Los Lobos - Kiko (Ultra Analog, Half-speed Mastering)
ORDER LIMITED TO ONE ITEM PER CUSTOMER
Steve Berlin - tenor, baritone, and soprano sax, flute, melodica, harmonica, organ, piano, synthesizer, percussion
David Hidalgo - guitars, accordion, violin, banjo, piano, percussion, vocals
Conrad Lozano - Fender 5-string jazz bass and 4-string precision bass, Godin fretless bass, guitarron, background vocals
Louie Pérez - drums, vocals, guitars, percussion
Cesar Rosas - electric and acoustic guitars, vocals
Pete Thomas - drums
Victor Bisetti - drums (15, 16), percussion
Fermin Herrera - Veracruz harp (6)
Alex Acuña - percussion
Gary Mallaber - drums (2)
Mitchell Froom and his House of Keyboards La Chilapeña brass band
1 LP, gatefold jacket
Limited numbered edition
Original analog Master tape : YES
Half-speed Mastering
Gain 2™ Ultra Analog
Heavy Press : 180g
Record color : black
Speed : 33RPM
Size : 12”
Stereo
Studio
Record Press : RTI
Label : MOFI
Original Label : Warner Bros
Recorded at Sound Factory West Studio, Los Angeles
Engineered by Paul duGré, Tchad Blake, Wendy Thompson
Produced by Los Lobos, Mitchell Froom
Remastered by Krieg Wunderlich
Originally released in 1992
Reissued in 2014
Tracks:
Side A :
- Dream In Blue
- Wake Up Dolores
- Angels with Dirty Faces
- That Train Don't Stop Here
- Kiko and the Lavender Moon
- Saint Behind The Glass
- Reva's House
- When the Circus Comes
Side B :
- Arizona Skies
- Short Side of Nothing
- Two Janes
- Wicked Rain
- Whiskey Trail
- Just a Man
- Peace
- Rio De Tenampa
Reviews :
"Los Lobos had earned a reputation as one of the most intelligent and creative roots rock acts in America with the albums By the Light of the Moon and The Neighborhood, but it was with 1992's Kiko that they really demonstrated the breadth of their sonic ambitions. Produced in collaboration with Mitchell Froom, Kiko exchanged the more straightforward approach of Los Lobos' previous sessions for a uniquely textured sound, with the group's guitars thrown into sharp relief against Froom's collection of vintage tape-loop keyboards, and the arrangements are often unusually spare, most powerfully in the ghostly spaciousness of "Kiko and the Lavender Moon" and "Wake Up Delores." Even the more full-bodied cuts, such as the rollicking "That Train Don't Stop Here" and the hard-rocking "Whiskey Trail," boast a different personality than in Los Lobos' previous work, with the guitars clean but cutting like a switchblade and the drums snapping hard, and the more contemplative selections drip with a mysterious, otherworldly ambience that's matched by the impressionistic imagery of David Hidalgo and Louie Pérez's superb songs. At its best, Kiko sounds like the musical equivalent of a Luis Buñuel dream sequence, balancing beauty and menace with intelligence and a skill that's little short of dazzling; it's a brilliant, singular achievement, and the most rewarding album in the group's catalog." AllMusic Review by Mark Deming
Ultra Analog™ : The GAIN 2 Ultra Analog™ Series stems from the use of the Gain 2 system, mastered at half speed from the original master tapes where possible, capturing and uncovering as before undiscovered sonic information.
Half-speed mastering. In half-speed mastering, the whole process is slowed down to half of the original speed. A typical 33 1/3 rpm record is cut at 16 2/3 rpm. The source material is also slowed down (reducing the pitch in the process) meaning the final record will still sound normal when played back. Slowing the whole process down allows more time, which means the end result sounds better and is more efficient — allowing engineering to minimize the effects of inherent limitations within the vinyl format. The result is a more accurate and more open high-frequency response in the half speed vinyl when compared with a normal speed recording.
Ratings :
AllMusic : 4,5 / 5 , Discogs : 4,34 / 5