The Town and the City

My earliest memory of hearing Los Lobos’ music was hearing their cover of the Richie Valens’ hit “La Bamba”.  Los Lobos had provided numerous tracks for the biopic about Valens (also title La Bamba), and they released a music video for the song.  I always loved that song and their version.  In the years since then I wondered whatever happened to Los Lobos.  Did they break up?  Did their careers fade away?

In fact, Los Lobos had been around for years prior to “La Bamba” and continues to record to this day.  My personal music tastes just shifted away from them but now have brought me back to their music through one of their records on my list.  While they haven’t enjoyed the commercial success that “La Bamba” provided, they have released some critically and commercially successful records throughout their long careers as well as scored several films and provided tracks to different projects.  Their blend of blues, country, rock and roll, and Spanish and Mexican music creates a beautiful mix that will capture the listener’s ears.

#83 – Los Lobos, The Town and the City (Metascore = 87)

The Town and the City is based off of stories from drummer Louis Perez’s childhood in East Los Angeles.  Pérez helped pen 11 of the 13 tracks on the album and wrote each as episodes in his childhood.  For instance, “The Road to Gila Bend” sounds at times like the soundtrack for a group of friends on a road trip or an innocent criminal on the lam.  “If You Were Only Here Tonight” is a ballad of two lovers separated by the crime that one of them committed that must keep him running.  My favorite song might be “Two Dogs and a Bone” because I could envision my brother and me fighting over the same toy when we were younger or countless other siblings or friends fighting over the same thing.  Mom’s always there to put you in your place.

Unlike the Los Super Seven record I listened to ages ago, this record has a more modern electronic feel to it.  Opening track “The Valley” sounds hypnotic with the repeating drum track over guitar feedback quietly in the background and haunting organs.  The influence of their roots music is there but now modernized for a younger audience.  Where their roots shine is “The Road to Gila Bend”, which is a rocking track that fits the lyrics very well.  “Chuco’s Cumbia” continues this rootsy feel with Spanish lyrics and that Tex-Mex sound.

The band also alternates between English lyrics and Spanish lyrics in a few songs.  This effect I find powerful and authentic for the stories they tell.  I would imagine, having never been there myself that the interplay between English speakers and Spanish speakers in East L.A. happens all the time and that people switch from English to Spanish without any thought.

This record is a very relaxed affair.  The title of the album also represents the theme of the record.  There is the wider city, that is L.A., but then there’s the town part, East L.A., which is where their history, where these stories were born.  The band takes the listener to East L.A. with the sounds and lyrics.