Los Lobos - The Town and the City

Music for people with souls

I have met the Wolves twice, once during a break between shows in Birmingham, and another, longer conversation in Louisville this last July 4, after a ridiculously short set which was part of a riverfront Independence Day festival. This later meeting lasted two plus hours. My family sat in the hotel bar with Conrad, David, and their manager and had some serious heart to heart. My wife and three teenagers all love Los Lobos. My kids are not fans just because I am, they know good stuff, and they know Los Lobos is as good as it gets. Hidalgo chatted with my fiddle-playing daughter, horn playing oldest son, and nascent guitar virtuoso middle boy, sharing space like only musicians do. I was beside myself. I got to buy Los Lobos a beer while my kids and wife enjoyed a long, intimate discussion with them, which ranged wildly. As I would have expected.
I could go on for many pages about the conversation in Louisville. Suffice: they are normal guys who had the luck to have met each other a few decades ago and formed one of the strongest, longest lasting, most productive partnerships in music history. Most brothers do not enjoy such a relationship.

The Town and the City was an enormous effort. Cesar has managed to deal with the loss of his wife, which has restored the band's equilibrium. They put everything into this record, and they are deeply disappointed in the record's reception. Critical response has been almost uniformly positive, but the things has not sold like they hoped. Not that they need the dinero, but they wanted a lot of people to embrace this work. And it has not happened.
This collection is no better than several other Los Lobos records. Which is another way of saying that it is nonpareil American beauty, expressed at the highest possible level of achievement.
So, for God's sake, buy it, and get everyone you know and care about to buy it. We need Los Lobos more than they need us. August 31, 2008

A Great American Rock Recording

This is a great American rock recording. American music is after all a confluence of influences. Among others, think jazz, blues, zydeco, soul and of course rock and roll. Roots music. Here Los Lobos provide us with an extraordinary example of the confluence of influences. The musicianship, song writing and arrangements are beyond reproach.

I spend a fair amount of time looking for the "perfect record." This qualifies. Every time I listen I hear something new--The Town and the Country is a deeply satisfying, beautiful musical experience and the most listenable recording I have heard in many years. Thanks guys.
May 18, 2008

Not their best since (insert album here)

This is not Los Lobos's best album since Kiko, By the Light of the Moon, Colossal Head, or any other album you care to name. It's their best album ever.

It's similar to Kiko, displaying their mastery of rock'n'roll, blues, Mexican folk music, country, and psychedelia. It differs from Kiko in that the styles are even more melded together, and every track is so sharp and strong my mind is simply boggled.

I had started thinking Los Lobos would never write a song that would relentlessly haunt me (like When The Circus Comes) again. I am gloriously wrong. I've listened to the album four times in two days and I can't tell you which track is the finest. Let me listen to it a couple of hundred times, and I'll get back to you. December 20, 2007

Los Lobos Back in Town!

After a couple of pretty disappointing albums released in the 1990's Los Lobos returned to form with fine albums such as "Good Morning Aztlan" and "The Ride". The band continues the positive direction with 2006 release "The Town and the City". Though never as adventurous and consistent as their two greatest albums "Kiko" and "The Neighborhood", the album contains lots of great music.

More room is given to the soft melodic side of the band which suits the voice of David Hidalgo so well. Highlights for me are the two Hidalgo ballads "If You Were Only Here Tonight" and "Little Things". Among the harder up-beat track "The Road to Gila Bend" stands out - this song would have fitted nicely into the "Kiko" album.

Key songs, of course, are the two title tracks, "The City" and "The Town". "The City" is both rhytmic and grandiose, lyrically dealing with the alluring night-life of the city. "The Town" deals with the darker side of city life. A great bluesy song that makes a perfect ending to another fine Los Lobos album. May 6, 2007

This Rocks!

This is their best work yet. Saw them last summer and loved them. They got better with age. April 4, 2007

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