Jazz Articles about Los Lobos

Los Lobos: Tin Can Trust

by John Kelman
August 14, 2010

Prolificity ain't all it's cracked up to be. With but a dozen studio releases in three decades, Los Lobos' discography may be small, but combines substance and style. Since the breakthrough How Will the Wolf Survive? (Slash, 1984) and massive radio hit--a re-visioning of Richie Valens' classic “La Bamba," from the 1987 bio-pic of the same name--Los Lobos has been mining a distinctive and unfailingly honest nexus of roots and rock. They may not sell as many records as Eminem, ...

Lobos Live in Lowell: Ridin' On

by Doug Collette
September 23, 2006

Los Lobos Boarding House Park Lowell, Massachusetts September 1, 2006

Los Lobos should be honored as a national treasure. Appearing in the home of Jack Kerouac near the end of the Massachusetts city's summer music series, this band from East LA displayed an affectionate enthusiasm for their audience that, combined with musical diversity and instrumental chemistry at their command, provided an ever so rare means of inaugurating the autumn.

Outside ...

Los Lobos: The Town And The City

by Doug Collette
September 16, 2006

The Town And The City is music for the head, heart and soul. Its sound is deeply atmospheric, its songs emotionally resonant and its concept keenly intelligent. This is the work of a great band uniting its musical and cultural roots in a song cycle imbued with universal relevance.

That might sound pretentious if Los Lobos themselves weren't such down to earth musicians and The Town and The City (titled the same as Jack Kerouac's first major novel) so understated. ...

Hardly Just Another Band: Los Lobos Live

by Doug Collette
October 15, 2005

Los Lobos are a joy to behold, especially when you see them live. There is absolutely no artifice with this great band from east LA, which is why a performance such as the acoustic set in New Hampshire, might well rank among the happiest concert experiences you are likely to have.

The abbreviated first set of approximately thirty-five minutes consisted of authentic Mexican-flavored material much of it, like the titlesong culled from the group's 1988 roots album La Pistola ...

Los Lobos: Live at the Fillmore

by Doug Collette
May 4, 2005

Fans of Los Lobos and rock in general should applaud the release of Live at the Fillmore. But don't turn to the compact disc package thinking it's a companion piece to the DVD of the same name released last fall: it does not contain all of what was on the DVD and then some--only a portion of it, in fact. On this compact disc you'll find Lobos eschewing the heavier rock and riff songs for more subtly rhythmic, melodic tunes ...

Los Lobos: The Ride

by Doug Collette
May 19, 2004

Los Lobos The Ride Hollywood/Mammoth 2004

In contrast to the authoritative blues, rock and soul leanings of Los Lobos’ last two albums, The Ride is a much more eclectic affair, which is in keeping with the plethora of guests that appear throughout its fourteen tracks. It may simply be a matter of taste whether this rootsy affair is more or less satisfying than those recent projects that flirted with the mainstream, but there’s no ...