Los Lobos

Mixing the soul of rural Mexican music with good-rocking American roots, How Will the
Wolf Survive? is one of the best records of 1984. Singer David Hidalgo, who will break your
heart with two gorgeous tunes called "Will the Wolf Survive?" and "A Matter of Time,"
sounds a lot like Fifties Chicano rocker Ritchie Valens: he's got the same romantic, plaintive
tenor. His songs play off the tougher numbers sung by Cesar Rosas, including the... More >

This takes generic to a whole different level. Where their EP was a straightforward account of a world-class bar band in command of what we'll call Chicano r&b, a relatively specialized indigenous style with unexploited mass potential, their debut LP makes it sound as if they invented the style. Who did the original of that one, you wonder, only to discover that you're listening to the original. Listen a little more and you figure out that these slices of dance music have lyrics, lyrics rooted in an oppression the artists really know about--the love songs return incessantly to the separation that defines migrant laborers' lives. And from the moment you hear "I Got Loaded" you'll know that while Cesar Rosas is merely a generic singer in the best sense, David Hidalgo is some kind of tenor. (Grade: A)