the devil is kicking on

 eileenomurphy wrote:
No, but it is one of Richard Thompson's best tunes (he wrote the song).

I really love this band, but this is not one of their best tunes.

 Laptopdog wrote:


"Are we getting paid by the crash cymbal now?"

 Laptopdog wrote:


Crash and Ride!!!

 all_ears wrote:
Yeppers! and I agree, this is OK, but lacking the RT emotions. Tho the volume didn't return to the pre-Won't Get Fooled Again level, just previously....then off to Buddy Guy... 

Alex Baldwin could use this as a theme song.

 Laptopdog wrote:

 Yep -- definitely a bit much!

Sounds like someone's really enjoying their new cymbals.

 fatcatjb wrote:
 

Funny, in the first few notes, I knew it was Shoot Out the Lights, but I had never heard this version. I love LL, but I'll stick with the Thompsons for this song.

Newspeak: Los Lobxs

Richard and Linda Thompson rule!

 fatcatjb wrote:
 
And it's also your device you've turned on and chose to run RP on. 
Compared to the long stretches when I can listen to RP one song after another, I'm really WAY ok with skipping a song now and then. 

I'm a fan of Los Lobos, but I am NOT a fan of this.

With the opening notes I knew it was the weird long Los Lobos dirge...ah, now over

What an amazing cover of a great Richard Thompson song.  I might even like it better than the original!   David Hildago's searing guitar really elevates this.  Los Lobos is the best band in the land!

GET OUT OF MY HEAD.....I woke up singing this song this AM.

many thanks Bill!

 coding_to_music wrote:
 
Wait, you consider being "bludgeoned in the head" to be "non-interesting" and "boring"?

Reminds me of the drummer in my band. But I'm usually 3 feet from her cymbals.

Thanks RP, for showing us this really great band was more than their 'La Bamba'.

 DanO-1 wrote: 
Totally agree!!!!

Outstanding cover.

 TerryS wrote: 
They sound like Paiste's.  I hate the sound of Paistes.

 Johnny-smooth wrote: 
There's plenty of play for J. J. Cale - there are 33 of his song titles on the playlist.

 Love the song but I have to agree with you on the cymbals..TerryS wrote: 

Shoot out the cymbals.

The more I hear of Los Lobos the more I like them. This is a great cover. Ok...I need to stop typing so I can just relax and enjoy this damn cool version of this song. Yep.

 2Hawks wrote: 
agreed, this one was painful
time to switch over to my own tunes, about time for some JJ Cale, someone I wish Bill would play more often

No - But I'd love to hear their cover of Uncomplicated - another wild load crazy song.

 Valley_Boy wrote: 

Great screaming guitar and feedback does it for me.

Not a great song, but a great boring song. Had to press "stop" for a few minutes.

great cover of a fantastic song

Bumped to 9.  Come on - Los Lobos and Richard Thompson in the same realm?  Based on what I'm hearing, this could be the collaboration of the century. I love this song, whoever does it, but I really lean towards Los Lobos for passion and depth (and bass.)  Yep, love this song. It scares the hell out of me no matter who does it. 

Bill and his covers are usually "meh", but this is one cover that I put on the headphones to hear every damn detail.

Love me some Lobos - esp. the older stuff....

Best Band Ever? 

Works with snow too !

This is a good rainy day song.

Dark, disturbing, and quite fun.  I wonder what prompted the Lobos to pick this song as a cover, but I'm glad they did.  Now, I wonder if Richard Thompson is laughing in gleeful disgust or applauding in astonished admiration...

 tkosh wrote: 
Apparently.
Is that some sort of coded message?

Dig it. . .

Shoot out the crash!

Interesting songs on this EP... Anybody hear the rest of it?

1 -	Jockey Full Of Bourbon (Tom Waits)
2 -	More Than I Can Stand (Bobby Womack)
3 -	Uncomplicated (Elvis Costello)
4 -	Patria (Ruben Blades)
5 -	Shoot Out The Lights (Richard Thompson)
6 -	It'll Never Be Over For Me (Thee Midnighters)
7 -	Marie Marie (Dave Alvin)

 whitebuffalo wrote: 
Perhaps he should, but I think the royalties go to Richard Thompson.

they are so much better than this.

 RobK wrote: 
And if you ever get the chance to catch them live, DO IT!  Their live shows make their studio work seem dull and lifeless by contrast!

Does Link Wray (Rumble) get royalties for this?

