― fletrejet, Friday, 21 February 2003 12:37 (twenty-one years ago) link
― chaki (chaki), Friday, 21 February 2003 13:06 (twenty-one years ago) link
― frank p. jones (frank p. jones), Friday, 21 February 2003 13:44 (twenty-one years ago) link
Little Feat??!!!! Only the '90s??!!!!
― gabbneb (gabbneb), Friday, 21 February 2003 14:09 (twenty-one years ago) link
― fletrejet, Friday, 21 February 2003 14:11 (twenty-one years ago) link
― Sean Carruthers (SeanC), Friday, 21 February 2003 14:42 (twenty-one years ago) link
'How will the wolf survive?', 'By the light of the moon' and 'Kiko' are all excellent (with 'Kiko' the pick), but I've not heard a bad record by them. 'Good Morning Aztlan' is half-decent, and I can recommend the compilation 'Just Another Band from East LA'.
Saw them recently at the Barbican, and they were fine but the audience was embarrassingly subdued. They just got on with it, but they probably didn't kick loose in quite the way they can. Finished with a stonking version of 'My Generation' in memory of John Entwhistle.
― James Ball (James Ball), Friday, 21 February 2003 15:25 (twenty-one years ago) link
― claire flynn (miss understood), Friday, 21 February 2003 17:24 (twenty-one years ago) link
― claire flynn (miss understood), Friday, 21 February 2003 17:27 (twenty-one years ago) link
― Sean (Sean), Friday, 21 February 2003 18:43 (twenty-one years ago) link
anybody else fond of other mexican american rock from around the time ll started up? isn't it criminal that the only plugz i can find is on the repo man soundtrack?
― jq higgins, Friday, 21 February 2003 18:55 (twenty-one years ago) link
― dan (dan), Friday, 21 February 2003 18:57 (twenty-one years ago) link
I swear that this is not a joke.
(Classic, btw--the band, not the dog).
― J (Jay), Friday, 21 February 2003 20:48 (twenty-one years ago) link
― gygax! (gygax!), Friday, 21 February 2003 21:35 (twenty-one years ago) link
― Daniel_Rf (Daniel_Rf), Saturday, 22 February 2003 02:22 (twenty-one years ago) link
― Mark M, Saturday, 22 February 2003 03:43 (twenty-one years ago) link
― stevem (blueski), Saturday, 22 February 2003 03:49 (twenty-one years ago) link
― paul cox (paul cox), Saturday, 22 February 2003 03:52 (twenty-one years ago) link
― gabbneb (gabbneb), Saturday, 22 February 2003 07:41 (twenty-one years ago) link
as a band, Classic.
― derrick (derrick), Saturday, 22 February 2003 08:05 (twenty-one years ago) link
― paul cox (paul cox), Saturday, 22 February 2003 17:33 (twenty-one years ago) link
― Haikunym (Haikunym), Wednesday, 12 July 2006 15:51 (seventeen years ago) link
― a.b. (alanbanana), Wednesday, 12 July 2006 16:21 (seventeen years ago) link
― xhuxk (xheddy), Wednesday, 12 July 2006 16:28 (seventeen years ago) link
― Haikunym (Haikunym), Wednesday, 12 July 2006 16:37 (seventeen years ago) link
― Shakey Mo Collier (Shakey Mo Collier), Wednesday, 12 July 2006 16:38 (seventeen years ago) link
― Roy Kasten (Roy Kasten), Wednesday, 12 July 2006 16:50 (seventeen years ago) link
Of course, tons of it. And I LIKE tons of it, especially in the early-to-mid '90s, when Los Lobos were supposedly at their peak of weirdness. But compared to Maldita Vecindad, Fobia, Santa Sabina, Aterciopelados, Los Fabulosos Cadillacs, La Castanenada, La Derecha, Heroes Del Silencio -- TONS of bands at that time -- Los Lobos's supposed weirdness just sounded really timid to me. And thin, too - they didn't rock as hard, they had less dance in their music, their prog beauty seemed way more amorphous. (What Caifanes was doing though, seemed more what Los Lobos and Latin Playboys too were *shooting* for, whether they'd actually heard Caifanes at the time or not. And they probably had, since Caifanes, in Mexico, where HUGE. But Los Lobos weren't even the most interesting Latin-rock band in the USA, actually -- I'd take Pastilla or Maria Fatal over them.) (As for their earlier stuff, I'd compare them to the Blasters, but not as good, with more emphasis on the Tex-Mex element that the Blasters had, though the Blasters did it first, in songs like "Border Radio," as I recall. But neither of them did it as much fun as Sam the Sham and the Pharoahs.) My main question while looking at that EP and LP yesterday was "damn, these guys were a bunch of cornballs. But I liked these records okay, once, so maybe I shouldn't mind." And I probably wouldn't have. Just didn't feel like carrying them around. (And again, maybe I WAS underrating their '90s stuff at the time; it's possible -- I'm just telling you how that hit my ears then. And for whatever it's worth, I actually DID buy a CD copy of *La Pista Y La Corazon* at the Virgin megastore last week, believe it or not -- but not for me; as a birthday present for somebody. It was the first Los Lobos album I bought in decades!)
― xhuxk (xheddy), Wednesday, 12 July 2006 16:52 (seventeen years ago) link
― Roy Kasten (Roy Kasten), Wednesday, 12 July 2006 17:28 (seventeen years ago) link
I might be wrong; as I said, I'm re-investigating it all, as I was kind of out of their loop, or they were out of mine. But I'm loving every possibly-cornball second of everything I hear, even The Ride, which Roy underestimates above. And Roy, the new one alternates between atmospheric stuff and more boogie-ish stuff, cumbia rock b/w floaty/growly things.
