. Peter?” must’ve sounded like in their demo phases.

Recorded in 1977, getting a limited release for Record Store Day 2025 and now widely available, Live from the Rainbow features 13 tracks, including “The Greatest Discovery,” “Sweet Painted Lady” and “Roy Rogers” culled from six May concerts at the titular venue that kicked off what became a 233-gig run for the duo.

That they were well-received is evidence by the crowd chanting, “Elton!, Elton!, Elton!,” as the final notes of “Goodbye” fade into the air.

Grade card: Elton John - Live from the Rainbow Theatre with Ray Cooper - B+

Eric Clapton Behind the Sun 1985 Duck ——————————————————————— Tracks: 01. She’s Waiting 02. See What Love Can Do 03. Same Old Blues 04. Knock on Wood 05. Something’s Happening 06. Forever Man 07. It All Depends 08. Tangled in Love 09. Never Make You Cry 10. Just Like a Prisoner 11. Behind the Sun ———————————————————————

Eric Clapton

Phil Collins

Ray Cooper

Donald Dunn “Duck”

Jamie Oldaker

Peter Robinson

Chris Stainton

Ringo Starr Old Wave [Picture Disc] 2024 Culture Factory ——————————————————————— Tracks: 01. In My Car 02. Hopeless 03. Alibi 04. Be My Baby 05. She’s about a Mover 06. I Keep Forgettin’ 07. Picture Show Life 08. As Far as We Can Go 09. Everybody’s in a Hurry but Me 10. Going Down ———————————————————————

Gary Brooker

Eric Clapton

Ray Cooper

John Entwistle

Mo Foster

Russ Kunkel

Chris Stainton

Ringo Starr

Joe Vitale

Waddy Wachtel

Joe Walsh

Ringo Starr Stop and Smell the Roses [Picture Disc] 2024 Culture Factory ——————————————————————— Tracks: 01. Private Property 02. Wrack My Barin 03. Drumming Is My Madness 04. Attention 05. Stop and Take the Time to Smell the Roses 06. Dead Giveaway 07. You Belong to Me 08. Sure to Fall 09. You’ve Got a Nice Way 10. Back off Boogaloo ———————————————————————

Ray Cooper

Herbie Flowers

George Harrison

Jim Keltner 

Al Kooper

Paul McCartney

Ringo Starr

Stephen Stills

Ron Wood

Richie Zito

Un poco más de Herbie Flowers, plis. Chris Spedding juntó para su LP "Hurt" (RAK, 1977) a una especie de súper grupo de "sesioneros", con Flowers al bajo, el gran Clem Cattini en la batería y Ray Cooper tocando percusiones - todos colegas suyos, ya que Chris era otro gran músico de sesión- en 10 temas producidos por Chris Thomas. El disco suena de coña, súper cuadrado, fantástico. Como muestra de las habilidades de Herbie escojo "Hurt By Love" (muy new wave, canción y línea de bajo que anuncian la inminente banda de Joe Jackson) y "Ain´t Superstitious", más lineal, ambiental y percusiva.