Dose
Artist: The Latin Playboys
Label: Atlantic
URL: http://www.wbr.com/loslobos
Length: 13 songs / 34:55
The Latin Playboys are a sort of super group over whom no one ever lost any sleep imagining, "Gee, I wonder what a cross between Suzanne Vega's band and Los Lobos might sound like?" Nevertheless, that's precisely the perplexing question that is answered here, with surprisingly stimulating results.
If you dismissed Los Lobos as being merely the band that covered "La Bamba" for the movie soundtrack of the same name back in the late Eighties, you're missing out on one of rock and roll's best-kept secrets and hottest bands. Two of Los Lobos' principal songwriters, David Hildago and Louis Perez, have garnered several Grammy nominations, and they've won more than a few of them. Back in 1994, these two teamed up with Suzanne Vega's band-mates Mitchell Froom and Tchad Blake to form the Latin Playboys, and they released a self-titled debut to critical acclaim.
Mitchell Froom is Vega's husband, and he's an esteemed album producer in his own right (in fact, he produced Los Lobos' most celebrated albums: Kiko, in 1992, and Colossal Head, in 1996). The story behind the meeting and subsequent partnership of Hildago-Perez and Froom-Blake eludes me, although it's bound to be either mundane or highly interesting. Regardless, this collaborative effort has given Hildago and Perez an outlet as songwriters to explore a sound that is more creative than the otherwise straightforward Los Lobos rock and roll, and it's offered them an opportunity to have a little fun playing with other friends.
If you combine Los Lobos' admirable mix of roots rock, zydeco, blues, funk, R&B, and traditional Tex-Mex Latin flavors with Suzanne Vega's quirky, artsy folk-pop, the Latin Playboys is not exactly the curious hybrid you might expect--it's definitely more eclectic. Imagine an after-midnight Mexican carnival with one zany clown foot firmly planted in the twilight zone, and a sober eye casting brooding glances across motley landscapes. Psychedelic and surreal, yet grounded in reality. Odd and experimental, yet rooted in tradition. Evocative and mysterious, yet still accessible.
Whereas their first self-titled album was comprised of short experiments intermixed with more cohesive song structures, Dose is indubitably more song-based. There are a total of four diverse instrumentals, and nine lyrical songs that run the gamut from the merely interesting to the delightfully different. As the title suggests, "Cuca's Blues" is a smoky number that hauntingly conveys a single-mother's woes. "Ironsides" is a spoken-word story humorously pitting an eager father against a son who is embarrassed to ride in the cab of a beat-up pick-up truck to go see a drive-in movie starring Ricardo Montalban. Machismo is given a funky once-over in "Latin Trip," and Wendy and Lisa, formerly of Prince's Revolution, are guests on one of the album's funkiest numbers, "Lemon and Ice." The subject of who is kissing whom fuels a squabble in the album closer, "Paula Y Fred."
Los Lobos' lyrics have often contained pro-God and pro-family sentiments. There are fewer such moments here, and there are no obvious examples of adopted Christian imagery, like "Ten Believers," from the last Latin Playboys album. The stories contained within each song, however, are tales worth relating; exploring human dignity, the absurdity of racism, and the joys of love. Not that the content is particularly relevant--it's not the focus. Often, the poetic and prosaic lyrics take a back seat to the overall feeling of each piece, and they're often muffled and/or layered beneath the percussion and guitar strains. As is occasionally the case with Los Lobos and the Latin Playboys, some songs--like "Paletero," about a vendor of satisfying icy confections--are sung in part or in whole in Spanish.
The Latin Playboys' music is different enough that you may not enjoy it much on the first listen. It may even elude you on the second pass. But your patience will be rewarded with a full and multifarious listening experience, and this album is as good a place as any you'll find to start expanding your palette.
Steven Stuart Baldwin 4/26/99
David Hidalgo and Louie Pérez of Los Lobos have collaborated regularly with Mitchell Froom and Tchad Blake over the years, and this album offers powerful proof why. The chemistry between the foursome otherwise known as the Latin Playboys is evident whether it's Froom banging out a few chords in between Hidalgo's muted vocals or Blake and Pérez teaming up to create the CD booklet's artwork. Dose builds on the blueprints set forth in the Latin Playboys' 1994 self-titled debut;-but rather than hint at urban living on the Eastside of L.A., we are invited down for a visit to La Vera Street where the home cooking is authentic Mexican and a mix of English and Spanish can be heard.
James F. Laverty (5/24/99)