― Haikunym (Haikunym), Wednesday, 12 July 2006 18:10 (seventeen years ago) link
― Eisbär (llamasfur), Wednesday, 12 July 2006 18:17 (seventeen years ago) link
Yeah, good point. I always forget all the local stuff Los Lobos was doing before their first national EP (not to mention the rockabilly-label Blasters LP before *their* first national LP). But wasn't Los Lobos's earlier stuff extremely folkloric, mainly devoid of the more eclectic, and well, I hate to say modernized but I will anyway, country/r&b/soul/rock/etc hybrid they eventually hit with, a hybrid I'm *pretty* sure the Blasters uncovered first? That's certainly the impression I always got, though I could be wrong. Either way, as far as I can tell, the Blasters did it *better* -- better (as in more specific, less obtuse) songwriting, better (as in more beautiful) singing, more push. And even at that, I don't much care about the Blasters (or the Alvins solo) after *Nonfiction* or so, either. (And honestly, Los Lobos's lyrics never really did all that much for me.)
>it's not like Kiko and Colossal Head were really any kind of weird avant-garde statement or anything, just the same sorts of grooves with a bit of Tom Waits and psychedelia layered on top. They were allowed to do that, it's a free country<
Who said they weren't? But yeah, maybe it was the Tom Waits part that stood in my way. Tom Waits parts do tend to do that to me. (And given that Tom ranks with history's all-time cornballs, and given that NPR-style "roots-rock", which usually tends not to have very much rock in it, is kinda cornball by definition, there you go.)
― xhuxk (xheddy), Wednesday, 12 July 2006 18:27 (seventeen years ago) link
― xhuxk (xheddy), Wednesday, 12 July 2006 18:31 (seventeen years ago) link
― Haikunym (Haikunym), Wednesday, 12 July 2006 18:33 (seventeen years ago) link
CLASSIC
― gabbneb (gabbneb), Wednesday, 12 July 2006 18:35 (seventeen years ago) link
― Jubalique (Jubalique), Wednesday, 12 July 2006 18:44 (seventeen years ago) link
― Shakey Mo Collier (Shakey Mo Collier), Wednesday, 12 July 2006 18:58 (seventeen years ago) link
― Jubalique (Jubalique), Wednesday, 12 July 2006 20:13 (seventeen years ago) link
The 2000's Los Lobos that is a Tex-Mex jam band - DUD.
I'm only familiar with the 1990's avant-garde Lobos in passing, so I can't comment (even though I love the Latin Playboys). But when a review copy of the GOOD MORNING (MAZATLAN?) album came my way around 2002 or so, I was shocked at how hippiefied they'd become.
For some reason, the vinyl of HOW WILL THE WOLF SURVIVE? is so common that if you pay more than $3 for it, you've been had. It's probably the best $3-or-less album you can get for the money.
― Rev. Hoodoo (Rev. Hoodoo), Thursday, 13 July 2006 03:45 (seventeen years ago) link
― Rev. Hoodoo (Rev. Hoodoo), Thursday, 13 July 2006 03:47 (seventeen years ago) link
― Haikunym (Haikunym), Thursday, 13 July 2006 12:46 (seventeen years ago) link
And GOOD MORNING SACRAMENTO (or whatever the hell that was called) may as well be an avant-garde Los Lonely Boys. I'm sticking with HOW WILL THE WOLF SURVIVE and BY THE LIGHT OF THE MOON.
― Rev. Hoodoo (Rev. Hoodoo), Friday, 14 July 2006 04:02 (seventeen years ago) link
WHICH, as I've said before, IS FINE. Because those albums rocked too. But they always still do rocking tracks on all their records. Yes, including on Good Morning AZTLAN.
― Haikunym (Haikunym), Friday, 14 July 2006 04:34 (seventeen years ago) link
b) So they still do rocking tracks, huh? Rock as in "classic rock," or rock as in greasy, pre-psychedelic, ROCK & ROLL like they used to do in the punk clubs back in the 80s? 'Cause for the one minute I owned GOOD EVENING MASHMAHKAN (sold it long ago), I only remember hearing rock of the posthippie "classic rock" variety. I would have bought an El Chicano album if that's what I wanted.
Now you may be right - remember, I sold that joker because none of it sounded good to me. So even if they rocked and rolled like on the Slash albums, evidently it didn't make an impression.
― Rev. Hoodoo (Rev. Hoodoo), Friday, 14 July 2006 12:33 (seventeen years ago) link
― Konal Doddz (blueski), Friday, 14 July 2006 12:34 (seventeen years ago) link
― Konal Doddz (blueski), Friday, 14 July 2006 12:50 (seventeen years ago) link
(P.S. Froom's "Cafe Flesh" soundtrack - "The Key of Cool" - is pretty dull.)
― Josh in Chicago (Josh in Chicago), Friday, 14 July 2006 13:02 (seventeen years ago) link
― Shakey Mo Collier (Shakey Mo Collier), Friday, 14 July 2006 14:54 (seventeen years ago) link
― Alfred, Lord Sotosyn (Alfred Soto), Monday, 17 July 2006 20:55 (seventeen years ago) link
― gabbneb (gabbneb), Monday, 17 July 2006 21:13 (seventeen years ago) link
― gabbneb (gabbneb), Monday, 17 July 2006 21:15 (seventeen years ago) link
― gabbneb (gabbneb), Monday, 17 July 2006 21:21 (seventeen years ago) link
I lump This Time and Colossal Head together--both are post-Kiko, very "deconstructed," rough, loopy, and seems to trade the delicate production and melodicism that preceded them for a rougher style, both in production and in songwriting. More droneys, blues progressions, found-soundy effects, and lots of distortion. I liked Life Is Good because I can clap to it, and I liked "Buddy Ebsen Loves The Night Time" because it reminds me of sleepytime. That said, it was pretty disconcerting if you listened to The Neighborhood, which I loved for the AOR/folky pop songs, and Kiko, for its balance of that songwriting with a little more weirdness, and then turned on Colossal Head. Still neat for a major label album for me.
