This Time

This Time

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com's Best of 1999
The gents in Los Lobos refuse to go gentle into the good night. This Time (like the 1999 Los Lobos spin-off projects Houndog and the Latin Playboys) is rife with an adventurous spirit that belies the lengthy recording history these guys have behind them. No one can accuse Los Lobos of slavishly trading on their "La Bamba" fame. --Steven Stolder

Amazon.com
Most bands who've soldiered on for as long as Los Lobos find that middle-age brings a laissez-faire bargain between fame and nostalgia that makes it all too easy to coast into the sunset comfortably seated on their laurels. What's so compelling about Lobos in the 1990s and beyond is their steadfast refusal to succumb to any such temptation. This Time marks the third chapter in their collaboration with producers Mitchell Froom and Tchad Blake that yielded the outstanding and surprising Kiko and Colossal Head. It's easily their most adventuresome, category-confounding outing yet. Time often bravely veers into the strange, liberating ethos espoused by Blake, Froom, and Lobos mainstays David Hidalgo and Louis Perez on their deliciously skewed side-project, Latin Playboys. The title track seems to slyly segue in from nowhere, "Oh Yeah" lopes into a dreamy jazz subtly punctuated by Blake's studio percussion, and "Some Say Some Do" manages a dark new techno-twist on the blues. The gritty riffing on "Viking" and "High Places" prove that the band's love affair with Hendrix is no passing fancy. Even the Latin stylings of "Cumbia Raza," the sexy "Corazon," and the playful "La Playa" get a good studio tweaking. Those who expected Los Lobos to churn out endless permutations of "La Bamba" may be disappointed at this stereotype-resistant exploration. But those who relish true adventure and master musicianship are going to very happy indeed. Que corran para siempre --Jerry McCulley