Los Lobos

For a band whose career has spanned as long as Los Lobos's, choosing a single disc of definitive tracks is no easy task. Fans will lament missing favorites, but for the uninitiated, this disc takes us through the group's evolution from a roots 'n' rock outfit to a more thoughtful, experimental group who penned songs like "Kiko and the Lavendar Moon" and "Matter of Time."

Although they surfaced on the punkoid Slash label and got all trip-hoppy in their Latin Playboys side project, at bottom these East L.A. winners of a 2001 Billboard lifetime achievement award are one of the strongest straight-ahead rock bands of the past quarter century. In a sense their most important member is their most obscure: bassist Conrad Lozano, implacably anchoring blues, boogie, polka, two-step, corrida, and what-have-you variants on a solid four-four rhythm. With a brief detour into Mexican folkloricism, which doesn't mean "La Bamba," this 20-year, 20-song overview has a groove that's Latin mostly by way of spicing, accent, and aura. It's an assimilationist showpiece that proves Mexican-Americans are as American as any other kind--except that some of them write much better songs. (Grade - ****)