Unfortunately, or fortunately, LL seems to sway with the adventurousness of their producers--and this is the period when Froom/Blake started moving more and more towards experimenting beyond the polite edge of adult-alternative pop music, and they took a lot from Latin Playboys back to LL. After these two albums, LL went in search of new producers, with some middling results. Now this new one is with Tchad Blake sans Froom. And I don't like it so much.
Don't know if this at all answers your post. I suppose the other respnose could be, what do you think about it?
― Jubalique (Jubalique), Tuesday, 18 July 2006 11:54 (seventeen years ago) link
― xhuxk (xheddy), Thursday, 10 August 2006 00:52 (seventeen years ago) link
I myself only like them after "Kiko." "Kiko" is a bit diffuse for my tastes. for me, "Colossal Head" is far and away their best record, actually big-hearted and political, song structures actually ingenious, playing up but relaxed, plus their best-ever songtitle, "Buddy Ebsen Loves the Nighttime." Having seen them live a couple times, I think they're a tad overrated, but not much, and their whole shtick comes from Steve Berlin, my friends who know some of the band tell me. Anyway, I'll leave discussions of Cougar vs. The Wolf to others, but as usual Chuck makes an interesting point. To my ears, they are indeed the Little Feat of the (fill in the era). I think their specifics are far more in touch with the "world" than Lowell George or Bill Payne goin' on about Rock and Roll Doctors and their whole white-negro-funkateer thing they got into, but I get some bad wishy-washy vibes from "Kiko" that make the undeniable virtues of the *music* seem not so undeniable But I think the Latin Playboys are great, and I even have a live boot of them that's pretty amazing, with great sound. And it occurs to me that Calexico's stuff owes an awful lot to the Playboys, only it's not as good.
― edd s hurt (ddduncan), Thursday, 10 August 2006 18:14 (seventeen years ago) link
― Alfred, Lord Sotosyn (Alfred Soto), Thursday, 10 August 2006 18:18 (seventeen years ago) link
― gabbneb (gabbneb), Thursday, 10 August 2006 18:58 (seventeen years ago) link
Maybe John Cougar's band didn't have enought Telecasters or something.
― Tim Ellison (Tim Ellison), Thursday, 10 August 2006 19:02 (seventeen years ago) link
― edd s hurt (ddduncan), Thursday, 10 August 2006 20:27 (seventeen years ago) link
Often? I would say maybe temporarily (around Spotlight Kid, Clear Spot).
― Tim Ellison (Tim Ellison), Thursday, 10 August 2006 22:29 (seventeen years ago) link
― edd s hurt (ddduncan), Friday, 11 August 2006 00:00 (seventeen years ago) link
― Alfred, Lord Sotosyn (Alfred Soto), Friday, 11 August 2006 00:07 (seventeen years ago) link
i was hoping the video for 'Kiko & The Lavender Moon' would be on youtube. but no joy. :(
-- Konal Doddz (blueski), Friday, 14 July 2006 12:34
is is now :)
― blueski, Tuesday, 24 July 2007 13:57 (sixteen years ago) link
REVIVE!
― lukevalentine, Monday, 7 December 2009 20:17 (fourteen years ago) link
I would like to commend David Hidalgo's work on the smash hit single of the year, "Must Be Santa"
― lukevalentine, Monday, 7 December 2009 20:19 (fourteen years ago) link
I think the new Los Lobos album is a total peach! liking Los Lobos is an accomplishment for me, since years of SoCal operant conditioning made it difficult for me not to say "shut up Robert Hilburn" every time the subject of Los Lobos came up
― gross rainbow of haerosmith (underrated aerosmith albums I have loved), Saturday, 14 August 2010 15:00 (thirteen years ago) link
shut up Robert Hilburn
Is this a return to their roots move?
― curmudgeon, Saturday, 14 August 2010 17:24 (thirteen years ago) link
i looked online but couldn't find out who produced tin can trust. if they've dropped Froom i'm more excited about this
― ....some kind of psychedelic wallflower (outdoor_miner), Saturday, 14 August 2010 17:48 (thirteen years ago) link
Producer is just listed as Los Lobos here: http://music.barnesandnoble.com/Tin-Can-Trust/Los-Lobos/e/826663121100/?itm=2&USRI=los+lobos
― _Rudipherous_, Saturday, 14 August 2010 17:52 (thirteen years ago) link
I hate it when bands take a production credit - the engineer on this record is John Macy.
― gross rainbow of haerosmith (underrated aerosmith albums I have loved), Saturday, 14 August 2010 17:59 (thirteen years ago) link
I heard at a barnesandnoble yesterday, and I recognized the Grateful Dead cover, the Clapton/Winwood vocals, the Spanish language song, and correctly guessed Los Lobos. It was good though, and the best thing barnesandnobles was playing.
― it made sense when i did it (Zachary Taylor), Sunday, 15 August 2010 02:44 (thirteen years ago) link
listened to the samples of this on Amazon .. wow, it sounds fantastic. will definitely pick this up
― Stormy Davis, Sunday, 15 August 2010 02:53 (thirteen years ago) link
Has anybody heard the Hildago/Rosas CD?
