Rating:
Genre:
Rock
Release Date: 10/25/1990
Run Time: 33:11
Los Lobos spent years playing parties, wedding receptions, restaurants, bars, and anyplace else where someone might pay them for a gig before landing a deal with
Slash Records, and their first full-length album for the label,
How Will the Wolf Survive?, is the work of a band that had learned how to play something for everyone while still maintaining their own musical personality in the process.
How Will the Wolf Survive? swings back and forth from straight-ahead
rock (
"Don't Worry Baby") and potent
R&B grooves (
"I Got Loaded") to
country-accented
blues ballads (
"A Matter of Time") and Mexican
traditional numbers (
"Serenata Nortena"), with the band's exemplary taste, musical smarts, and road-tested maturity in evidence on every cut. While rarely flashy, even a casual listen offers all the proof you might need that
Los Lobos were a band of world-class musicians, with
David Hidalgo's guitar work especially impressive throughout. Just as importantly,
How Will the Wolf Survive? was the first album where
Los Lobos showed how much they had to say as songwriters, especially on
"A Matter of Time" and the title cut, two songs that offered a moving and compassionate look at the lives of illegal aliens in America. On
...And a Time to Dance,
Los Lobos showed the world that they were a great dance band, but
How Will the Wolf Survive? showed they were a great dance band, and a lot more besides.
~Mark Deming, All Music Guide
;)
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