Americana Music Reviews

 

Los Lobos
Good Morning Aztlán
Hollywood/Mammoth

by Steve Cooper

As soon as the old laser needle drops on "Done Gone Blue," cut one of Los Lobos' new outing, the listener is grabbed by Conrad Lozano's propelling bassline, kept bobbing and tapping by Louie Perez' popping snare shots, and smacked about the head and shoulders by David Hidalgo's electric guitar. In short, another day at the Los Lobos' office.

Cut numero dos, "Hearts of Stone," goes for a nice, easy, Cutis Mayfield soul groove, and achieves same. As ever, David Hidalgo's lead vocals are plaintive yet vivid. Louie Perez' lyric is a mirror of Neil Young's "Heart of Gold," but still effective: "I wander down this lonely trail/Some twenty-seven hours a day/But all I see are prints in the dirt/Where others tried to find their waywhere are those hearts/The hearts made of gold." Guest back-up vocalist/moan-'n-wail-ist Martha Gonzalez is a nice addition to the Lobos' fajita.

Before preceding to the cut count and description, it should be mentioned that the Lobos sound this time out is much less envelope-pushing than on recent outings, due in no small part to the absence of techno-twin producers Mitchell Froom and Tchad Blake. Manning "the knobs" on Aztlan is veteran producer John Leckie, who first came to prominence as engineer at Abbey Road studios when this certain Liverpool group was cutting records there.

"Luz De Mi Vida," is a bit of a rarity for Los Lobos, a song both in Spanish and English (usually they either do all-English or all-Spanish). It reflects an expanding trend in an increasingly Hispanic North America -- Spanglish. Written by guitarist Cesar Rosas and Louie Perez, the directness of the English and the romance of the Spanish make for a compelling combination: "Luz de mi vida/Eres la voz de mi son/You are my forever/Light of my corazon." Los Lobos saxman/multi-instrumentalist Steve Berlin shines on saxophone and synth keyboard, while Hidalgo and Rosas convince on conjunto guitar.

Riding another pumping bassline by Conrad Lozano, abetted by guest drummer Pete Thomas on rifle-pop snare, the title track is a sleek, rocking vehicle for this lyric of life in the barrio. The libretto is basically "be it ever so humble, there's no place like home," but done in revealing vignette: "A red rooster crows a little Mexican tune/On the chain link fence by the gate." This should be the lead video (if they still do those nowadays) because it is an undeniable, thundering classic.

"The Big Ranch," "The Word," and "Tony Y Maria" all continue the "life in East L.A." theme with mixed results. "The Big Ranch," referring to the United States, is the most effective lyric of the three, due to its snapshot simplicity: "Laying on a beat ol' sofa/On the porch when nights were hot/Eatin' instant mashed potatoes/From a big ol' iron pot." "The Word" and "Tony Y Maria" are more directly pedagogical, and less eloquent for it, plus their melodies aren't as clever as "The Big Ranch," with its stark verses, and Cream-style, guitar-hook choruses.

Another "Spanglish" highlight from Good Morning Aztlan is the meringue-styled "Malaque." Traditional, loose-stringed Spanish guitars mix with smarmy saxophone and the exotic "Veracruz harp," played by guest Fermin Herrera, to form a fandango setting for this strange ode to "the ruby king." The song shows that Los Lobos doesn't need Blake and Froom to get experimental.

"Get to This" is an uncomplicated, rocking invitation by Hidalgo/Perez to get up and dance. It's a nice diversion from all the Aztlan, barrio heaviness. David Hidalgo and Cesar Rosas share lead vocals and lead guitar solos. Steve Berlin provides baritone sax underpinning. It's the East L.A. version of the hippy-hippy-shake.

Cesar Rosas pens the all-Spanish "Maria Christina," an invitation to rhumba rather than rock. Rosas sings the aching verses, with all joining in on the choruses. About mid-way through this traditional-sounding tune, Rosas launches into some biting, screaming electric guitar. And that's what Los Lobos can do for you--trad it and rock it, all in the same song.

The closing cut, "Round & Round," is repetitive as hell, and just as infectious. Echoing guitar and bass lay the groundwork for the trance-like, simple, sing-a-long chorus: "Round and round and up and down/And round and round." Hidalgo sings the yearning verses, promising love and safety to some unnamed mi amor. Once again, on the choruses, Martha Gonzalez adds her spirited vocals to the Los Lobos mix.

Taken as a whole Good Morning Aztlan is not quite up to the stratospheric levels of such Lobos successes as Kiko, By the Light of the Moon, and The Neighborhood, but it is on a par with their good-to-better work like This Time and Colossal Head. It is still superior to 999 out of 1000 new CDs you could grab at your local mall disc emporium.

Read more about Good Morning Aztlán at www.loslobos.org.

 
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