― banjoboy, Sunday, 15 August 2010 05:14 (thirteen years ago) link
Um, sorry...it's Hidalgo.
― banjoboy, Sunday, 15 August 2010 05:15 (thirteen years ago) link
Colossal Head rules. One of the best albums of the 90s.
― brimstead, Saturday, 23 February 2013 03:10 (eleven years ago) link
if yous need some hip cliches, the second half of it is like portishead remixing Peter green era fleetwood Mac
― brimstead, Saturday, 23 February 2013 03:12 (eleven years ago) link
C
― brimstead, Thursday, 24 April 2014 04:54 (nine years ago) link
invoking robert hilburn is not a good thing, ugh what a filthy sausage
― brimstead, Thursday, 24 April 2014 05:06 (nine years ago) link
underrated
― Οὖτις, Tuesday, 14 March 2017 18:06 (seven years ago) link
I mean even this dopey Disney songs album is p great
― Οὖτις, Tuesday, 14 March 2017 18:11 (seven years ago) link
yeah Hildago's take on that Toy Story song.. "I Will Go Sailing No More" is just gorgeous
― kurt schwitterz, Tuesday, 14 March 2017 18:18 (seven years ago) link
Hildago and Rojas became friends over a mutual love of Randy Newman records in the early 70s, so kind of a full circle thing.
― kurt schwitterz, Tuesday, 14 March 2017 18:19 (seven years ago) link
So underrated. Like I've said before, it's like somebody flipped a switch and they were suddenly not cool, despite a relative lack of drop off.
The more you know: supposedly they are notorious at local clubs for drinking at the bar dry at the end of the night.
― Josh in Chicago, Tuesday, 14 March 2017 19:09 (seven years ago) link
Ugh, drinking the bar dry at the end of the night.
― Josh in Chicago, Tuesday, 14 March 2017 19:10 (seven years ago) link
feel like Rojas' blues dad schtick has taken them into "uncool" territory
― kurt schwitterz, Tuesday, 14 March 2017 19:25 (seven years ago) link
On a major kick: Will the Wolf Survive, the superior By the Light of the Moon, the even better The Neighborhood. As forgotten as they are, it's not often mentioned how their guitars got tougher, the rhythms more fascinating; my stereotypical thinking led me to think Mitchell Froom did his clinkety clankety Froomery on otherwise solid songs instead of complementing already weird songs.
― Patriotic Goiter (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Wednesday, 28 October 2020 02:11 (three years ago) link
Massively underrated band. Someone on twitter once asked for people to name the most underrated band, and Jason Isbell, immediately and to his credit, posted "Los Lobos."
― Josh in Chicago, Wednesday, 28 October 2020 02:34 (three years ago) link
Don't remember this thread, should have long since posted this, from my Nashville Scene ballot comments re 2010 albums:
On Los Lobos' Tin Can Trust, it seems like the narrator is on theverge, he's some old tired guy, but made up his mind to do something,take revenge and/or a commission, various indicators of volatilitykeep rolling by or up the block, and little jolts--I know, enough withthe foreplay already, but the tension keeps getting renewed,reinforced, and the Dead cover, "West L.A. Fadeaway," fits perfectly, with no crunchy granola attached (it's all sidewalks and traffic, the whole album, and thenthere's the sardonic "happy ending" history short). A cliche to sayit's a soundtrack for movies you can make up, but it really seems towork that way, rumbling implications--if it were so definite astoryline, would get too familiar too fast, perhaps. It is badassurban country, obsessive as a shot glass lens.
― dow, Wednesday, 28 October 2020 02:48 (three years ago) link
my fault that i don't really know the others, but kiko is an incredible album
― mookieproof, Wednesday, 28 October 2020 02:52 (three years ago) link
Yeah, all the tracks I remember are pretty vivid, need to check it again.xpost Then from 2015 Pazz & Jop comments:Los Lobos, Gates of Gold: Sun-dried rough-edged West Coast splendor, variegated, acerbic, appetitive, keen. Still got the touch & the L.A. River. (Jimmy Carter: "When somebody described Ronald Reagan to ma as an ambitious old man, I laughed. I'm not laughing any more.")
That's still the most recent I've heard. Maybe they'll do some Deluxe Edition expanded reissues, or maybe they have?
― dow, Wednesday, 28 October 2020 03:04 (three years ago) link
I used to have an unexplainable aversion to these guys, probably because my only frame of reference when I was younger was the La Bamba soundtrack, but I picked up the Just Another Band from East L.A. comp earlier this year and belatedly realized how great they are.
― soaring skrrrtpeggios (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Wednesday, 28 October 2020 15:16 (three years ago) link
I have a good friend who is (or I guess, was) always buying great seats to shows in his city and then generously inviting friends along. A few years back he bought some seats to see Los Lobos at sort of a seated club situation, and apparently no one wanted to go with him! He said he ended up going by himself, iirc, and that the band absolutely killed it.
Some trivia: everyone always cites bands like the Pogues, but I've had a club owner tell me that Los Lobos is the only band that ever shut them down at the end of the night. Out of booze, out of time, everyone has to go home.
― Josh in Chicago, Wednesday, 28 October 2020 15:26 (three years ago) link
I will ride for Collosal Head forever but I know I’m in the minority
― brimstead, Wednesday, 28 October 2020 18:19 (three years ago) link
"Mas y Mas" and the title track kick ass.
― Patriotic Goiter (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Wednesday, 28 October 2020 18:20 (three years ago) link
I don't understand xhuck's Tom Waits comparisons. Waits loves his clinkety-clankety theatrics, but From and Los Lobos didn't pursue grotesquerie for its own sake.
