6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Taqueria Jukebox 45s from the pre-electronic era,
June 17, 2003 Steven Strauss (Oakland, CA USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Tejano Roots (Audio CD)
After putting up one hell of a fight, San Antonio's Ideal Records went out of business in the eighties, having produced hundreds of 45s for jukeboxes. Arhoolie Records, California's premier music heritage label, acquired the Ideal catalog and launched their Tejano Roots series with this initial offering of popular music from South Texas. The sequence is beautifully balanced among Rancheras, Boleros, Redovas, Waltzes, with even a little Pachuco Rock courtesy of a very young Freddy Fender. Some horn sections and electric guitars provide a contrast to the typical Tejano accordion conjunto sound, and the singing is distributed among soloists and teams, men and women. Further releases in Arhoolie's Tejano Roots series were to follow, but this first album is as coherent and enjoyable a collection of varied Tejano artists as has ever been put on one CD. (Fans of independent cinema will recognize Conjunto Bernal's MI UNICO CAMINO, which kicks off this program, from the opening titles of...Read more
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