This Time

Performer: Los Lobos
Artist: Mitchell Froom; Pete Thomas; Alex Acuna Y Su Acuarela De Tambores
Engineer: Tchad Blake
Distributor: Universal Distribution

Notes: Los Lobos: David Hidalgo, Cesar Rosas, Steve Berlin, Conrad Lozano, Louis Perez. Additional personnel: Mitchell Froom (keyboards); Alex Acuna (drums, percussion); Pete Thomas, Aaron Ballesteros (drums); Victor Bisetti (percussion). Producers: Mitchell Froom, Tchad Blake, Los Lobos. Recorded at Sunset Sound Factory, Hollywood, California. This is a hybrid Super Audio CD playable on both regular and Super Audio CD players. Los Lobos: David Hidalgo, Cesar Rosas, Steve Berlin, Conrad Lozano, Louis Perez. Additional personnel: Mitchell Froom (keyboards); Alex Acuna (drums, percussion); Pete Thomas, Aaron Ballesteros (drums); Victor Bisetti (percussion). Producers: Mitchell Froom, Tchad Blake, Los Lobos. Recorded at Sunset Sound Factory, Hollywood, California. All tracks have been digitally remastered using Gain 2 technology. Given all the extracurricular projects members of Los Lobos pursued during the three years separating Colossal Head and its followup, it's not surprising that they've decided to show off what they've learned on This Time, resulting in a record that vacillates between songcraft and sonic sculptures. It could be said that Kiko and Colassal Head were like this as well, but the difference is that This Time has the structure of a straight-ahead rock & roll record, clocking in at 38 minutes with 11 short tracks. While that conciseness is welcome, it also points out the flaws in the post-Latin Playboys Los Lobos -- Cesar Rosas' fine rockers are obscured by a layer of studio gauze, and David Hidalgo's songs can seem like excuses to run wild in the studio. If the production was truly evocative or innovative, that wouldn't be a problem, but This Time is another in a long line of murky, self-conscious productions from Froom, Blake, and Hidalgo, where creating sound is more important than making music. This is especially frustrating, since This Time has elements of a very good record -- it's paced well and boasts strong moments from both Hidalgo ("This Time," "Turn Around") and Rosas ("Oh Yeah," "Cumbia Raza"). As it stands, it is Los Lobos' tightest record since The Neighborhood, but it's hard not to feel that it could have been better if Los Lobos saved the "explorations" for their side-projects. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Rolling Stone (8/19/99, pp.112-5) - 3 1/2 stars out of 5 - "...the quintet continues to expand the acid-tweaked atmosphere of its 1992 masterpiece, KIKO....Rock's most metaphysical party band strikes again." Rolling Stone (8/19/99, pp.112-5) - 3 1/2 stars out of 5 - "...the quintet continues to expand the acid-tweaked atmosphere of its 1992 masterpiece, KIKO....Rock's most metaphysical party band strikes again." Entertainment Weekly (7/23/99, p.68) - "...call it avant-Chicano roots funk....TIME is worth the time its rich mixture requires." Rating: A- Entertainment Weekly (7/23/99, p.68) - "...call it avant-Chicano roots funk....TIME is worth the time its rich mixture requires." Rating: A- CMJ (7/26/99, p.3) - "...a prime example of how Los Lobos has masterfully crossbred the deep roots of rock, Tex-Mex and R&B....shows off the skills of its master craftsmen....another one of [their] multi-facted, bi-lingual triumphs." CMJ (7/26/99, p.3) - "...a prime example of how Los Lobos has masterfully crossbred the deep roots of rock, Tex-Mex and R&B....shows off the skills of its master craftsmen....another one of [their] multi-facted, bi-lingual triumphs."

They began playing traditional Mexican music in their native East L.A. in the mid-'70s, but Los Lobos were galvanized by the California punk movement. By the early '80s they were a rock band to be reckoned with, purveying a highly charged brand of roots-rock distinctively colored by conjunto and Latin shadings. Their '90s work with producer Mitchell Froom found them heading into new worlds of textural sonic exploration.

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