Los Lobos

The future of this venerable band may still be in doubt, as Cesar Rosas must grapple with the horrific slaying of his wife by her brother, who was recently convicted of the crime. Their last album, This Time, was a career highlight, and now to tide fans over comes the re-release of their long-out-of-print debut, recorded in 1977. This was long before they picked up electric guitars and they had only just begun to dabble in songwriting. But they were consummate musicians right from the beginning, a fact made obvious on every track here. And if there is any justice in the world of culinary commerce, you'd hear this in every restaurant instead of that goddamn Gipsy Kings record.