Perception Over Time…A review of This Time

by freelance writer James Porteous

I must confess that I looked forward to this new Los Lobos release with some trepidation. Although I enjoyed many songs from Colossal Head -and the ones I liked seemed to really blossom after a few weeks on the road- on the whole much of the album sounded like it was written in the studio. Of course a lot of it was written in the studio from what I gather. There is nothing wrong with this approach, really, but I think there is a fine line between spending too little and too much time preparing for an album. Perhaps Colossal Head could have used a bit more time, a few more overdubs, a few less tweaks and a couple more songs that moved the band ahead musically.

My other concern was the new label. I am not familiar with Hollywood but my fear was that if they were prone to interfere, they might push for a more commercial-sounding effort.

As it turns out I need not have feared on either count. This Time is not only a wonderful collection of new songs, but a marvelous, cohesive, band-effort in every respect. From the first song to the last, it takes more twists and turns than a cross-country trip driving at 100 miles an hour. With you head hanging out the window for good measure.

From the pensive title song to the brash sounds of Oh Yeah, Viking and High Places to the absolutely beautiful Cumbia Raza and then back again. Here is an album that appears to be one thing the first time you listen to it, and something else altogether in each subsequent listen. It is like a great movie that seems to mean something different each time you watch it; has the movie changed, or have we, the viewer, changed? No matter, I suspect our perception of This Time will continue to change as we change.

And the sound of the album is as pure as anything the band has ever done. The guitars are unabashedly front and center, creating a ‘wall-of-sound’ that is as ‘thick’ as any album I’ve ever heard. And Mitchell, who I really respect as a producer, seems to have stepped back a bit with this effort, forsaking the Froom-tweaks for a straight-ahead sound (although thankfully it is not entirely without a few Froomisms. Note the odd background sound that plays throughout the title track. What the hell is that sound!)

Indeed my only compliant is that it all ends too soon. One more song would have rounded it off quite nicely. But since I usually end up listening to the title song twice, it all works out in the end!