― Patriotic Goiter (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Wednesday, 28 October 2020 18:22 (three years ago) link
it’s way more restrained than waits thing. I get a kind of lofi trip-hop vibe from a lot of stuff, e.g. the murky ride cymbals on stuff like “life is good” reminds me of portishead.
― brimstead, Wednesday, 28 October 2020 18:32 (three years ago) link
“little japan” is a sleeperthe whole last half is really interesting, lots of instrumentals.
― brimstead, Wednesday, 28 October 2020 18:34 (three years ago) link
I love "Colossal Head."
― Josh in Chicago, Wednesday, 28 October 2020 20:59 (three years ago) link
Speaking of Los Lobos and The Pogues, there were two very young women, Nancy McCallion and Catherine Zavala, who had a Southwestern New Wave band, but they saw LL and TP on the same bill in London, then went back to Tucson and started The Mollys, which was Irish-Chicana folk-country-rock-polka etc (also sounded like they knew Willner's Weill tribs), which, why not, the Irish went West to work in the mines, also do some shooting (the band name is in part a reference to the Molly MaGuires from back East), also there was (stay with me now just a little bit longer) the San Patricio Brigade, who switched sides in the Mexican-American War, from the latter to former, and inspired The Chieftans' San Patricio, which includes Linda Ronstadt, Van Dyke Parks, enough Coody to appease the suits, Los Tigres del Norte, Lila Downs, and many more, incl. three tracks feat. Los Centzontles, a really good, deeply knowledgeable young folk-rock etc., who made a couple albums with appearances by David Hidalgo, and I think some other Lobos have showed up onstage them (a publicist told me was having trouble placing coverage in some Americana outlets, even w Hidalgo in there, also He and Taj Mahal were on the follow-up, but something about Los C not sounding American e enough)(I've heard grumbles about that Richard Thompson fella too, I shit you not).
― dow, Wednesday, 28 October 2020 22:13 (three years ago) link
Also, though I've never been that into his lyrics or his voice, can see how Waits albums like Rain Dogs and Swordfishtrombones relate sonically to some LL, also the Latin Playboys sidetrip, which xgau loved, esp. the s/t:...David Hidalgo and Louis Pérez rework Kiko outtakes to undercut the band's Springsteenian quest for meaning. Whenever the lyrical impressions lapse toward the stolid or sodden, they're lifted by the spare, bent music: echoes and silences, filtered voices and ancient klaxons, Indian film sounds and scratchy samples of street bebop, jagged Beefheart rhythms and idle guitar thoughts, friendly melodies from a Victrola perched on a barrio windows..., gave that one an A+, and Dose an A, also wrote a bit longer, all of that's here (scroll way down past these Consumer Guide entries for link to other piece):https://www.robertchristgau.com/get_artist.php?name=Latin+Playboys
― dow, Wednesday, 28 October 2020 22:35 (three years ago) link
I've meant to check out all the post-Colossal Head albums, can only attest that The Town and the City is really good. Tin Can Trust seems like a good next step? (intrigued by "all sidewalks and traffic")
― swing out sister: live in new donk city (geoffreyess), Monday, 2 November 2020 16:33 (three years ago) link
Alfred's writing prompted me to listen to their first two Slash albums last night. (How Will the Wolf Survive? is only 33 minutes, By the Light of the Moon only 40.) I hadn't heard Wolf in over 30 years; I never heard Moon at the time. Listening now, I hear lots of '80s barroom blues in their sound; Stevie Ray Vaughan and the Fabulous Thunderbirds are in there for sure, especially in the guitar tones and the trash-can drum sound on a song like "My Baby's Gone".
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rXhPp5QIgQM
I'm gonna keep listening. I think I might wind up hating the albums the critics love, but we'll see.
― but also fuck you (unperson), Monday, 2 November 2020 16:45 (three years ago) link
Well, thank you. I'm in the minority for thinking they got better with each album; of the first three, The Neighborhood is the peak.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-xDukUlPRhY
― Patriotic Goiter (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Monday, 2 November 2020 16:51 (three years ago) link
"Be Still" is so beautiful. "The Neighborhood" is often overlooked in the band's evolution (and features not one but two cameos from fellow Ignored For No Good Reason roots-rocker John Hiatt).
― Josh in Chicago, Monday, 2 November 2020 16:58 (three years ago) link
heh -- the Hiatt cameo sounded my alarm bells.
― Patriotic Goiter (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Monday, 2 November 2020 16:59 (three years ago) link
There are plenty of good reasons to ignore John Hiatt. Signed, person who bought Slow Turning at 16 based on a rapturous Rolling Stone review, and even saw the man live (with Robert Cray opening!) that fall.
― but also fuck you (unperson), Monday, 2 November 2020 17:01 (three years ago) link
I bet it was a great double bill! I almost never listen to John Hiatt, but I saw him on some bill with a bunch of other songwriters, and every time it was his turn to sing he absolutely silenced the crowd, so the dude's got my respect.
I've always thought that "The Neighborhood" sounded pretty great, too, so I looked up the producer, and I was surprised to see a name I didn't recognize: Larry Hirsch. Turns out Hirsch was the engineer on a ton of T-Bone Burnett/Mitchell Froom/Nick Lowe productions.
― Josh in Chicago, Monday, 2 November 2020 17:03 (three years ago) link
What I wrote a couple days ago.
