Borderline (Ry Cooder album)

Borderline
Studio album by Ry Cooder
Released	October 1980
Recorded	Warner Bros. Recording Studio, Burbank, CA
Genre	Roots rock
Length	43:30
Label	Warner Bros.
Producer	Ry Cooder
Ry Cooder chronology
Bop till You Drop (1979) Borderline (1980) The Slide Area (1982)

Borderline is an album by Ry Cooder, released in 1980.^[1][2] "The Way We Make a Broken Heart" is a cover of the John Hiatt song.^[3]

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[4]
Robert Christgau	B−[5]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	[6]

Robert Christgau wrote that "Cooder's current soul/r&b interests inhibit his songfinding."^[5] The Globe and Mail wrote that "Borderline" "is a lovely instrumental which features the least slick, most emotional playing by an efficient set of hired guns."^[7]

Track listing

Side one

1. "634–5789" (Steve Cropper, Eddie Floyd) – 2:56
2. "Speedo" (Esther Navarro) – 3:20
3. "Why Don't You Try Me" (E. Young) – 4:54
4. "Down in the Boondocks" (Joe South) – 3:21
5. "Johnny Porter" (Bobby Ray Appleberry, William Cuomo) – 5:21

Side two

1. "The Way We Make a Broken Heart" (John Hiatt) – 4:28
2. "Crazy 'Bout an Automobile" (William R. Emerson) – 5:03
3. "The Girls from Texas" (James Lewis, Jimmy Holiday, Cliff Chambers) – 4:40
4. "Borderline" (Ry Cooder) – 3:19
5. "Never Make Your Move Too Soon" (Will Jennings, Nesbert Hooper Jr.) – 6:08

Charts

Year	Chart	Peak
1980	Australian (Kent Music Report)	43[8]

Personnel

Source: album cover

• Ry Cooder – guitar, vibes, vocals
• Jim Keltner – drums
• George "Baboo" Pierre – percussion
• Tim Drummond – bass
• Reggie McBride – bass
• William D. Smith – piano, organ, vocals
• John Hiatt – guitar, vocals
• Jesse Harms – synthesizer
• Bobby King – vocals
• Willie Greene, Jr. – vocals

Technical

• Leslie Morris – production assistant
• Lee Herschberg – recording, mixing
• Carlos Ruano Llopis – artwork^{[citation needed]}

References

1. Plasketes, George (2016). B-Sides, Undercurrents and Overtones: Peripheries to Popular in Music, 1960 to the Present. Taylor & Francis. p. 72.
2. The Rough Guide to Rock (3rd ed.). Rough Guides. 2003. p. 224.
3. Elliott, Michael (2021). Have a Little Faith: The John Hiatt Story. Chicago Review Press.
4. "Borderline > Overview". AllMusic. Retrieved July 21, 2010.
5. "Ry Cooder". Robert Christgau. Retrieved 6 October 2023.
6. The Rolling Stone Album Guide. Random House. 1992. pp. 158, 159.
7. McGrath, Paul (24 Jan 1981). "Borderline Ry Cooder". The Globe and Mail. p. F6.
8. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 73. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.