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Rating: «Hey guys, thank goodness they went out to smoke a joint, I thought they'd never leave; let's take advantage of it, now or never. Pull out the bajo sexto and accordion and let's record the last two».
That's exactly how it went, with «Serenata Nortena» and «Corrida #1».
So blessed be the wayward joint, otherwise those two tracks would never have left the drawer and «How Will The Wolf Survive?» would not have been the same.
It surely would have been a bit less fun, because the only reason I find it impossible to dance to the rhythm of «Serenata Nortena» and «Corrida #1» is that the atmosphere, more than the 100 Club, resembles that of a dance hall and I, in any case, am gasping with laughter.
Which certainly doesn't prevent me from acknowledging how talented the Little Wolves are, because the time change in the chorus of «Serenata Nortena», to the point of transforming a frenzied shuffle into a waltz, is one of many reasons to never forget the Eighties and to observe, with bitterness, that bands like this will no longer arise.
But the best has already come, so, in order, I'll start from the beginning.
And the beginning is «Don't Worry Baby», a furious R&B that is nice to think of as a tribute to the great Howlin' Wolf; but also because, since we're in Slash's neighborhood and the neighbors are named the Blasters, it exudes electricity from every pore, and then that ever-reverberating guitar in the background is another reason why the Eighties blah blah blah ...
Perhaps «Serenata Nortena» and «Corrida #1» give the illusion that it's still time to dance, but Los Lobos have changed the course and started writing great songs; because what truly distinguishes «How Will The Wolf Survive?» from «... And A Time To Dance» is the presence of genuine gems; the first, of course, is «Don't Worry Baby».
The others are the rock'n'roll «I Got Loaded» and «Evangeline», which make the Alvin brothers exclaim in unison, also present at the sessions together with John Doe and Billy Zoom: «These guys really get us all revved up», just like Steve Berlin the previous year, in that famous and smoky Los Angeles venue from which the whole imaginative tale began.
And here, passing into history (they don't, but they should), are the handclaps marking the rhythm in «I Got Loaded»; and, to speak of «Evangeline», well, «Evangeline» should pass into history as such, if only for being the most beautiful song by Los Lobos and, in short, one of the most exciting rock'n'rolls of modern times, with Steve Berlin who may be Roman from Rome, but he's inherited his sense of rhythm from Jerry Lee Lewis and Little Richard - or maybe Jovanotti, certainly not from Ludwig Van.
Having mentioned the sumptuous «Don't Worry Baby», «I Got Loaded», and «Evangeline», the rest of the program lines up the mournful Tex-Mex of «A Matter Of Time», because even the poor Christ who day after day puts his life on the line to cross the border that excludes him from the American dream has a life and a story worthy of existence, and «The Breakdown»; the mid-tempo rock’n’roll of «Our Last Night» and the one pushed to the limit of «I Got To Let You Know»; and then the acoustic fragment «Lil’ King Of Everything», which once again confirms, if there was ever a need to, how passionate, radical, and technically skilled these wolves from the Barrio are.
In a word, blessed with grace, which a benign rock goddess has generously dispensed in the California lands.
Because grace can reveal itself in a thousand different ways, maybe in «Sex And Dying In The High Society», or «Just Another Sunday», or again in the two crisp drum beats and the riff of «Will The Wolf Survive».
And then you understand that what seemed at first to be a question - whether the wolf would manage to survive - is actually a certainty. The wolf will survive ...
However, such a close is too pompous, so I will reveal one last anecdote; it was precisely the fright of being played like a fiddle that pushed the Alvin brothers onto the path of "adult" rock with «Hard Line», just before breaking ranks.
Even though, later on, neither of them has yet understood why, at times, they find themselves uttering colorful expressions worthy of a sonnet by Gioacchino Belli.
