How Will the Wolf Survive? | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | October 1984 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 33:11 | |||
Label | Slash/Warner Bros. | |||
Producer | T-Bone Burnett, Steve Berlin | |||
Los Lobos chronology | ||||
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How Will the Wolf Survive? is the first major label album of Los Lobos, released in 1984.
In 1989, How Will the Wolf Survive? was ranked at number 30 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 100 greatest albums of the 1980s. It was ranked at number 461 on the magazine's 2003 list of the 500 greatest albums of all time, [1] and also placed on updates of the list in 2012 (at number 455) [2] and 2020 (at number 431). [3]
Though they had performed together around Los Angeles for over a decade, Los Lobos had previously released only one full length album, the self-produced Los Lobos del Este de Los Angeles , in 1977. In 1983, they released an extended play entitled ...And a Time to Dance , which was well received by critics but only sold about 50,000 copies. [4] However, the sales of the EP earned the band enough money to purchase a Dodge van, enabling them to tour throughout the United States for the first time. [4] Los Lobos began composing How Will the Wolf Survive? at the home of drummer Louie Pérez's brother-in-law, a time in which several songs, including "A Matter of Time", were written. Pérez explained, "We'd sit down with a guitar, a tape recorder and a jar of Taster's Choice, and we were coffee achievers all afternoon." [4]
The album's title and the song "Will the Wolf Survive?" were inspired by a National Geographic article entitled "Where Can the Wolf Survive", which the band members related to their own struggle to gain success in the United States while maintaining their Mexican roots. [4] Pérez recalled, "It was like our group, our story: What is this beast, this animal that the record companies can't figure out? Will we be given the opportunity to make it or not?" [4]
On How Will the Wolf Survive?, Los Lobos experimented with various genres, including styles reflective of the group's traditional Mexican roots. [5] "I Got Loaded" features influences of R&B, while "A Matter of Time" blends country and blues sensibilities. [5]
Both "A Matter of Time" and "Will the Wolf Survive?" discuss the lives of immigrants in the United States. [5] "A Matter of Time" is about a Mexican crossing the border in search of a better life. [4]
In the United States, How Will the Wolf Survive? spent 34 weeks on the Billboard 200 albums chart, reaching its peak position of number 47 in early March 1985. [6]
Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [5] |
The Boston Phoenix | [7] |
CD Review | [8] |
Daily News | [9] |
Orlando Sentinel | [10] |
Rolling Stone | [11] |
The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [12] |
Spin Alternative Record Guide | 9/10 [13] |
Tallahassee Democrat | [14] |
The Village Voice | A [15] |
Critical reaction to the album was favorable. Robert Christgau of The Village Voice praised the group's originality: "Their debut LP makes it sound as if they invented the style. Who did the original of that one, you wonder, only to discover that you're listening to the original." [15] Mark Deming's retrospective review for AllMusic gushed, "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." [5]
Los Lobos is an Mexican-American rock band from East Los Angeles, California. Their music is influenced by rock and roll, Tex-Mex, country, zydeco, folk, R&B, blues, brown-eyed soul, and traditional music such as cumbia, boleros and norteños. The band rose to international stardom in 1987, when their version of Ritchie Valens' "La Bamba" peaked at the top of the Billboard Hot 100, and also topped the charts in the United Kingdom, and several other countries. Songs by Los Lobos have been recorded by Elvis Costello, Waylon Jennings, Frankie Yankovic, and Robert Plant. In 2015, they were nominated for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In 2018, they were inducted into the Austin City Limits Hall of Fame. They are also known for performing the theme song for Handy Manny.
David Kent Hidalgo is an American singer-songwriter, best known for his work with the band Los Lobos. Hidalgo frequently plays musical instruments such as accordion, violin, 6-string banjo, cello, requinto jarocho, percussion, drums and guitar as a session musician on other artists' releases.
Los Super Seven is an American supergroup which debuted in 1998. According to Allmusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine, "Los Super Seven isn't a band, per se – it's a collective, organized by manager Dan Goodman, who comes up with a concept for each of the group's albums and assembles a band to fit." The collective has released three albums to date, with wildly varying personnel. Only Ruben Ramos and Rick Trevino are featured on all three releases.