 AdyMiles wrote: 
So is Wolverhampton! 

Pretty cool guitar solo at the end of this.  Great version of an amazing song.

After hearing "X's" version—-i can't help but sing Exene's part. I like their version the best, I think.

Great band, but I think I like Richard Thompson's version better.

Thanks so much!!

 docego wrote: 

What in the devil was that?  At this time of day...  I'm at my computer, late at night, writing a weekly newspaper column, listening to RP to stay in the groove, and had to shut it down before my head exploded.  Completely lost my train of thought.  And it's all about me, right?

This is boring, predictable, thud thud thud, ting ting, strum strum middle-of-the-road music

For those of you who would like to hear more of this great band, click on the link to their website. select media player and enjoy...it's all free. also look for the fan forum. folks there will be happy to provide you with recordings of some of their concerts. you supply the blank cds and they'll take care of you.

https://www.loslobos.org/site/
 

 megisi wrote: 

I love these guys too, and i agree they should have left this one alone...I do wish that Louie was playing the drums on this one....

nice reprieve after the last load of crap!

such a cool song...
real cool sound...

 RobK wrote: 
So have I. Los Lobos is one of the great talents I was clueless about but have grown to appreciate thanks to the good work of Bill and Rebecca.

gets me in the moodlove to shout this track while I'm driving

MrGreg wrote:
Yeah, but it kind of fits the topic though...

Heard a bootleg recording of Richard and Linda Thompson doing this in Chicago many many years ago as they were going thru their breakup but still fullfilling concert obligations......the whole set fu*king BURNED RED HOT!!.....you could feel/hear the pain and anger and frustration.

I too would like to hear the RT version of this on RP, but the studio version can't come close to matching the live bootleg from back then.

 MrGreg wrote: 
...

This guy apparently never met a crash cymbal he didn't like.

 Alpine wrote: 

I'm not going to jump on you because we've all been guilty of this at least once - having a great artist or band completely fly under our radar.  You've surely been missing out though.  From their first big LP (How Will the Wolf Survive?) recorded 25 years ago, through the 90s and continuing today, Los Lobos have put out a steady stream of excellent music.  They're easily some of the best musicians in America and their songwriting is equally as strong.  Try that first record, or  By the Light of the Moon, or Kiko, or The Neighborhood...to get an idea of what they've done aside from that one soundtrack hit. 

And if you're feeling more adventurous, try La Pistola Y El Corazon to hear how magical they sound when playing traditional Mexican songs.  Then there's their stuff from the last decade or so which has a different sound altogether.  Then there's the side projects (Los Super Seven, Latin Playboys...) which are perhaps even better than the rest of it. 

Suffice it to say you've got your work cut out for you if you want to absorb the immense and diverse catalog of sounds that these East LA legends have compiled over a quarter-century and counting.  It will be worth the effort.  Happy listening to you.

back-to-back dumb comments (see below)

 fatcatjb wrote: 
I hadn't thought about it in those terms before but it kinda' "feels" right.

Maybe the solution to so many fat folks hanging around is to charge them an extra $100 for every 1 point on their BMI they are over the norm.  That way the rest of us could fly in comfort instead of being.........

listening to this song is like sitting next to someone in an airplane who is WAY to big for their seat

...and the flight goes on and on

Alpine wrote: Check out their Live at the Fillmore DVD. Unbelievably good.

Alpine wrote: They can play some serious bluesy stuff!

Impressed how they capture the seismic, visceral anger of Thompson's original.

7 8

Saw them two weeks ago in Northampton, MA. Great, LOUD concert. Sad that most people only know them by "La Bamba", they are so much more.

Jeez guys, lay off the drums/cymbals. They're drowning out the rest of the music.

I watched Eric Claptons Crossroads Chicago concert on PBS last weekend. I was blown away by all the talent. Los Lobos especially. I thought they only did La Bamba crap tunes. I have a new appreciation for these guys.

I'd like to hear the Richard Thompson version once in a while!

bpkengor wrote: Ditto in Grand Rapids. The covers (Neil Young, the Dead, Fats Domino) were awesome. Pissed off the people who came to hear "La Bamba," however. One of the greatest live bands, IMHO.

This tune has been growing on me. Who knew back in the 80's that Los Lobos would have such a long and creative career!?

A lot of banging cymbals going on here!

