Customer Reviews

This Time

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

At this point, Los Lobos is so strong, so funky, so imaginative, and so sophisticated that they can't possibly have a hit record. They're just too good for an audience fed on top-40 pablum to ever figure out. But I say, just keep going and making exquisite records like this one, guys. Music's a lot more important than mass-popularity.

Having listened to Los Lobos for quite some time now, I have to say that this is as good or better than any of their efforts to date. There is much to be said for the interplay of the indivdual instruments -- always pushing the rhythyms in different directions, yet somehow blending into intriguing harmonies -- and always leaving enough space between notes to allow one to truly appreciate what is being played. Yes, it's a bit short -- but beautiful. Rather than more songs i would wish each of the songs to be a bit longer. At first I found a few of the songs to be over-mixed, but when I turned it up a bit I no longer had the same feeling -- the sonic quality of the recording is excellent. I've had trouble putting the disc away and definitely recomend buying it.

Los Lobos have really blossomed in the 90s. The sound and ambiance of this record tells you right off that it couldn't be anyone else. These guys meld weird chord structures and unusual melodies together into music that is odd but strangely listenable. Their last two albums, "Kiko" and "Colossal Head" are still tops in my opinion, but "This Time" continues the tradition and brings them into some new territory. Titles like "Viking" and "High Places" will have people asking if this is really Los Lobos. Well, it is...and they are still quietly sitting in the background, letting the more adventurous music fans out their soak up every note...Dig these albums.

This, in my opinion, is close to being a great record. Like the best blues, it's simple and crude on one level, but profound and transcendant on another. It's the kind of disc you notice new things about every time you listen to it.

Third in a series of nearly undefinable masterpieces from Los Lobos, "This Time" is, like "Kiko" & "Colossal Head" before it, an album of a sort that we've never really heard before, but that is too good- just too confident to call experimental. With songs like the title track, "Oh Yeah", & "Corazon", the album is full of that unforgettable, frustratingly rare type of song that at times finds its beauty as much in what the artist doesn't play as in what he does. At it's best, the music of "This Time" picks up the thread first uncovered in "Life is Good", & "Kiko and the Lavender Moon"; cascading upon the listener w/ suggested grooves, while it's sparse lyrics stay with us by merely hinting, letting David's sad or Cesar's sly tone reveal the spirit of the song. It is in this way that Los Lobos has been positioned alongside the likes of Hendrix & Robert Johnson ever since Kiko. "This Time" is a fine, fine work.

if one reads ty7777's review below, one should beware. ty knows not of what he/she speaks.

this disc is another wonderful addition to the los lobos catalogue. although not immediately accessible, repeated listenings reveal it to be a true treasure. los lobos is a band that demands close attention to detail. buy it, listen to it, study it, love it.

for other los lobos albums in a similar vein, try 'colossal head' or the magestic 'kiko'. for more traditional albums from these boys, try 'wolf?', 'moon', or the wonderful new 'good morning aztlan.' for more mexican-american fare, purchase 'pistola'or 'just another band from east l.a.'

for a near-perfect overview of all facets lobos, immediately purchase 'el cancionero.' if somehow you are disappointed, seek medical attention immediately, for you have no heart. or soul, for that matter.

Still one of the most underrated bands in the country, Los Lobos quietly goes about producing great, eclectic music. Songs like "High Places," "Run Away With You," and "Why We Wish," are fun rockers; the songs in Spanish are diverse, showing anyone listening that you cannot pidgeonhole this great band. Do yourself a favor and add this one to your collection-it's definitely one of the better cds to come out this year.

I guess with all the side projects there is no time for the original band to make records. I like this album, but at 38 minutes its only a sampler. (I mean you can put twice as much on a CD! Come on guys!!) My desire to hear new music by Los Lobos is not fulfilled; just when the album is warming up it ends. What I hear is nice, what I don't hear is not worth my dollar.

Like Colossal Head, This Time uses unusual textures, time changes, melodies and production effects to create a surreal world. If there was any doubt before, This Time demonstrates that Los Lobos is one of the best American rock bands.

With time the band has experimented rather than rest on its laurels and continues to plough new ground with each new release. This Time melds the songcraft of Kiko with the soundscapes of Colossal Head and the result is one of the band's three best records.

Like The Beatles (yes, those guys) and a handful of other great rock bands, Los Lobos has demonstrated a desire to grow both as musicians and performers with such musical depth and flair. The songwriting remains tops and, again, like their British counterparts, Los Lobos is one of those rare bands where there is more than one strong songwriting voice in the band.

One of the best albums of the 90's, This Time disproves the cliche that as an artist becomes middle aged, they begin to recycle the same stuff and become less daring.

Along with other reviews, I concur that "This Time" should have been packaged as two-fer or as a trilogy with Los Lobos' prior two recordings. You put the CD on, lay back, and ...WHAT...it's over already ! A minor complaint (1 star demerit) for the length, owing to a gut feeling that Hollywood Records was pushing the quick release of this CD and not Los Lobos. But the music...in the continuation of the overlay methodology that Froom & Blake employ on all of their productions, I say, "Give me more, not less." The CD IS only 38 minutes long, but thanks to Froom & Blake, you could listen to the recording over and over, catching different nuances from each replaying. Are Los Lobos a rock band at this point? I hope not; their last three recordings, as well as their independent projections have exploded them out of the R & R pigeonhole. As for Froom & Blake? Bonnie Raitt's last CD, "Fundamental", was her best effort in 10 years. Suzanne Vega's 1996 "Nine Objects of Desire" was her best output ever. And none other than Mr. Froom and Mr. Blake produced both projects.