Remembering Kiko

Los Lobos Live on DVD

Aug. 21, 2012

1:41 p.m.

We knew what to expect from the rootsy, Mexican-accented Los Lobosuntil 1992, when they released Kiko. One of the most remarkable albums of the '90s, Kiko is honored with several new releases, including the DVD Kiko Live and a 20th Anniversary Edition of the CD (with bonus tracks) on Shout! Factory. As band members remark in the interviews for the DVD, while Kiko became a favorite among fans, most of the songs were never performed after its release. The material was rhythmically and structurally experimental and, as Cesar Rosas says, “Yes, ladies and gentlemen, we had to rehearse.”To prepare for the 2006 concert that fills most of Kiko Live, Los Lobos rehearsed in Rosas' family room. The resulting performance was mostly on target; of course, the dreamy atmosphere couldn't entirely be recreated on stage at San Diego's House of Blues, but the band was in good form on this set of superb songs. The interviews included on the DVD touch on the band's East Los Angeles origins in the early '70s. They had met at Garrison High School and were inspired by the Chicano Renaissance to explore the roots of Mexican culture and the songs their parents and grandparents had brought to the U.S. But at their happy hour gigs at Mexican restaurants, Los Lobos began obliging requests for the Stones and Hendrix. Before long they were a rock band with a Tex-Mex accent. Next: they opened for the Blasters at the Whiskey a Go Go and lured away that band's saxophonist, Steve Berlin. Producer Mitchell Froom and engineer Tchad Blake describe the recording of Kiko as a deliberate rebuke to the dry sterility of '80s rock albums. Kiko was a magic garden where every seed was encouraged to grow. The songs were written as they were recorded and often, the first take was the keeper. Kiko's sound was often close to records from the '40s and '50s, with liberal use of reverb to shadow the notes and a willingness to do whatever it takes, including stringing a microphone over the bathroom drain for echo. Los Lobos are on tour this fall (Chicago, Oct. 11) and remain a viable band after 40 years. Their success rises from genuine community; they grew up in the same neighborhood, their parents knew each other and their children are like cousins. This kind of soulfulness can't be downloaded. It can only be lived face to face.