Cooder's 'Chavez Ravine'

Chris Morris, music editor of the Hollywood Reporter, contributes a piece to this week's CityBeat about the new Ry Cooder album "Chavez Ravine." It was inspired by Don Normark’s book Chavez Ravine, 1949: A Los Angeles Story, and tells stories from the sad chapter of L.A. history that led to several barrio communities being displaced for a Richard Neutra-designed housing development and, eventually, Dodger Stadium. Morris likes the CD: "A son of Santa Monica, the musician has cast a sometimes baleful, sometimes loving eye on his hometown and opened a new chapter in his career. Chavez Ravine is Ry Cooder’s masterpiece, without doubt, and just as surely a prime candidate for album of the year."