Search - Los Lobos :: Ride This: The Covers

Returning a Favor

B. Niedt | Cherry Hill, NJ United States | 08/09/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Promised as a follow-up to Los Lobos' last CD, "The Ride", this collection of songs returns the favor of the songwriter-artists who collaborated on that prior release. These guys have continued to satisfy over the years with straight-ahead rock n'roll as well as experimental departures, but this CD reminds us that they're also a killer cover band. and as a another reviewer noted, in a way it's a little more satisfying than "The Ride", in that there are no "guest stars" to distract from the music. All seven tracks of this EP are really fine, though my personal favorites are Bobby Womack's "More than I Can Stand" and Elvis Costello's "Uncomplicated". They do justice as well to "Jockey Full of Bourbon", one of my favorite Tom Waits songs, as well as a lovely version of Ruben Blades' "Patria". Though David Hidalgo's vocals on "Shoot Out the Lights" don't have the urgency of Richard Thompson's original, the guitar work is nearly on a par with Thompson's. The live version of Dave Alvin's "Marie, Marie" is competent, if a bit prefunctory. Overall, though, this is an excellent selection of songs, and a perfect companion to "The Ride"."

Excellent!

R. Squibbs | Joisey | 08/08/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"As a Los Lobos fan who loves their more experimental/atmospheric stuff like Colossal Head and This Time, this ep strikes me as more immediately satisfying than its accompanying full-length, The Ride. The Waits, Costello, Thompson covers all hew pretty close to the standard rock format yet incorporate -- very subtly -- the sonic textures and quirks the band learned from working with Froom and Blake for most of the '90s. While The Ride has grown on me since it came out, I still find the guests largely distracting, especially on the more straight-ahead r&b stuff, which for me is the least compelling aspect of Los Lobos' music. On Ride This, you get pure, undiluted Los Lobos, clearly enjoying themselves as they play some of their favorite tunes while adding their peculiar sonic personality to them. If "Rita" is your favorite track on The Ride (as it is mine), then you'll certainly love Ride This. And even if you're more swayed by Cesar's r&b material, he turns in two excellent performances here, which will certainly reel you in. And then there's Ruben Blades' "Patria," which truly is worth the price of the ep itself -- it's incredibly beautiful and strangley ambient (but not in an electronic way), while "Shoot Out the Lights" sounds truly massive. I can't wait to hear what the band does next, as they've clearly found the perfect production style here to capture their singular sound. So, basically, disregard the lousy review below and pick up this ep right away!"

ABSOLUTELY AMAZING, BUT TOO SHORT BY HALF!

o dubhthaigh | north rustico, pei, canada | 04/15/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"One of the wolves great strengths is their ability to cover a tune and make it their own. Their usurpation of Neil Young's "Cinnamon Girl," "Down by the River" and "Cowgirl in the Sand" remain the definitive renditions of each of these tracks. Unfortunately, none of them made it onto this EP. There's no reason for this to be an EP. LL has generated so much incredible heat, that even on the heals of THE RIDE CD, in which they relegated themselves (unwisely) to back-up band status, a full CD of cover tunes from their career, live or studio, would have been just amazing.

In any case, from the opening Waits number, through the live rendition of "Marie", the band is on fire. It reaches an emotional high point with Richard Thompson's "Shoot Out the Lights," again making this song their own, and nearly eclipsing the scorching versions RT has effected. Costello's "Uncomplicated" is so finely turned that I really had forgotten that the Liverpool troll had written it. Womack's "More Than I Can Stand" stands on a par with the very fine tracks that were the highlights of THE RIDE. This is a greater CD than THE RIDE. Less is more and that's a shame, as a little more would have been a whole lot of great music."