Los Lobos
The Ride
(Hollywood/Mammoth)
First Appeared in The Music Box, June 2004, Volume 11, #6
Written by John Metzger
Under normal circumstances, star-studded efforts should be met with a healthy
dose of skepticism, but then again Los Lobos is far from being an ordinary band.
Not only did the group survive the turning of its eleventh studio outing The
Ride into a guest-laden affair, but it also succeeded brilliantly despite
committing the other cardinal sin of rock ’n‘ roll by remaking several of its
old chestnuts. In fact, in an unusual twist of fate, the songs on which Los
Lobos is left to its own devices are among the weaker moments of the collection,
although none fully falls flat. Even so, it’s on the many collaborative efforts
that the band surprisingly gains the most traction as Mavis Staples unleashes a
rousing Stax soul re-invention of Someday that is positively
exhilarating, and Elvis Costello delivers a passionate vocal performance on Matter of Time that recasts the tune in an entirely new light. Elsewhere,
Los Lobos, Café Tacuba, and The Band’s Garth Hudson combine forces to magically traverse the psychedelically serpentine
grooves of La Venganza de Los Pelados; Tom Waits and Quetzal’s Martha Gonzalez help to turn Kitate into a delightful slice of experimental
strangeness; and Richard Thompson masterfully underscores the driving Wreck
of the Carlos Rey with his heady guitar licks. Yet, it’s with two soul
legends that Los Lobos crafts a pair of fresh masterpieces out of already superb
material, offering a blissfully funky reinterpretation of Is This All There
Is? with Thee Midniters’ Little Willie G. and a powerfully seamless fusion
of Wicked Rain and Across 110th Street with Bobby
Womack. Indeed, while The Ride isn’t quite the flawlessly cohesive
recording that both This Time and Good Morning Aztlán
were, it still is a remarkable endeavor, one that perfectly encapsulates Los
Lobos’ stylistically varied career in all its resplendent glory. 
Of Further Interest...
Alejandro Escovedo - Real Animal
Jimi Hendrix - At Last...The Beginning: The Making of Electric Ladyland (DVD)
Robbie Robertson - Contact from the Underworld of Redboy
The Ride is available from Barnes & Noble.
To order, Click Here!
Ratings
1 Star: Pitiful
2 Stars: Listenable
3 Stars: Respectable
4 Stars: Excellent
5 Stars: Can't Live Without It!!
Copyright © 2004 The Music Box