energy and style, this new collection of songs by the East L.A.-based quintet shows their versatility: from the gentle R&B of "A Matter of Time" to the polkalike romp of a couple of Mexican ranchero tunes to the honky-tonk spirits of "Our Last Night" and "I Got Loaded." The choicest cut, though, is "Will the Wolf Survive?" – an allegory that's given a lovely C&W lope. "Through the chill of winter/Running across a frozen lake/Hunters hot on his tail/All odds are against him/With a family to provide for/The one thing he must keep alive/Will the wolf survive?" Hidalgo sings in one verse.

There isn't a dud among these songs. It's the kind of record that dances you around till you're worn out. Produced by T-Bone Burnett and the band's sax man, Steve Berlin, the album has a big, clean sound, replete with mandolin figures, drifting lap-steel leads and accordion parts. The guys in Los Lobos must've grown up in homes where Dad threw the Vicente Fernandez records on after Elvis – the little touches of sweetly soulful Mexican country music make their rock & roll unique. (RS 439)

DEBBY MILLER