The Town and the City (album)

The Town and the City
Studio album by Los Lobos
Released	September 12, 2006
Studio	CRG Studio, Rowland Heights, California Sonora Recorders, Los Angeles, California Big Stink Studio, Hercules, California
Genre	Chicano rock, roots rock, Latin rock, Tex-Mex, heartland rock
Length	54:13
Label	Hollywood Records
Producer	Los Lobos
Los Lobos chronology
Wolf Tracks: The Best of Los Lobos (2006) The Town and the City (2006) Los Lobos Goes Disney (2009)

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	87/100 [1]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[2]
Blender	[3]
The Boston Phoenix	[4]
The Guardian	[5]
The Independent	[6]
Los Angeles Times	[7]
Mojo	[8]
PopMatters	9/10 [9]
Rolling Stone	[10]
Uncut	9/10 [11]

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 was taken from the debut novel by Jack Kerouac. The album explores themes of longing, disillusionment, and loneliness in the Mexican-American immigration experience.

Track listing

All tracks are written by David Hidalgo and Louie Pérez, except where noted.

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"The Valley"		4:33
2.	"Hold On"		4:30
3.	"The Road to Gila Bend"		4:41
4.	"Chuco's Cumbia"	Cesar Rosas	3:32
5.	"If You Were Only Here Tonight"		2:55
6.	"Luna"	Hidalgo, Pérez, Luis R. Tórres	3:26
7.	"Two Dogs and a Bone"		2:27
8.	"Little Things"		4:49
9.	"The City"		4:20
10.	"Don't Ask Why"		5:25
11.	"No Puedo Más"	Rosas	4:59
12.	"Free Up"	Hidalgo, Pérez, Eddie Gorodetsky	3:47
13.	"The Town"		4:49

Personnel

• David Hidalgo – vocals, guitar, accordion, fiddle, requinto jarocho
• Louie Pérez – vocals, guitar, drums, jarana
• Cesar Rosas – vocals, guitar, bajo xexto
• Conrad Lozano – vocals, bass, guitarron
• Steve Berlin – keyboards, horns

Additional musicians

• Cougar Estrada – drums, percussion

Production

• Los Lobos – producer
• Robert Carranza – engineer, mixing (3, 4, 11, 12)
• Mark Johnson – engineer
• Richard Barron – engineer
• David Hidalgo – engineer
• Jed Burtoft – assistant engineer
• Tchad Blake – mixing (except 3, 4, 11, 12)
• Stephen Marsh – mastering
• Stephanie Villa – mastering assistant
• Louie Perez – art direction
• Al Quattrocchi – art direction
• Jeff Smith – art direction
• David Snow – creative direction
• Tornado Design – design
• Jaime Hernandez – illustration
• James Minchin III – photography

Charts

Chart (2006)	Peak position
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders) [12]	93
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100) [13]	89
US Billboard 200 [14]	142

References

1. "The Town And The City by Los Lobos". Metacritic . Retrieved 5 October 2016.
2. Deming, Mark. The Town and the City at AllMusic. Retrieved 2011-07-06.
3. Their first protest record. [Oct 2006, p.137]
4. Drozdowski, Ted (November 13, 2006). "Los Lobos: The Town and the City". The Boston Phoenix . Retrieved April 28, 2025.
5. Denselow, Robin (18 August 2006). "Los Lobos, The Town and the City". The Guardian . Retrieved 28 April 2025.
6. Gill, Andy (11 August 2006). "Album: Los Lobos". The Independent . Retrieved 28 April 2025.
7. This is an album in the classic, pre-digital sense, in which the very sequence of songs suggests meaning and connection. [12 Sep 2006]
8. What Los Lobos's thirteenth long-player lacks in surprise it makes up for in groove and mood. [Oct 2006, p.103]
9. "Los Lobos: The Town and the City" . Retrieved 5 October 2016.
10. "The Town and The City". Rolling Stone . 29 September 2006. Retrieved 5 October 2016.
11. A tour de force of intertwined sound and imagery. [Oct 2006, p.117]
12. "Ultratop.be – Los Lobos – The Town and the City" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved July 10, 2024.
13. "Dutchcharts.nl – Los Lobos – The Town and the City" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved July 10, 2024.
14. "Los Lobos Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved July 10, 2024.

External links

• Metacritic page