Two of my favorites combined. The tribute CD of Thompson's songs that came out a few years ago has some other great versions of his stuff, by a whole bunch of interesting musicians. A couple are even better than the originals, IMHO...

This one rocks!

Pretty good cover. They give it a bit more thump than RT would ever go for, which is nice. The guitar playing doesn't crack and sparkle as in the original, but it's a fair tradeoff to hear this song with a bottom end worthy of Crazy Horse. Solid work.

bpkengor wrote: I've never heard their version, but I'll bet it's great. Los Lobos seems to fade in and out of popularity every coupla years or so, but they've been around a long time.

I'll take any cover that Los Lobos chooses to do. They knocked me over with Cinnamon Girl in San Francisco

ThirdRail_33 wrote: I'll take the cover. I find RT annoying (no offense).

richard thompson, i thought for a moment it was/is him ... th man was brilliant cool someone covered this

I thought this was a cover of "Iron Man" at first.

I agree with Keller1 below...this sounds like a death march Love Los Lobos, don't get this ponderous song Time to give RP a rest and hook up the ipod Toooo many weird songs in a row...yes, yes, it's MY problem, but it's also MY Saturday morning ....

Hard to believe that this is from the same group as Kiko and the Lavender Moon.

The Lobos version of this song live is crushing!

Lots of comments about RT\'s original. I\'m unfamiliar with it, so I can\'t compare, but this version sounds honest and passionate to me, and I love the guitar solos. Very solid.

Misterfixit wrote: Or does it need a leather bong struck with a 36" chinese mallet? You know, struck the way a matress balances on a bottle of wine...

It pains me to criticize this --- Los Lobos is my favorite band --- but this is pretty dirgey. For me, The Wreck of the Carlos Rey from The Ride is the best meeting of LL/RT.

matchball wrote: Needs a 36 inch Chinese Gong struck with a leather mallet. Otherwise pretty striking piece -- OMG! the pun of it all!

mgoldman wrote: Yes, there is an emotional EDGE to the original that this lacks. Nothing wrong with this cover OR LL (I like LL a lot!), but it pales to the stinging original, sung by a HURTING Richard Thompson. I'll have to check out "Beat the Retreat".

Everyone who likes this song seems to be apologizing. I just think it's pretty cool.

Anyone Audioslave?

The sum of the parts is about the same as the sum of its whole.

Give it back. You're killing it.

Surprised to see this is from Los Lobos. I do like it though.

southend wrote: Definitely has enough crash though.

ladybinnath wrote: He doesn't, and I probably won't, and that's a good thing. Ooops . . . that was way off topic. Returning to relevance: Interesting track, but Los Lobos has done much better stuff that than this.

Odd one from a versatile band. I like it.

Gets my foot tappin'

ladybinnath wrote: Can't polish a turd, I am afraid. Oddly enough I like this song, so I'm not referring to anything specifically. It's just a saying.

ladybinnath wrote: A poorly written tune would sound just like a poorly written tune even in the hands of a virtuoso. They may be able to make it sound somewhat better, but once a crappy tune, always a crappy tune. The interpretation of the musician is what always brings life or new meaning to a tune. Los Lobos could cover the phone book and sound okay, but it would still be a phonebook, even if Richard Thompson had worked for British Telecom and wrote it. I happen to hold LL and RT in high esteem.

ladybinnath wrote: YA! ...what he said!

fishercat wrote: I always thought he was a genuis. A dyslexic genuis.

I was wondering if other artists could make a Richard Thompson song seem less unbearable. Great news! This is slightly less unbearable!

Play it loud!!! My coworker is still blowing his nose!

Barman wrote: Same here. It is a great song though, so that's an advantage to anyone that performs it.

southend wrote: OK.It's not as good as the original,but how many covers are?It's still a fine version of a great song.

Uncharacteristically crunchy! I like.

fatcatjb wrote: How strange. I don't like Los Lobos, but this is damn captivating.

As a fan of both Los Lobos and Richard Thompson, I'm really dissapointed with this cover. Stick with Richard's original. Our better yet, check out the stellar collaboration on "The Wreck of the Carlos Rey". Truly bitchin'.

That pretty well sums it up me thinks. fatcatjb wrote:

mojoman wrote: Yes - what does the quality of the song necessarily have to do with the technical ability of the musician? Springsteen has never been about chops but rather about songwriting and the ability to connect emotionally with his audience. If he doesn't reach you on an instinctive level, you'll probably never get him.