"A Record By Ry Cooder" it says on the front cover of Chavez Ravine, which might sound more like a director's credit on a movie than on a CD, and that would actually be quite appropriate in this case. It has been a long time coming, after his career took a side-step with the Buena Vista Social Club phenomenon, but Cooder has clearly found some inspiration from back home again.

Having almost single-handedly led the revival in Cuban music, Los Angeles native Cooder has made this album all about his home town, or rather the hispanic area around the Chavez Ravine, which was bulldozed to build the LA Dodgers' stadium.

As much as an album can be cinematic, this one it that, hence the front cover's description. Cooder immerses the listener in the world of 1940s/50s LA life, with cool cats, UFOs, Commies and Latino music. Don't Call Me Red is a particularly good example of this, as it features the story of HUAC victim Frank Wilkinson, who reveals his enjoyment of having outlived J Edgar Hoover.

Lalo Guerrero, who died in March this year, features heavily on Chavez Ravine, paying homage to an area that inspired his great works as much as it has Cooder. The use of original Chicano music stars like the late lamented Guerrero and Little Willie G adds plenty of flavour and texture to the album's central theme.

Cooder also uses old-time songs to great effect, especially Chinito Chinto, which was recorded in 1949 as a novelty song by Don Tosti about the Chinese community of LA. It's a jaunty and summery number that sounds like it really could be being sung by a couple of Chicanas on a sweltering hot street in the Barrio.

It is also typical of the rest of the album, in that Cooder takes a back-seat, although he does step forward to sing on more than a few tracks, which is slightly surprising given his normal reluctance to do so. At times, this sounds quite like Paul Simon's Capeman musical, which is set in a similar time and place and has the same varied music styles.

However, where that was a messy affair, Chavez Ravine flows much more successfully, even when detouring into Lieber and Stoller land with 3 Cool Cats. It even swerves into sci-fi with El UFO Cayo, which starts with a Tibetan-sounding chant and tells the story of a UFO pilot who visits Chavez Ravine just before it is torn down, with another late great star Don Tosti making his final appearance as the alien traveller.

It is very fitting that both Tosti and Guerrero appeared on this album, as it pays tribute to their world, their time and their people. Ry Cooder has rarely produced anything as great as this before in his career and not many albums are as cinematic as this. Chavez Ravine itself might have passed into the history books long ago, but it will always live on here, as will some of its heroes.