First posted on Mark Is Cranky:
OK, I don't know the legal particulars, but this record is another example of the music industry gone wrong. The issue? Hounddog is out of print.
It's just wrong.
A few years ago, Los Lobos guitarist and all around musical polyglot David Hidalgo got together with vocalist Mike Halby (Canned Heat, John Mayall's Bluesbreakers) to create this fantastic chunk 'o blues.
Hidalgo, as usual (and as can be heard not only on Los Lobos records but also on the very cool Latin Playboy's releases) plays every stringed and non-stringed instrument available. The results sound like a cross between Delta and Chicago blues with a smattering of a pile of other influences. Halby sounds like Tom Waits' weird cousin (if you can get your head wrapped around that!) All of the tunes were co-written by Hidalgo and Halby with the exception of a sweet, sweet cover of Junior Parker's "I'll Change My Style".
I just received a copy of this record last night in the mail. A good friend of mine had been trying to hunt down a used copy for a few months now. I'll listen to anything with Hidalgo on it. Many years ago, Los Lobos received piles of critical praise for their How Will The Wolf Survive? I liked that record but was really won over when I saw them perform at a blues festival at Great Woods amphitheatre, back before every freaking venue had been renamed after a financial institution, product company or erectile disfunction drug. It was clear at that show that not only was David Hidalgo the backbone of Los Lobos, he had the desire to make some hideous noise with that danged guitar.
Dig yourself up a copy of Hounddog. It's perfect for sittin' around the back porch this time of year, sippin' on a lemonade, or something stronger if you'd like.
Article comments
1 - AK
I just read that the lead singer/guitarist for Canned Heat, Robert Lucas, has died at 46 of an apparent overdose. When did Halby step away from Canned Heat? Glad that Wait's "weird cousin" (great call, there!) seems to be continuing to roll along... I got scared reading that article due to some of the depressive lyrics on Hounddog. Such a great piece of work, that album, as are the Latin Playboys'. Here's to Hidalgo's side projects!