Los Lobos
Good Morning Aztlán

(Mammoth/Hollywood)

The Music Box's #2 album for 2002

First Appeared at The Music Box, July 2002, Volume 9, #7

Written by John Metzger

John Leckie is one the most acclaimed producers and engineers on the British pop music scene, having worked on albums by Radiohead, XTC, and the Stone Roses. His latest endeavor finds him guiding Los Lobos on the group’s eleventh studio outing Good Morning Aztlán. And what a job he does. Despite consistently crafting outstanding songs, Los Lobos has struggled, at times, to capture its magic in the studio. As good as Kiko was, it missed much of the band’s fiery fury. The group’s last outing This Time made some strides in this direction, merging concise rock ’n‘ roll songs with dense sonic exploration to yield an underappreciated and quite exquisite album.  But Good Morning Aztlán easily blows away everything Los Lobos has ever recorded. That’s not to reduce the significance of the band’s prior outings; it just happens to be how good this new release is.

At first glance, Good Morning Aztlán is a straightforward album of rock, soul, and Latin grooves. And if that’s all you want it to be, it’s sure to satisfy. From the blistering blues of Done Gone Blue to the Sam Cooke soul of What in the World to the glam-meets-garage rock assault of the title track, there’s much to enjoy.  As with everything Leckie lays his hands on, however, there’s even more lying just beneath the surface. Not that Good Morning Aztlán sounds anywhere near as cluttered as some of Los Lobos’ previous efforts. Instead, Leckie’s touch leaves the band with a crisp, clean sonic sheen, giving the album the perfect balance between the group’s live and studio sounds. Just listen to two of the disc’s best tracks Hearts of Stone and The Word for perfect examples as to how these worlds meet. On the former, the slinky R&B swing is immersed in a sea of guitar, percussion, and the radiant backing vocals of Quetzal’s Martha Gonzales. Yet, the way the guitars wrap around one another and mesh with the percussion carries the ambience of many of the band’s live sets. Likewise, on the Marvin Gaye-inspired The Word — a song that no doubt grew out of Los Lobos’ obvious love for What’s Going On? — wisps of acoustic guitar blend with percussion to lap at the edges of the song, even as Steve Berlin unleashes a stirring saxophone solo.

And that’s the beauty of Good Morning Aztlán. From its fusion of styles to its free-flowing spirit wrapped in a carefully textured studio sheen, it works on many levels. That’s the sign of a great album, and after listening to Good Morning Aztlán, one gets the feeling that though they’ve been together for 29 years, the members of Los Lobos are just getting started.

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Ratings

1 Star: Pitiful
2 Stars: Listenable
3 Stars: Respectable
4 Stars: Excellent
5 Stars: Can't Live Without It!!

Copyright © 2002 The Music Box