― Patriotic Goiter (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Tuesday, 3 November 2020 13:24 (three years ago) link
The Band influence otm; "When the Circus Comes" on "Kiko" is one of the few songs indebted to the Band that actually *sounds* like the Band, right down to the pinched guitar harmonics (which simultaneously also makes it one of few guitar solos inspired by Robertson's playing that actually *sounds* like Robertson's playing).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ULj3LoXvkcQ
― Josh in Chicago, Tuesday, 3 November 2020 14:09 (three years ago) link
totally
― brimstead, Tuesday, 3 November 2020 18:26 (three years ago) link
kiko is a truly weird and beautiful album, i went through a serious kick a few years back. i recall loving "arizona skies" and "wicked rain." also that haunting title track.
re: will the wolf survive, another really solid album, if a bit more traditional than kiko. "i got loaded" will live forever thanks to bull durham
― glengarry gary beers (voodoo chili), Tuesday, 3 November 2020 18:42 (three years ago) link
Signed to New West and a new (mostly) covers album, Native Sons, due out in July
1. Love Special Delivery (Thee Midniters)2. Misery (Barrett Strong)3. Bluebird/For What It’s Worth (Buffalo Springfield)4. Los Chucos Suaves (Lalo Guerrero)5. Jamaica Say You Will (Jackson Browne)6. Never No More (Percy Mayfield)7. Native Son (Los Lobos) * the sole original on the album8. Dichoso (Willie Bobo)9. Farmer John (The Premiers)10. Sail On, Sailor (Beach Boys)11. The World Is A Ghetto (WAR)12. Flat Top Joint (Blasters)13. Where Lovers Go (The Jaguars)
kinda digging this one:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJtSi6-0418
― soaring skrrrtpeggios (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Wednesday, 5 May 2021 20:07 (two years ago) link
I like how Shandling makes the band cut up a little right before they go into their song.
pic.twitter.com/thzTQrCFaD— SNL Hosts Introducing the Musical Guest (@snlhostsintro) November 29, 2021
― Precious, Grace, Hill & Beard LTD. (C. Grisso/McCain), Tuesday, 30 November 2021 22:02 (two years ago) link
Los Lobos live on this latest World Cafe: just did "It's Christmas in Texas," now "Please Come Home For Christmas," w tuba and maybe another bonus horn, kinda The Band-ish (instrumentally)
― dow, Sunday, 19 December 2021 00:15 (two years ago) link
Oh wait,it was just an excerpt of a previous live set, now they've gone to Tracy Thorne's version of "River," the suitably inconsolable sleeper seasonal classick: nice cover, duh, but already hearing JM's ace original quite a bit on local jazz station, this and every year.
― dow, Sunday, 19 December 2021 00:22 (two years ago) link
This is Los Lobos at their most the Band:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dCSKdR0E1cA
― Josh in Chicago, Sunday, 19 December 2021 00:29 (two years ago) link
From New West:
Congratulations to Los Lobos on their Grammy win last night! The band was awarded Best Americana Album for their 2021 studio album Native Sons at last night’s ceremony. It is their fourth Grammy Award win.Watch Steve Berlin accept the award on behalf of the band, and catch Los Lobos near you as they begin the next leg of their extensive Native Sons tour this Friday.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fEH_NxkUwrM
tour dates:https://www.loslobos.org/site/tour.shtml?utm_source=Mailing+List&utm_campaign=80ceed6939-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2022_04_04_11_16&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_9d7f017887-80ceed6939-415586925&goal=0_9d7f017887-80ceed6939-415586925&mc_cid=80ceed6939&mc_eid=3ce2be0c08
― dow, Monday, 4 April 2022 17:51 (two years ago) link
I really regret missing their free show at Prospect Park in Brooklyn a few years back. There was the threat of heavy rain, so I didn't want to make the 90-120 minute trek just to be disappointed. (It was merely a light rain.)
― birdistheword, Monday, 4 April 2022 17:55 (two years ago) link
Ah damn. Did he record with them?
Francisco González, a founding member of Los Lobos, has died. He was 68.In the early 1970s, González joined fellow musicians Louie Perez, David Hidalgo, Cesar Rosas and Conrad Lozano to form one of East LA's most eclectic bands.Los Lobos paid tribute to González on its Instagram page."We are deeply saddened by the passing of our brother and founding member, Francisco González. He, along with Cesar, started the group in 1973 for the purpose of 'playing Mexican music for our mothers,' as he always put it. Francisco was a brilliant musician, and after leaving the group in 1976 to follow a different musical path, he went on to master the Veracruz harp, then became the musical director of El Teatro Campesino theatre group—always shining across a lifetime of accomplishments."
Los Lobos paid tribute to González on its Instagram page.
"We are deeply saddened by the passing of our brother and founding member, Francisco González. He, along with Cesar, started the group in 1973 for the purpose of 'playing Mexican music for our mothers,' as he always put it. Francisco was a brilliant musician, and after leaving the group in 1976 to follow a different musical path, he went on to master the Veracruz harp, then became the musical director of El Teatro Campesino theatre group—always shining across a lifetime of accomplishments."
― dow, Wednesday, 6 April 2022 17:35 (two years ago) link
nah he never recorded with them
― kurt schwitterz, Wednesday, 6 April 2022 17:52 (two years ago) link
Cool concert review:
The band brought Nuevo guitarist David Jimenez and keyboardist Anthony Farrell onstage for the jam, which must have lasted 10 minutes at least, and then each performer got to walk through “The Neighborhood,” roaming about on fret boards, across the ivories, over the baritone sax’s buttons. Los Lobos drummer Fredo Ortiz, the longtime Beastie Boys drummer, held down the beat and was as entertaining to watch as he was to hear. It’s hard to put into words how exhilarating this particular moment of the show was, but if Los Lobos brings “The Neighborhood” to your neighborhood, you should try to be there.
