Colossal Head

Los Lobos | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 19, 1996)
• Original Release Date: March 19, 1996
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Warner Bros / Wea
• ASIN: B000002N51
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (27 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #53,178 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

If Kiko was Los Lobos' unanticipated definitive statement, as in "You've got to hear this!" Colossal Head is its less focused addendum. It says: "Oh, yeah, and furthermore. The title track, a multi-textured grinder with a Middle Eastern string arrangement mixed in with baritone sax and blues guitar. "Life Is Good" is lazy, infectious '70s pop funk à la War and Sly & the Family Stone "Más y más" is an old-fashioned guitar wank that puts one in mind of the other crucial name in Latin rock--Santana. Los Lobos are known for their ensemble work, but this is just unstrained look-at-me showboating. When you've got David Hidalgo and Cesar Rosas, why not flaunt 'em? The occasional missteps ("This Bird's Gonna Fly," "Can't Stop the Rain") are just bland songs the band and coproducers Mitchell Froom and Tchad Blake dress up with the kind of offbeat production touches that worked so well with Kiko. --Steven Stolder

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "Do The Colossal Head!", January 21, 2008

By 

Jack Baker "Beauty Will Save the World" (LeRoy,IL) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Colossal Head (Audio CD)

I was in college in 1996 when this album came out. I purchased it and it became a staple on my college radio show for the next couple years. The band is incredible and the Mitchell Froom/Tchad Blake production added strange character to this eclectic group of songs. Standouts for me are the slow wah guitar driven "Little Japan" and the exuberant "Life is Good", which sounds like listening to a party from the apartment next door. I love the driving "Everybody Loves a Train" with its locomotive rhythm and roaring saxophone. "Mas Y Mas" is a barnburner of the highest order and you don't need to understand the lyrics to have a good time. Colossal Head may not stand up to Kiko as Los Lobos's best, but I still give it five stars for its adventurous spirit. So many albums that came out in 96 were stale, pallid, and forgettable and this was a fresh, lively shot in the arm.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars EXTRAORDINARY BAND, May 30, 2006

By 

greg s. (Minnetonka, MN United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Colossal Head (Audio CD)

Anyone who is a TRUE music lover, will either know, or would want to know, about the true Los Lobos. They are so very, VERY much more than most people recognize. They are true artists in every sense, and have a dignity (musically, and personally) that few bands have, or could even understand.

Their entire body of work is very worthwhile, and this record ranks near, or at the top, along with KIKO.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A colossal achievement, February 13, 2005

By 

David Bonesteel (Fresno, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Colossal Head (Audio CD)

I haven't kept up with Los Lobos since back in the beginning, when I owned a cassette of "How Will the Wolf Survive." Some time ago I decided to rectify that situation and picked up "Colossal Head." Judging from the reviews on this page, "Kiko" is the disc I really should have picked up. Whether they like "Colossal Head" or not, everyone seems to agree that "Kiko" is better. It must be a really spectacular recording, because I thought CH is excellent. The songwriting is mostly outstanding and there are lots of surprises and interesting choices in the production and mixing. Good work.