11.25.2007
Los Chavoz
Los Chavoz s/t LP (Flama, 197?)
Because I have yet to develop a taste for Tejano or Rancheros or Norteno buying Mexican records is a very, very big gamble for me. Let me qualify what I just wrote: I do very much like old Mexican music especially the Boarder music series put out by Arhoolie's Folklyric imprint. And stuff recorded in the 1950s, especially with female singers like Amalia Mendoza. But when you start tripping into the 60s and 70s, outside of some garage, psych, and hippie Latin rock bands, the music gets really formulaic and the production becomes slick. Regardless of where it comes from, any music that gets stuck and then crammed into "professional" production pretty much dies. The exception to that rule is, perhaps, Abba and other studio creations. Anyway, because of the plague of formulaic slickness, coupled with the fact that my Spanish is limited to menu items, pharmacia, "where's the bathroom?" and "is there a record store around here?" buying Mexican records sound unheard is a very big gamble for me, a bet in which the odds are in favor of the record sucking. So my expectations in finding anything good on a blind pick are very low. Thus when this album by Los Chavoz came up with a pretty groovy track, I was psyched. That there was a decent second song, I was pleased. The rest are more or less (lean toward less) listenable as background music, and that includes the Beatles cover.
I have spent hours searching for info on Los Chavoz but have found nothing. Though they might have released a 45 on the Gas label, I am pretty sure that this is their sole album. By the style of it, I am guessing that they might be from Tijuana or somewhere close to the US border. "La Cita" might be a cover, but though there is a songwriting credit (David Garibay) I can't find anything about the song either as "La Cita" or its English meaning "The Date" or "The Appointment". I am not even sure that the song was recorded in English, as there are plenty of Spanish speakers with the name "David Garibay". The song "Sano Buggie Azul" I am posting because I want to give you a taste of the one good non-rock/pop song.
# posted by Scott Soriano : 21:07
