How Will The Wolf Survive? (studio album) by Los Lobos

Not truly a debut-- there was an EP, "And A Time to Dance," which was quite good.

But this was the transition from scrabbling band to going operation, and it was both something we hadn't heard before, and really really good. They played here on a rainy winter night; the roof leaked, and every time the door opened to let folks in, great banks of fog rolled in to compete with the great masses of cigarette smoke; Cesar Rosas made quite the sight prowling the front of the stage, disappearing into smoke or fog, then reappearing as some drift of breeze carried some of it away. Fellini'd have loved it. When the music's really right, the roof leaking in your beer is just a sort of seasoning...

From planetneutral 02/07/2021 12:55

These guys sound great, and while some of this album is fairly disposable, they display some remarkable sophistication and songwriting chops.

From Sandrof1969 02/17/2018 16:10

Incrocio tra il rock'n'roll delle origini, i balli tradizionali ( valzer, polka… ) e le influenze messicane

I saw this tour and I have to day this is one great "live" band. Good production and strong material make this a fine record.

From swhaze 12/30/2014 17:21

This terrific mid-80s release is a great place to start if you have not sampled the work of Los Lobos, one of this country's most essential bands. From traditional Mexican folk music to straight-ahead rockers, to outright country the band sounds fresh.

This was the album where the new modern and more rocking sounds of Los Lobos were introduced. Like the previous album "And a Time to Dance" the album was produced by T Bone Burnett and Steve Berlin, and there are obviously many similarities to that album.

You could say that approximately half of the album continues the traditional tex-mex style of "And a Time to Dance" where as the other half has the more mainstream rock-sound that the band would explore on follwing albums like "By the Light of the Moon" and "The Neighborhood". This is the Los Lobos sound I personally love. On "Will the Wolf Survive" my favourites are the beautiful Hidalgo/Perez song "A Matter of Time", the great title-track (also Hidalgo/Perez ), the charming instrumental "Lil King of Everything" and of course the bluesy rocking "Don't Worry Baby" which has some terrific guitar-playing.

Among the more traditional based songs "Evangeline" is a favorite. The rest of the album is quite good, too, but most of these songs could just as well have been part of "And a Time to Dance"

Ladies and gentlemen, the greatest polka band in the world!
or the greatest roots rock band in the world. or how about the greatest Latin rock/tradishionalist/spanglish band in the world. Every song is my favorite song when I'm listening to it, that's how 'I' know this belongs in my top ten...if only the other ten didn't. God bless the Wolf! Their best album (sorry Kiko lovers). And you've GOT to hear them play Like a Hurricane live.