Mexican Moon

Last updated
Mexican Moon
Concrete Blonde Mexican Moon 1993 album cover.jpg
Studio album by
ReleasedOctober 19, 1993
Genre Alternative rock, gothic rock
Length62:28
Label IRS Records (later reissued by Capitol Records)
Producer Concrete Blonde with Sean Freehill
Concrete Blonde chronology
Walking in London
(1992)
Mexican Moon
(1993)
Still in Hollywood
(1994)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [1]
Chicago Tribune Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [2]
Los Angeles Times Star full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [3]

Mexican Moon is the fifth studio album by alternative rock band Concrete Blonde. [4] [5]

Contents

Mexican Moon takes the gothic rock of the previous albums and adds more of a hard rock edge to it. Johnette Napolitano provided the vocals, bass guitar, samples, and the album artwork. Paul Thompson played drums and James Mankey played guitar.

"Jenny I Read" details the rise to stardom and subsequent fall into happy obscurity of a fashion model (rumoured to be Bettie Page), while "Mexican Moon" finds Napolitano singing about a failed romance and fleeing into Mexico. The song "Jonestown" is a critique of the theology surrounding the Jonestown Massacre and opens with a minute-long sample of Jim Jones ranting about warfare. "End of the Line" is a Roxy Music song, written by Bryan Ferry and released on Siren .

On the closing track, "Bajo la Lune Mexicana," Napolitano (who does not speak Spanish) wrote the Spanish lyrics, which are a literal translation of the lyrics to the album's title track. However, none of the verbs are conjugated, noun gender is ignored, and correct grammar is non-existent; it doesn't detract from the overall translation from Spanish to English.

Critical reception

People wrote that "even in its quieter moments, Mexican Moon seethes with emotion." [6] Trouser Press wrote: "Napolitano — who is still a mighty bad singer and doesn’t seem to know it — gives her headstrong, knicker-twisting all to the effort, and very nearly gets by on sheer gumption." [7]

Track listing

All songs written by Johnette Napolitano, except where noted.

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Jenny I Read" 5:20
2."Mexican Moon" 5:03
3."Heal It Up" 4:21
4."Jonestown" 6:09
5."Rain" James Mankey, Napolitano, Murphy3:28
6."I Call It Love"Mankey, Napolitano5:17
7."Jesus Forgive Me (For the Things I'm About To Say)" 5:17
8."When You Smile" Steve Wynn 4:21
9."Close To Home" 3:32
10."One of My Kind"Napolitano, Texacala Jones3:55
11."End of the Line" Bryan Ferry 4:41
12."(Love Is a) Blind Ambition" 6:15
13."Bajo la Lune Mexicana" 5:07

Personnel

Credits are adapted from the Mexican Moon CD album booklet. [8]

Concrete Blonde

Additional musicians

Production

Other

Charts

Chart (1993)Peak
position
Australia (ARIA) [9] 53
Canada Top Albums/CDs ( RPM ) [10] 36
US Billboard 200 [11] 67

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References

  1. Mexican Moon at AllMusic
  2. Webber, Brad. "Concrete BlondeMexican Moon (Capitol) (STAR)(STAR)(STAR)Religion is the..." chicagotribune.com.
  3. "CONCRETE BLONDE"Mexican Moon" Capitol* * 1/2The five-song..." Los Angeles Times. October 24, 1993.
  4. Buckley, Peter (June 15, 2003). The Rough Guide to Rock. Rough Guides. ISBN   9781843531050 via Google Books.
  5. Augusto, Troy J. (March 8, 1994). "Concrete Blonde".
  6. "Picks and Pans Review: Mexican Moon". PEOPLE.com.
  7. "Concrete Blonde".
  8. Mexican Moon (US CD album liner notes). Concrete Blonde. Capitol Records, I.R.S. Records. 1993. CDP 0777 7 81129 2 1.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  9. Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (pdf ed.). Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia: Moonlight Publishing.
  10. "Top RPM Albums: Issue 2304". RPM . Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved January 4, 2022.
  11. "Concrete Blonde Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved January 4, 2022.