Heaven Isn't Too Far Away...
Written: Jul 06 '04
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Product Rating:
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Pros: great harmonies, excellent instrumentation, especially Henry on guitar
Cons: too many ballads
The Bottom Line: Los Lonely Boys is a solid album that is well worth giving a shot to.
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| MattA75's Full Review: Los Lonely Boys - Los Lonely Boys |
There's a certain co-worker in my office who will occasionally dare ask me about what I think of certain bands/artists she's heard on the radio. To her credit, she's pretty up to date, given that other people in my office prefer the frickin Moody Blues and Rick Springfield. So a few weeks back she asked me what I thought of Los Lonely Boys.
"I haven't," was my reply.
"Oh Matt, they sing that Heaven song. You've had to of heard it."
The truth is I had heard it, but I didn't know it. Curse radio to death for never mentioning the artists behind the good songs. But the new Britney Spears song that is OBVIOUSLY Britney Spears? You bet your a*s that gets ID'd every time.
Besides, when I hear the song title of Heaven, only one thing comes to mind: a big stage, five guys in horrible white suits, and what I like to call "The Warrant Shuffle." You know, the big cheesy power ballad from the 80s with the cheesier video? "Heaven isn't too far away." Dear God, what was wrong with me? Back when I was 10 I thought Warrant was cool. Why God, WHY?
So where the hell was I? Oh yeah, Los Lonely Boys. Jump forward a few weeks and I've figured out what song they sing and I love it. It's poppy but it has a great blues tinge to it, and anything with a blues tinge to it is most likely up my alley...the whole love of Led Zeppelin thing, etc. So I bought the album for a ridiculously low sale price, figuring "what the f*ck? I've bought a lot of crap, this can't be worse."
The group's self titled major label debut is not only good, but it's a solid contender for album of the year. Only an over-abundance of ballads that creep along at too slow a pace keep the disc from being a sure shot five star record. The disc is a mix of Texas blues, Stevie Ray Vaughn and Jimi Hendrix showmanship, and the brothers' Latin music roots.
The disc begins with one of the more straightforward songs on the record. Senorita is a simple, chordal rock number that features some blistering licks from guitarist/vocalist Henry Garza. He's joined by his two brothers, JoJo on bass, and Ringo on drums. Many times, JoJo and Ringo are just as important in making the songs what they are; Henry's guitar playing is solid but at times it feels like it's going to go right off the tracks. It is during these points that the rhythm section keeps the music on the tracks.
Heaven follows, and since we've already covered that, I'll move on. Crazy Dream is the kind of song you might expect to hear in a smokey, whiskey drenched bar at 11:30 on a Saturday night, though there is a bit of a poppish underbelly to the song, which accounts for it's immediate likability.
The album's one faltering point comes in the middle of the disc, where the ballads come at you one after another, in almost a never ending string that makes you wonder why the album is so front and back loaded. A song like More Than Love is overly sappy and much too simple musically to deserve your attention for more than a couple of listens, no matter how good the vocal harmonies are. Even the guitar solo sounds half as*ed here. The following song, Nobody Else, has some better guitar work, but it slugs along at a pace that suffers from 311 syndrome: you keep waiting for it to get either faster or poppier, but it does neither.
Thankfully, the last 1/4 of the album makes up for this, beginning with the haunting guitar work of Henry on Onda, a near nine minute instrumental that will leave you gasping for breath. This is an exhilarating song. The group follows that up with the obviously Carlos Santana inspired Real Emotion, which sounds like a juiced up Smooth.
On Tell Me Why, the group moves back into the smoke drenched bar, though this time they make sure the song stomps right along. It isn't a loud stomp, but a stomp it surely is. Velvet Sky is similar to Heaven in structure and general sound, but the band manages to find a few tricks up their collective sleeves to make it more than worthwhile.
The album closes with La Contestacion, a fully Spanish piano ballad with guest acoustic guitar work from Willie Nelson. The song also features a perfectly placed solo from Henry. It is most certainly different from anything else on the album, and I think that's where its appeal lies.
Los Lonely Boys isn't quite a perfect album, but it is extremely solid. In the end, the disc is mostly about the songs and the great guitar playing of Henry Garza, but not to be left out are the contributions, both instrumentally and vocally as part of the harmonies, of his brothers JoJo and Ringo. If you think this group is merely a one hit wonder, think again. This album is fully worth your money and your listening attention.
4 stars.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
MattA75
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Member: Matt Aucoin
Location: Plainville, MA
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