On The Ride, Los Lobos veer back and forth between their two main modes: the East L.A. band's catholic mix of rock, soul, country and Latin music, and its more recent dalliances with experimental textures. Along the way, Los Lobos pick up guest spots from some of their notable influences: Richard Thompson and Elvis Costello, gospel-pop queen Mavis Staples, Mexican-American garage-rock legend Willie G., avant-folkie Tom Waits. There are some bumpy moments. A Neil Young-ish guitar workout (""Hurry Tomorrow,"" co-written with Grateful Dead lyricist Robert Hunter) is undermined by hippie mumbo jumbo that should have been saved for a Bob Weir album. But most of The Ride is smooth: Ruben Blades contributes smoldering vocals on ""Ya Se Va""; old pal Dave Alvin delivers a gritty duet on the country song ""Somewhere in Time."" The Ride doesn't rank with the classic Los Lobos of How Will the Wolf Survive? or the experimental Kiko; instead, it contains aspects of both and is a tribute to the group's influences."

“Too Close”

Next was formed in Minneapolis when the uncle of Terry "T-Low" and Raphael "Tweety" Brown, who was a gospel choir director, introduced the brothers to Robert Lavelle "R.L." Huggar. Sounds of Blackness singer Ann Nesby groomed the R&B group before handing them over to Naughty by Nature's KayGee, who wrote and produced "Too Close." The idea for the song was sparked "from a conversation we had with several girls at a nightclub," explained T-Low. "It's talking about the club scene, with guys getting out of hand and the female telling him to back up, asking, 'What are you doing?'"