The Ride is a studio album by Los Lobos. It was released on May 4, 2004, by Hollywood / Mammoth Records. It features numerous guest musicians, including Bobby Womack, Tom Waits, Rubén Blades, Dave Alvin, Richard Thompson, Elvis Costello, Mavis Staples, and Garth Hudson. The album contains new material and also new versions of earlier Los Lobos songs.
By the Light of the Moon is the third album by the Mexican American rock group Los Lobos, released in 1987.
Kiko is the sixth album by the Mexican American rock group Los Lobos. With the exception of La Bamba's 2 million units sold, Kiko sold more units than any other album in their 46 year career of original songs. Roughly 450,000 units were sold worldwide.
La Pistola y El Corazón is the fourth album by the Mexican American rock group Los Lobos, released in September 1988 on Slash/Warner Bros. Records. The mini-album is dedicated to Tejano/Mariachi folk music. It won a Grammy Award in 1989 for Best Mexican-American Performance.
The Neighborhood is the fifth album by the rock band Los Lobos. It was released in 1990 and includes contributions from, among others, Levon Helm and John Hiatt.
Good Morning Aztlán is a studio album by the American band Los Lobos, released in 2002. It was reissued in 2004.
The Town and the City is the twelfth studio album released by rock band Los Lobos in 2006, to generally positive critical reception. The title of the album is taken from the debut novel by Jack Kerouac. The album explores themes of longing, disillusionment, and loneliness in the Mexican-American immigration experience.
This Time is a studio album by Los Lobos, released in 1999 on Hollywood Records.
Colossal Head is the eighth studio album by the rock band Los Lobos. It was released in 1996 on Warner Bros. Records.
Wolf Tracks: The Best of Los Lobos is the third compilation album by the American rock band Los Lobos, released in 2006 by Rhino Records. It contains twenty tracks originally released between 1983 and 2002, except for the previously unissued album outtake "Border Town Girl".
Los Lobos del Este de Los Angeles is the debut album by the American band Los Lobos, at the time known as Los Lobos del Este de Los Angeles. It was self-released by the band in early 1978 and features mostly traditional Mexican folk music. The album was recorded live to 16-track and represented the band's live repertoire at the time, which included their original song, "Flor de Huevo", an instrumental written by guitarist David Hidalgo. It was reissued on CD in 2000 by Hollywood Records with one bonus track.
...And a Time to Dance is a 1983 EP by Los Lobos. It was co-produced by T-Bone Burnett and Steve Berlin and was the band's first release on Slash Records. The EP brought the band its first wide acclaim. It was voted best EP of the year in the Village Voice's influential Pazz & Jop critics poll. Critic Robert Christgau gave the record an "A−" in his Consumer Guide, calling it "good old rock and roll East L.A. style." Trouser Press raved about "a spicy romp back and forth across musical borders few can traverse with such ease," while Rolling Stone called it "an infectious dance record that deserves to be heard by rock fans."
Tin Can Trust is a 2010 album by the band Los Lobos, and is the band's first collection of new original material since 2006. It features rock 'n' roll, blues, two Spanish language tracks, and a Grateful Dead cover song. The album was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Americana Album.
Gates of Gold is the fifteenth studio album by the American rock band Los Lobos, released in September 2015. It was released worldwide through 429 Records and in Europe through Proper Records. It is the band's first full-length studio album since 2010's Tin Can Trust.
Papa's Dream is a children's album by Los Lobos with Lalo Guerrero, released in 1995 through Music for Little People/Warner Bros. It features, among others, the Children's Coro of Los Cenzontles Musical Arts Center of San Pablo, California.
Los Lobos Goes Disney is a covers album by the Mexican American rock group Los Lobos, on which the band interprets songs from the Disney catalogue, most of which were featured in their animated films. It was released on 27 October 2009 through Disney Sound.
Llegó Navidad is a 2019 Christmas album from American Chicano rock band Los Lobos. The album is a diverse collection of songs that has received commercial and critical success.