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Jettisoning the studio bells-and-whistles used by the Mitchell Froom/Tchad Blake production team throughout the '90s, Los Lobos change gears by hooking up with Radiohead/XTC producer John Leckie on GOOD MORNING AZTLAN, the band's 10th full-length album. Named for the mythical birthplace of the Aztecs, this 12-pack of songs draws deeply from Los Lobos' unique mix of rock, R&B, blues, and Mexican folk music. With David Hidalgo and Cesar Rosas cranking up their guitars, songs like the title cut and the rumbling shuffle "Done Gone Blue" juice up the proceedings alongside mellower fare like the Curtis Mayfield-flavoured soul of "The Word" and the delicate Latin flavours of "Malaque". Ever aware of their roots in East L.A., these first-generation Mexican Americans have always made a point of writing about those who've come to this country to achieve the American dream. "Tony & Maria" finds the band revisiting characters first written about on 1985'S HOW WILL THE WOLF SURVIVE, only to find these immigrants facing a life of fading hope. Other high points find saxman Steve Berlin blasting through the gritty funk-rock "Get To This", Quetzal singer Martha Gonzalez's harmonies gilding the soulful "Hearts Of Stone", and all of Los Lobos sizzling on the cumbia "Maria Christina".
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