Los Lobos will celebrate their twenty-fifth anniversary with the release of Good Morning Atzlan on June 4th. Lobos' eleventh studio album will be their first release since 2000, when the band mined its past with the four-CD retrospective El Cancionero: Mas y Mas and a reissue of their first album, 1978's Del Este de Los Angeles.

The group began recording the twelve-song Good Morning Atzlan in October with producer John Leckie (John Lennon, Pink Floyd, Radiohead), marking the end of a ten-year, five-album run with the producer/engineer combo of Mitchell Froom and Tchad Blake. The lion's share of the album was recorded by November, but singer/multi-instrumentalist David Hidalgo showed up at a studio wrap-up session with a new song, "Good Morning Atzlan," that gave the album its title. Among those who made guest appearances in the studio were a trio of percussionists: Pete Thomas (Elvis Costello and the Attractions), Cougar Estrada (Latin Playboys) and Alex Acuna (Joni Mitchell).

Lobos recently showcased some of the new songs -- including "Maria Christina," "The Big Ranch (El Rancho Grande)" and "Hearts Made of Stone" -- during some select west coast performances.

Members of the group are also up for a handful of Grammys tomorrow night. El Cancionero received a nomination for Best Packaging. Los Super Seven -- a side project that features performances by band members Hidalgo, Cesar Rosas, Louie Perez, Steve Berlin and Conrad Lozano -- received a nomination for Best Tropical Album, while Ozomatli's Embrace the Chaos, produced by Berlin and featuring guitar work by Hidalgo, was nominated for Best Alternative Latin Album.

ANDREW DANSBY
(February 26, 2002)