Tribute albums can be hit or miss, often coming off like uninspired cash grabs by a band looking to bide its time until the next creative jag comes along and propels them to write some original songs again. But every now and then, a band stumbles across a creative and inspired idea and through flawless execution makes a tribute record worth paying attention to (think Harry Nilsson’s Nilsson Sings Newman or Willie Nelson’s To Lefty From Willie). Add Los Lobos to that small, but stellar list.
Los Lobos puts out a dazzling love letter to their hometown of Los Angele with Native Sons, 13 songs initially sung by LA-based bands. The reinterpretations are as inspired as they are varied, covering songs by Jackson Browne, War, The Beach Boys and The Blasters (a band that Steve Berlin was in before joining Los Lobos), among many others. The third track, “Bluebird” which segues into a breathtaking “For What It’s Worth,” (two songs written by Buffalo Springfield’s Stephen Stills) is a particularly powerful rendition given the past few strongly polarizing years we’ve just lived through as a country. That track is immediately followed by the brilliant “Los Chucos Suaves,” written Lalo Guerrero, which goes to show how easily the band can dip in and out musical genres, seamlessly. The same can be said for the band’s take on Percy Mayfield’s swinging blues “Never No More” and the Blaster’s classic rockabilly tune “Flat Top Joint”. But putting the Los Lobos spin on Jackson Browne’s “Jamaica Say You Will,” and The Beach Boys “Sail on, Sailor,” are two of the most satisfying moments of the record.
Los Lobos has always been a remarkably creative band going back to their founding in the early 1970s having managed to blend in with everyone from country and rockabilly acts to the punks that made up the early 1980s music scene. There are only a handful of bands that could tackle the herculean task of writing a love letter to the music of LA that goes back generations and come away sounding this inspired; Los Lobos is one of those bands.
Photo by Piero F. Giunti