― dow, Thursday, 11 August 2022 23:06 (one year ago) link
I read the Los Lobos "Dream in Blue" book and learned so much, like how they never grew up particularly interested in traditional music, or even acoustic instruments, gravitating toward the usual jammy stuff in the '60s - Cream, Hendrix, the Dead, and so on - but then followed the lead of bands like the Band and Fairport Convention in embracing their own folk equivalent; they would scour the thrift shops for all these old traditional instruments that no one wanted. Or that they never really bothered writing their own songs until much later, maybe the early '80s, taking specific inspiration from the Blasters. Lots of other great stuff in there, too. Worth a read. Also discovered this fascinating document through it:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sfpdejgOBpk
There's that classic quote from Louie Perez: "If you were married between 1973 and 1980 in East L.A., we probably played your wedding."
― Josh in Chicago, Thursday, 11 August 2022 23:13 (one year ago) link
An example of a band that got better with each album.
― Malevolent Arugula (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 11 August 2022 23:28 (one year ago) link
This is awesome---watch it while you can (although there was an ad for DVD version, maybe CD as well)(scroll down for bonus performances)
Dia de los MuertosSpecial | 55m 36s¡Dia de los Muertos! is a musical celebration of this much-anticipated and highly celebrated fiesta by people of Mexican heritage everywhere. Special guests include Latino rock greats, Los Lobos, the salsa-rap-reggae-funk of Ozomatli — both Los Angeles-based — and the all-female mariachi band Flor de Toloache from New York City.Aired: 10/28/22Expires: 11/25/22Rating: TV-PG
¡Dia de los Muertos! is a musical celebration of this much-anticipated and highly celebrated fiesta by people of Mexican heritage everywhere. Special guests include Latino rock greats, Los Lobos, the salsa-rap-reggae-funk of Ozomatli — both Los Angeles-based — and the all-female mariachi band Flor de Toloache from New York City.
Aired: 10/28/22
Expires: 11/25/22
Rating: TV-PG
― dow, Thursday, 17 November 2022 02:58 (one year ago) link
actually just bought a ticket today to see them down the street in a couple of weeks! been a while.
― Josh in Chicago, Thursday, 17 November 2022 02:59 (one year ago) link
xpost Just watched that, that was rad. We're going to miss Los Lobos when they're gone.
― Josh in Chicago, Friday, 18 November 2022 00:59 (one year ago) link
Seeing Los Lobos tonight. Pretty sure I'm the only one seeing them, the 1975 and Sunn O))) the same week, lol.
― Josh in Chicago, Saturday, 10 December 2022 15:15 (one year ago) link
Man, this band is a national treasure. They were so good tonight I was practically jealous of myself.
― Josh in Chicago, Sunday, 11 December 2022 05:47 (one year ago) link
I just checked the setlists, and holy crap they're crazy. A ton of covers, but also they're completely mixing it up each night - very, very few repeats, even when playing material from the same album. I already missed most of the New York residency (there's one more show tomorrow night, and I may miss that as well) but if I had the money it would've been worth going every night.
― birdistheword, Wednesday, 21 December 2022 03:17 (one year ago) link
Yeah, I meant to follow up. They played four nights here. I saw them on a Saturday, the Sunday set was pretty much 100% different. And then Monday's set after that looks like it was 3/4 different from the previous two nights. I didn't check the set list for the fourth night, but I assume it was equally different. They have such a deep catalog. And the night I saw them a local blues guy sat in for a few songs, and needless to say Los lobos is so tight that pretty much they can back anyone, no sweat.
― Josh in Chicago, Wednesday, 21 December 2022 03:22 (one year ago) link
I almost want to say they're like the Band if the Band had their shit together and didn't self-destruct. (Musical differences aside, though the both do draw on musical traditions that pre-date rock, including some overlapping ones.)
― birdistheword, Wednesday, 21 December 2022 03:35 (one year ago) link
I've probably commented before how well Los Lobos nail The Band on "When the Circus Comes to Town."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DZUtkRDfmMk
― Josh in Chicago, Wednesday, 21 December 2022 04:24 (one year ago) link
Love that album, but I especially love that track.
― birdistheword, Wednesday, 21 December 2022 21:18 (one year ago) link
They start to lose me with Kiko, but up till that moment every album was better than the last.
― Malevolent Arugula (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Wednesday, 21 December 2022 21:34 (one year ago) link
I do love that song, though.
