Good Morning Aztlán [Limited Edition] [ENHANCED] [LIMITED EDITION] [EXTRA TRACKS]

Los Lobos

Product Details

• Audio CD (June 4, 2002)
• Original Release Date: June 4, 2002
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Enhanced, Limited Edition, Extra tracks
• Label: Fontana Mammoth
• ASIN: B000065VVE
• Also Available in: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (30 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #91,182 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
After 25 years together as a band, you'd expect Los Lobos to be spent creatively. Not so, though this East L.A. institution has settled into a perhaps too-comfortable groove with its past couple of albums. No longer the studio experimentalists of Kiko (still the group's best album), nor the Mexican roots-music purists of La Pistola y El Corazon, the band now offers a reliable mix of styles on each album--a smooth concoction that is equal parts roots-rock, blues, R&B, and Latin dance music. Although paired with new producer John Leckie (Radiohead, XTC), the band doesn't venture into much new sonic territory with Good Morning Aztlán. The most distinctive tracks are the three Latin-spiked numbers--in particular "Malaqúe," which merges vera cruzano harp with what sounds like Brazilian carnival rhythms--and a pair of gorgeous, '70s-inflected soul songs, "Hearts of Stone" and "The Word." Overall, Good Morning Aztlán is a good album but not a great one, at least by the band's lofty standards. --Keith Moerer

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Best since Kiko, June 4, 2002

By	David Herrin (Reading, Ohio United States) - See all my reviews

Just bought this CD. A second disc is included with two ordinary live performances of Can't Stop the Rain and Colossal Head (both songs originally on Colossal Head). Despite what the packaging says, the Enhanced CD material is on the first disc and not on the second. This includes a promotional video for the new record with interviews from each band member.

As for the 12 songs on the main disc. Let's start with the negatives first. There is a little bit of filler though a lot less than on the previous record. Neither, "Get to This" (comparable to the lesser material on "This Time") or "Maria Christina" (seems like Cesar Rosas has done this song already) are stellar.

That being said ... "Done Gone Blue", "Hearts of Stone", "Luz de Mi Vida", and "Good Morning Aztlan" are terrific and are equal to their best work. Other standouts include "Tony Y Maria" and "What in the World". Surprisingly, the Rosas written songs are on par with the Hidalgo contributions. That's not always the case. So ... taken as a whole this is a really, really good Los Lobos record.

Many will be happy to find out that this record has little of the muddiness of the three Froom and Blake produced efforts though I liked most of the material on those records. The lyrics are also a little more direct on this record.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I agree - best since Kiko, June 15, 2002

By	Downstream "downstream" (Oconomowoc, WI United States) - See all my reviews

They sound so confident on this record. The songs just slam. The recording quality is pristine and perfect. The music jumps at you and floats through the air. It's nice to hear them rock out heavy on a few tunes again, too. It's also nice to see the disc sitting in the Top-25 on Amazon. This is one of the 5 best bands of the last 15 years. Anyone who only knows them because of "La Bamba" needs to run to the store immediately and pick up "By The Light Of The Moon", "How Will The Wolf Survive", and "Kiko" for starters and realize what they have been missing. I can't wait to see these guys at Milwaukee's Summerfest in a few weeks.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Bringing It All Back Together, August 18, 2002

By	Kurt Harding "bon vivant" (Boerne TX) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Los Lobos has been a favorite of mine since they put out that great little EP "...And A Time To Dance". The mix of hard-driving roots rock and Mexican folk music was a spicy mix that was hard to resist. However, in my opinion, in recent years they have drifted too much away from those roots into experimental music since the release of the magnificent "La Pistola Y El Corazon".
Now they are back with a vengeance. Good Morning Aztlan mixes rock, soul and Spanish with wild abandon. My favorite cuts are the title song, Malaque, Maria Christina, and the soul-saturated The Word. Done Gone Blue really rocks and Luz De Me Vida is a catchy song with a clever intermixture of Spanish and English lyrics. There is nothing bad here. But perhaps as some reviewers suggest, the lyrics of Get To This are kind of cheesy though the music is good.
I haven't had a chance to sample the computerized portion of the CD but the music already merits 5 stars even without it. Hats off to Los Lobos. With the issue of Good Morning Aztlan, they are reaching deep into their past and bringing it all back together again.