Los Lobos saves best for solo acts

Los Lobos
Good Morning Aztlán
Hollywood Records This marks an interesting time in the history of Los Lobos. It's the 25th anniversary of their formation and the 15th anniversary of their cover of "La Bamba," their most popular work. It's also the 10th anniversary of their masterpiece album Kiko. Today Los Lobos is ageless, and that is a tribute to their consistency. Listening to their new CD Good Morning Aztlán one hears a band that can make a good record on autopilot but can't transcend the heights it reached on Kiko. Los Lobos by now is their own niche. They never fit the jam band label because of their rhythmic complexity, and Kiko got swallowed up because there was nothing grungy about it in a time when sounding grungy was everything. In fact, the biggest problem that Los Lobos faces is unique. They save all their good songs for their side projects like guitarist Cesar Rosas' solo album, guitarist David Hidalgo's bluesy band Houndog and Rosas' and Hidalgo's work with the Latin Playboys and the fantastic Latin supergroup Los Super Seven (with Susana Baca and Caetano Veloso). Given the diversity of their experiences, no one else combines the genres Los Lobos fits into each album, and Good Morning Aztlán is no different. "Hearts of Stone" is a bluesy lament with great guitar work by Rosas -- Eric Clapton would die to have done it. "The Word" is Rosas' tribute to Marvin Gaye -- notable since the band is well-known for covering "What's Going On" in concert. Sad ballads intermingle with classic conjunto party music. The album fails in its production though. While getting away from Mitchell Froom and Tchad Blake was good timing, new co-producer John Leckie does not seem to bring much to the mix. Steve Berlin's woodwind work seems muted and too low key, and the album sounds a little too slick. Froom and Blake were able to add odd sounds to the Los Lobos canon that helped them get past the "Just Another Band From East L.A." label, and they really added some psychedelia and grime to the Latin Playboys' sound. We're lucky to have Los Lobos, a band that can be everything to all listeners. By their next album, let's hope that they can challenge themselves a little more.