― Malevolent Arugula (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Wednesday, 21 December 2022 21:35 (one year ago) link
Leave us not forget:
Desperado Soundtrack (1995)"Canción del Mariachi" ("Morena de Mi Corazón") (Los Lobos and Antonio Banderas) 2:06"Six Blade Knife" (Dire Straits) 4:34"Jack the Ripper" (Link Wray) 2:31"Manifold de Amour" (Latin Playboys) 2:03"Forever Night Shade Mary" (Latin Playboys) 3:00"Pass the Hatchet" (Roger & The Gypsies) 3:00"Bar Fight" (Los Lobos) 1:54"Strange Face of Love" (Tito & Tarantula) 5:51"Bucho's Gracias/Navajas Attacks" (Los Lobos) 3:56"Bulletproof" (Los Lobos) 1:42"Bella" (Carlos Santana) 4:29"Quédate Aquí" (Salma Hayek) 2:05"Rooftop Action" (Los Lobos) 1:36"Phone Call" (Los Lobos) 2:16"White Train (Showdown)" (Tito & Tarantula) 5:57"Back to the House That Love Built" (Tito & Tarantula) 4:41"Let Love Reign" (Los Lobos) 3:22"Mariachi Suite" (Los Lobos) 4:22
"Canción del Mariachi" ("Morena de Mi Corazón") (Los Lobos and Antonio Banderas) 2:06"Six Blade Knife" (Dire Straits) 4:34"Jack the Ripper" (Link Wray) 2:31"Manifold de Amour" (Latin Playboys) 2:03"Forever Night Shade Mary" (Latin Playboys) 3:00"Pass the Hatchet" (Roger & The Gypsies) 3:00"Bar Fight" (Los Lobos) 1:54"Strange Face of Love" (Tito & Tarantula) 5:51"Bucho's Gracias/Navajas Attacks" (Los Lobos) 3:56"Bulletproof" (Los Lobos) 1:42"Bella" (Carlos Santana) 4:29"Quédate Aquí" (Salma Hayek) 2:05"Rooftop Action" (Los Lobos) 1:36"Phone Call" (Los Lobos) 2:16"White Train (Showdown)" (Tito & Tarantula) 5:57"Back to the House That Love Built" (Tito & Tarantula) 4:41"Let Love Reign" (Los Lobos) 3:22"Mariachi Suite" (Los Lobos) 4:22
― dow, Thursday, 23 February 2023 17:48 (one year ago) link
(Tito, of course, was a colleague of LL & Blasters and Flesh Eaters and Impalas when in The Plugz, then
Larriva teamed up with former Plugz bandmates Charlie Quintana and Tony Marsico to form the Cruzados. With the Cruzados, Larriva's music began to move in a different direction, straying from his typical punk rock to a bluesier 1980s rock sound.
― dow, Thursday, 23 February 2023 17:57 (one year ago) link
Oh speaking of David Hidalgo guesting with Los Centzontles, as I did upthread in 2020, he's also with them a couple of times on the 2022 release Putamayo Presents--Songs From The Sonoran Borderland---Feels Like Home: Linda Ronstadt's Musical Odyssey, musical companion to her book of approximately the same title. This is my fave of all the non-LR tracks (by various artists), in terms of song, playing, and singing---DH only gets to pick on the other one with Los C., and it's good too, but
https://putumayo.bandcamp.com/track/voy-caminando
― dow, Tuesday, 28 February 2023 20:59 (one year ago) link
(He's not on the tracklist for this one, but gets credit in the notes, along with Taj Mahal.)
― dow, Tuesday, 28 February 2023 21:01 (one year ago) link
I’ve always struggled to find an entry point to LL, although I love I Got Loaded, and (the song) This Time, and this wonderful late cover that utterly trounces the Shins original:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kpcJ-8_Bxws
Any pointers?
― Chuck_Tatum, Monday, 14 August 2023 22:37 (eight months ago) link
Maybe this?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Just_Another_Band_from_East_L.A._–_A_Collection
― birdistheword, Monday, 14 August 2023 22:41 (eight months ago) link
Sorry, link didn't come up right.
Just Another Band from East L.A. – A Collection
― birdistheword, Monday, 14 August 2023 22:42 (eight months ago) link
Kiko seems to be the obvious entry point, and also their best album, but maybe it's just me that feels that way.
― I? not I! He! He! HIM! (akm), Monday, 14 August 2023 23:07 (eight months ago) link
Chuck, I had the same problem. It took the pandemic to give'em the listen they deserve.
― the dreaded dependent claus (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Tuesday, 15 August 2023 00:28 (eight months ago) link
Los Lobos rules. They're here again this weekend, playing a benefit. Don't think I'll be able to go, but I know they'll be great.
― Josh in Chicago, Tuesday, 15 August 2023 01:11 (eight months ago) link
I'd Koko was their best too, but for someone who is still trying to get into them, it may be worth exploring that compilation first before diving into the albums in their entirety.
― birdistheword, Tuesday, 15 August 2023 02:29 (eight months ago) link
That comp is a great, great overview of their career up to that point, and will in turn send you to the right starting place/album depending on what pops out at you.
― Josh in Chicago, Tuesday, 15 August 2023 02:33 (eight months ago) link
Just saw the do a spectacular free show at a city park amphitheater up the road from me in Houston. They said Cesar Rojas was under the weather, so he didn't play, but they more than made up for it in a situation where you could understand them taking a sleepwalk. Encored with "She's About A Mover" & "La Bamba" -> "Good Lovin'" -> "La Bamba".
LEGENDS
― an icon of a worried-looking, long-haired, bespectacled man (C. Grisso/McCain), Sunday, 15 October 2023 02:37 (six months ago) link
Band is so good.
― Josh in Chicago, Sunday, 15 October 2023 02:47 (six months ago) link
i was at the show tonight as well. beautiful weather, great set, my 80 yo parents were there too and they really dug it
― sknybrg, Sunday, 15 October 2023 03:56 (six months ago) link
Free show in NYC:
NYC’s River & Blues Festival will be back this summer with free shows on four consecutive Thursdays, from July 11 – August 1 in Battery Park City. This will be their second year at Rockefeller Park and here’s the 2024 lineup:
July 11: Los Lobos & DJ ReagonomicsJuly 18: Hurray for the Riff Raff & DJ Suzan Z AnthonyJuly 25: Leela James & DJ Suzan Z AnthonyAugust 1: Abraham Alexander & DJ Reagonomics
Doors for all River & Blues Fest shows are at 6:30 PM with the DJ starting at 7 PM and the main act on at 7:30 PM. You can RSVP and get more info here.
― birdistheword, Friday, 19 April 2024 20:57 (yesterday) link