Search - Los Lobos :: Just Another Band from East L.A.: A Collection

One of the Best Bands

Russell Diederich | Littleton, CO United States | 02/05/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"There is little that Los Lobos hasn't played in the years they've been around. And, with "Just Another Band from East L.A." you can experience this growth from the beginning all the way through "Kiko". This compilation contains more than forty tracks of traditional Spanish music, Tex-Mex, blues and rock. Few bands honor their roots like Los Lobos does. The beginning of disc one has several Spanish folk songs, including the beautiful ballad, "Sabor a Mi" flavored with Latin guitar runs. The flavor turns a little more rock in the middle of disc one and holds onto it for the remainder of the album. The power of Los Lobos' songs is heard in "River of Fools", "Will the Wolf Survive?" and "On Time One Night". Covers of Ritchie Valens' "Come On Let's Go" and his arrangement of the traditional "La Bamba" helped bring Los Lobos national acclaim. Things are great on the first disc, but things get better on the second disc. Again the second disc is a mix of rock and blues and songs sung in Spanish. With songs like "Down On the Riverbed", "Angel Dance", the incredible "Kiko and the Lavender Moon" and a live cover of Cream's "Politician" make this album a keeper. The best song on this compilation is the live cover of Marvin Gaye's "What's Going On". The guys do a great job on one of the best songs ever written. Besides getting nearly two and a half hours of Los Lobos, and a great sampling from all their albums pre-"Colossal Head", there are also four previously unreleased tracks and nearly a dozen live cuts. An albums worth of live cuts and never before heard material makes this compilation definitely something to look into even if you already have all of Los Lobos' albums."

Just another reviewer from East LA

Doris K. Rodriguez | USA | 05/13/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is the Album that dosen't collect dust. It takes me back to a time long ago in a land far away from today. It is true that for any of us brought up on the east side our music was a blend of our parent's tunes and rock and roll. The liner notes are a faithful description of life for us in the 60's and for 70's. The La Bamba stuff is important because it's good fun music and it honor's Richie Valens. His contribution opened doors showing us that we, (Americans of Hispanic Descent) have a voice. This album can be sumed up as... The music that plays during the family's backyard BBQ when all was right in the neighborhood."

Best band of the last quarter century

Andy Agree | Omaha, NE | 04/10/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The last quarter century has not generally been an era favorable to bands, except for the brief New Wave of the early 80s. But it was 1978 when "Los Lobos del Norte" put out their first Norteno music that appears on this CD - pricelessly beautiful and skillfully played, and still a feature of their music today. Then came 1984 and "Will the Wolf Survive?", the defining album of their early rock period, mixing Norteno with rock 'n roll and a vision of east L.A. street life. In the 90s, the Lobos turned funky and experimental, and "Just Another Band" captures many songs from "Kiko", their legendary album from that period, and the most recent music represented on the CD. Most recently their CD "Good Morning Aztlan" blends all these styles, and the legend still grows. No other band today can claim the riches that Los Lobos have given us for these 25 years. No other band can pull together the disparate styles of the American street so strongly and movingly. And there is the paradox that this band that is so particularly of the streets of East L.A. is also the most completely American band of this era, accessible and belonging to all of us. "Just Another Band from East L.A." does full justice to Los Lobos and their history. All the best tracks I would have wanted from the albums I already knew are here, plus some excellent never released songs (especially the beautifully moving "Someday"), several live tracks, and the smile-inducing Latino version of the King Louis monkey song "I Wanna Be Like You" from the Jungle Book. To top it off, the boxed package includes great pictures and the story of the band's socio-cultural origins. It deserves a special place on your shelf."