Los Lobos was one of America's most distinctive and
original bands of the '80s. They may have had a hit
with "La Bamba" in 1987, yet that cover barely
scratches the surface of their talents. Los Lobos is
eclectic in the best sense of the word. While they draw
equally from rock, Tex-Mex, country, folk, R&B,
blues, and traditional Spanish and Mexican music, their
music never sounds forced or self-conscious. Instead,
all of their influences become one graceful, gritty
sound. From their very first recordings their rich musicality
was apparent; on nearly every subsequent record they
have found ways to redefine and expand their sound,
without ever straying from the musical traditions that
form the heart and soul of the band.
After releasing an independent EP in the late '70s and
an EP in 1983, Los Lobos delivered their first major-label
album, How Will the Wolf Survive?, in 1984; it received
an enormous amount of critical acclaim, as well as a
dedicated following of fans. In the next four years,
they released a marginally successful attempt to make
their wildly eclectic sound palatable for a pop audience
(By the Light of the Moon), a soundtrack of old Ritchie
Valens songs that was a hit (La Bamba), and an album
of traditional Mexican music (La Pistola y el Corazón).
The band took two years off and returned with The Neighborhood
in 1990; the album was a varied and powerful rock &
roll record that was better than anything they had released
in six years. Kiko, released in 1992, brought the band
into more experimental territory, without ever abandoning
their graceful songwriting.
The band celebrated their 20-year anniversary with Just
Another Band From East L.A., a modestly titled two-CD
set that featured most of their biggest singles and
recognized songs. It also had rare tracks from their
first album, outtakes, and live tracks that fans had
been waiting for. They didn't appear together on record
again until 1995, when they released the children's
record Papa's Dream on Music for Little People Records.
They also scored the film Desperado and contributed
tracks to several other soundtracks and tribute albums.
Their last release for Warner Bros. came in the form
of 1996's Colossal Head, another critically acclaimed
album that still failed to excite the label enough to
keep them on the roster. Feeling dejected, they left
one another to concentrate on side projects, like Soul
Disguise, Houndog, and the Latin Playboys. The latter
was the most dedicated project of the bunch, eventually
becoming another regular group for David Hidalgo and
Louie Pérez, on top of their duties for Los Lobos,
after previously releasing an album in the early 90s.
Los Lobos came back together in 1999, when they recorded
and released their debut for Hollywood Records, This
Time. Another Los Angeles-themed gem from the group,
it didn't perform up to the label's liking and they
only managed to deliver one more record for the company,
the re-release of 1977's Del Este de Los Angeles. Rhino/Warner
Archives released the Cancionero: Mas y Mas box set
the following year, but despite the career retrospective,
they were still together and came back on Mammoth Records
for the Good Morning Aztlan release in 2002. Two years
later, artists such as Elvis Costello, Tom Waits, Richard
Thompson, and Mavis Staples joined Los Lobos for The
Ride. |
