Product description
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Los Lobos: David Hidalgo, Cesar Rosas, Steve Berlin, Conrad
Lozano, Louis Perez. Additional personnel: Mitchell Froom
(keyboards); Alex Acuna (drums, percussion); Pete Thomas, Aaron
Ballesteros (drums); Victor Bisetti (percussion). Producers:
Mitchell Froom, Tchad Blake, Los Lobos. Recorded at Sunset Sound
Factory, Hollywood, California. This is a hybrid Super Audio CD
playable on both regular and Super Audio CD players. Los Lobos:
David Hidalgo, Cesar Rosas, Steve Berlin, Conrad Lozano, Louis
Perez. Additional personnel: Mitchell Froom (keyboards); Alex
Acuna (drums, percussion); Pete Thomas, Aaron Ballesteros
(drums); Victor Bisetti (percussion). Producers: Mitchell Froom,
Tchad Blake, Los Lobos. Recorded at Sunset Sound Factory,
Hollywood, California. All tracks have been digitally remastered
using Gain 2 technology. Given all the extracurricular projects
members of Los Lobos pursued during the three years separating
Colossal Head and its followup, it's not surprising that they've
decided to show off what they've learned on This Time, resulting
in a record that vacillates between songcraft and sonic
sculptures. It could be said that Kiko and Colassal Head were
like this as well, but the difference is that This Time has the
structure of a straight-ahead rock & roll record, clocking in at
38 minutes with 11 short tracks. While that conciseness is
welcome, it also points out the flaws in the post-Latin Playboys
Los Lobos -- Cesar Rosas' fine rockers are obscured by a layer of
studio gauze, and David Hidalgo's songs can seem like excuses to
run wild in the studio. If the production was truly evocative or
innovative, that wouldn't be a problem, but This Time is another
in a long line of murky, self-conscious productions from Froom,
Blake, and Hidalgo, where creating sound is more important than
making music. This is especially frustrating, since This Time has
elements of a very good record -- it's paced well and boasts
strong moments from both Hidalgo ("This Time," "T
.com
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Most bands who've soldiered on for as long as Los Lobos find
that middle-age brings a laissez-faire bargain between fame and
nostalgia that makes it all too easy to coast into the sunset
comfortably seated on their laurels. What's so compelling about
Lobos in the 1990s and beyond is their steadfast refusal to
succumb to any such temptation. This Time marks the third chapter
in their collaboration with producers Mitchell Froom and Tchad
Blake that yielded the outstanding and surprising Kiko and
Colossal Head. It's easily their most adventuresome,
category-confounding outing yet. Time often bravely veers into
the strange, liberating ethos espoused by Blake, Froom, and Lobos
mainstays David Hidalgo and Louis Perez on their deliciously
skewed side-project, Latin Playboys. The title track seems to
slyly segue in from nowhere, "Oh Yeah" lopes into a dreamy jazz
subtly punctuated by Blake's studio percussion, and "Some Say
Some Do" manages a dark new techno-twist on the blues. The gritty
riffing on "Viking" and "High Places" prove that the band's love
affair with Hendrix is no passing fancy. Even the Latin stylings
of "Cumbia Raza," the sexy "Corazon," and the playful "La Playa"
get a good studio tweaking. Those who expected Los Lobos to churn
out endless permutations of "La Bamba" may be disappointed at
this stereotype-resistant exploration. But those who relish true
adventure and master musicianship are going to very happy indeed.
Que corran para siempre --Jerry McCulley