Yes, that's exactly how it happened.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
01 Don't Worry Baby (02:49)
Standin' there by the window
Starin' out at the night
You've got so many troubles
On your nervous mind
But don't worry baby
It's gonna work out fine
You hear the sound of footsteps
Stealing 'cross the floor
You picked up the receiver
You didn't know what for
Then you saw the shadow
Steppin' through the door
Well don't worry baby
What the world may bring
Well don't worry baby
It won't change a thing
Life is a fly
And then you die
Standin' near by the window
Starin' out at the night
You see your lover leanin'
Against the old street light
But don't worry baby
It's gonna be alright
He was tossin' and turnin'
And he couldn't sleep
It ain't sure to bother
And it was just a dream
So where was he goin'
Headin' down the street
Well don't worry baby
What the world may bring
Well don't worry baby
It won't change a thing
Life is a fly
And then you die
03 Corrido #1 (02:42)
It's been a long and loney lonely year
Since the last time I saw you my dear
Don't you remember when I was in my surrender
I said I'd always love you endlessly
Hey little sweetheart, so how you doing now?
I thought without me you probably would drown
I guess I was wrong and for that it is so long
Take care my darling, I hope to see you around
Parting with you I'll never ever get
Our love can be here and instantly regret
You showed me love and gave me understanding
Baby with out you it's going to leave me shredded
It's been a long and loney lonely year
Since the last time I saw you my dear
Don't you remember when I was in my surrender
I said I'd always love you endlessly
I said I'd always love you endlessly
I said I'd always love you endlessly
06 I Got Loaded (03:24)
Last night I got Loaded
On a bottle of gin, on a bottle of gin
Last night I got loaded
On a Bottle of gin, on a bottle of gin
But I feel alright, I feel alright
I feel alright, I feel alright
Night before last I got loaded
On a bottle of whiskey, on a bottle of whiskey
Night before last I got loaded
On a bottle of whiskey, on a bottle of whiskey
But I feel alright, I feel alright
I feel alright, I feel alright
Tonight I might get loaded
On a bottle of wine, on a bottle of wine
Tonight I might get loaded
On a bottle of wine, on a bottle of wine
But I feel alright, I feel alright
I feel alright, I feel alright
08 Evangeline (02:43)
Evangeline is on the roam
Just barely seventeen
When she left home
Don't know where she is
Or where she's going
She is the queen of make believe, Evangeline
I can still remember this little girl
Black eyes just staring
At this big old world
Ran off to find some American dream
Train ticket in one hand
In her new blue jeans
Evangeline is on the roam
Just barely seventeen
When she left home
Don't know where she is
Or where she's going
She is the queen of make believe, Evangeline
She went out dancin' on a Saturday night
Silk stockings and high heels
Blue liner on her eyes
But on Sunday morning she's all alone
Head lying on the nightstand
By the telephone
Evangeline is on the roam
Just barely seventeen
When she left home
Don't know where she is
Or where she's going
She is the queen of make believe, Evangeline
She is the queen of make believe, Evangeline
11 Will the Wolf Survive? (03:42)
Through the chill of winter
Running across the frozen lake
Hunters are out on his trail
All odds are against him
With a family to provide for
The one thing he must keep alive
Will the wolf survive?
Drifting by the roadside
Climbs each storm and aging face
Wants to make some morning's fate
Losing to the range war
He's got two strong legs to guide him
Two strong arms keep him alive
Will the wolf survive?
Standing in the pouring rain
All alone in a world that's changed
Running scared, now forced to hide
In a land where he once stood with pride
But he'll find his way by the morning light
Sounds across the nation
Coming from your hearts and minds
Battered drums and old guitars
Singing songs of passion
It's the truth that they all look for
The one thing they must keep alive
Will the wolf survive?
Will the wolf survive?
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Other reviews
By Pinhead
"How Will The Wolf Survive?" is far from one of the fundamental albums of the decade, but it is definitely one of the most fun.
In here is an explosive mix of folklore and rock-a-billy like never heard before that works like a charm.
