H, 1951: I pretty much love everything about this album. It's a testament to the power of authenticity. English producer Joe Boyd reported that a member of Los Lobos had told a friend of his that they had been “just another rock band from East LA until the Fairport Convention recording of ‘A Sailor's Life’ had challenged them to find in their own Mexican traditions something as rich as Fairport had found in their English ones.” Fairport was produced by Boyd, and included Richard Thompson (see #471) among its members. Los Lobos called upon the rich set of musical traditions passed down to them — rock, blues, country, R&B, Mexican, Tex-Mex — to make this album, while making it all uniquely their own. Great stuff. And good to see that this set of wolves is still going strong in 2019.