Los Lobos - Colossal Head (1996)

Los Lobos return with their first full-fledged set of new material since '92s Kiko. Working with longtime collaborators Mitchell Froom and Tchad Blake, Los Lobos have created a set of tough sounding electric tunes that find the band's restless musical imagination taking in a variety of influences, from the rootsy to the surreal. "Mas y Mas" looks to be the first track to radio. One of the world's great live acts, the band will be touring extensively in support of the new LP. [Note: This product is an authorized CD-R and is manufactured on demand]

If Kiko was Los Lobos' unanticipated definitive statement, as in "You've got to hear this!" Colossal Head is its less focused addendum. It says: "Oh, yeah, and furthermore. The title track, a multi-textured grinder with a Middle Eastern string arrangement mixed in with baritone sax and blues guitar. "Life Is Good" is lazy, infectious '70s pop funk à la War and Sly & the Family Stone "Más y más" is an old-fashioned guitar wank that puts one in mind of the other crucial name in Latin rock--Santana. Los Lobos are known for their ensemble work, but this is just unstrained look-at-me showboating. When you've got David Hidalgo and Cesar Rosas, why not flaunt 'em? The occasional missteps ("This Bird's Gonna Fly," "Can't Stop the Rain") are just bland songs the band and coproducers Mitchell Froom and Tchad Blake dress up with the kind of offbeat production touches that worked so well with Kiko. --Steven Stolder