New and Related CDs

a 4 CD compilation of East L.A. "Eastside Sound" recordings covering the period of 1961 through 1977. The 4 CDs come in a beautiful hard cover book with stories and incredible photographs from the period. The recordings are from many of the artists, including Cannibal & the Headhunters, The Blendells, and the Village Callers, that were released on Eddie Davis' record labels. The Minky Records release is limited to 1,000 copies. I'm always pleased when the artists and history of East L.A. rock are documented and celebrated in books, articles, and in compilations. This book/CD collection was put together with great care and respect by Minky Records. Click here for more info or to order.

a compilation CD of 1971 recordings by the East L.A. supergroup God's Children. East L.A. superstars Little Ray Jimenez and Little Willie G teamed up with Lydia Amescua to form God's Children, who recorded and released three singles on the Uni label, a subsidiary of MCA. These recordings were combined with eight never before released tracks for this collection. The music is a mix of soul, doo wop, and funk. The CD, released by Minky Records, comes with a booklet which contains lots of information and photographs. Click here for more info or to order.

"Music Is the Answer: The Complete Collection"
God's Children
(2018)

Mixtures
"Stompin' At the Rainbow"
(2016)

a "live" album recorded at the legendary Rainbow Gardens in Pomona in 1960. The Mixtures were a multi-racial band from Ventura, California. Since they played the East L.A. circuit and recorded for Eddie Davis, who also released records by East L.A. groups including Cannibal & the Headhunters and The Premiers, they're considered part of the "Eastside Sound." This album captures the excitement and energy of this young band. The CD is released by Minky Records. Click here for more info or to order.

"Stompin' At the Rainbow"
The Mixtures
(2016)

"Logan Lucky" is a 2017 movie starring Channing Tatum, Daniel Craig, Adam Driver, Katie Holmes, Seth McFarlane, Hillary Swank, and Dwight Yokum. My first teenage band, Mark & the Escorts, made a record in 1965 called "Get Your Baby," which was released on the GNP Crescendo label. Fifty two years later, our recording appears in its entirety in a scene in the movie. It's also on the soundtrack CD, along with Creedence Clearwater Revival, Bo Diddley, Dr. John, John Denver, and Leann Rimes.

"Logan Lucky"
Movie Soundtrack CD (2017)

"Eastside Sound, Volume 2, Featuring Mark & the Escorts"
(compilation)

an album released in 2000 on the Dionysus label on CD and vinyl entitled "Eastside Sound, Vol. 2, Featuring Mark & the Escorts." Mark & the Escorts was my teenage band from 1963 to '66. We recorded four sides for Crescendo Records in 1965. The songs are reissued on this compilation album. (We're on the cover and I wrote the liner notes). Other artists on the collection are the Blendells, the Premiers, and others. It's available at Tower Records, Virgin Superstores, etc., or can be ordered at your local record store. You can get it at dionysus.com. Once there, click on "Online Store" and then you can find it on CD on the "Bacchus Archives CD" link on the menu and the vinyl album on the "Bacchus Archives LP" link. Click here to read my liner notes for the album.

"Eastside Sound, Vol. 2"
Mark & the Escorts / others (2000)

"Eastside Sound 1959-1968"
(compilation)

an album released in 1996 on the Dionysus label on CD. Some of the East L.A. bands and vocalists featured include The Mixtures, The Premiers, The Romancers, The Blendells, The Jaguars, The Salas Brothers, The Atlantics, and Cannibal & the Headhunters. The CD is available at dionysusrecords.com.

"East Side Sound 1959-1968
Various Artists (1996)

"Mindrocker"
(compilation)

a 13 CD Anthology of 60s US-Punk Garage Psych Box Set with 13 Discs released by Past & Present Records in the United Kingdom. My first official recording is included on Disk 1, "Get Your Baby" by Mark & the Escorts (1965). Also included in the set are recordings by artists who were well known in the 60s such as ? & the Mysterions, The Knickerbockers, The Seeds, Johnny Winter, The Standells, Mark IV, Rising Sons, and Music Machine. The other artists included weren't so well known, but have that exciting punk garage sound that is a genre which has become more and more appreciated and recognized with time as a precursor to the punk movement.

Mindrocker
The Complete Series: Volumes 1-13 (2007)

"Chavez Ravine" is a magnificent CD by the legendary guitarist/producer released in 2005 on the Nonesuch/Perro Verde record label. It contains songs and/or vocal performances by Ry Cooder, Lalo Guerrero, Little Willie G. (of Thee Midniters fame), Ersi Arvisu (of The Sisters & El Chicano fame), Rudy Salas (of Tierra fame), David Hidalgo of Los Lobos, and Don Tosti, among others. The CD's theme involves the destruction of the barrio of Chavez Ravine to build Dodger Stadium in the early 60s. The songs are in English, Spanish, and some are bi-lingual. Pachuco slang, or Caló, is also used throughout. Hopefully this CD will do for Chicano music what Cooder's "Buena Vista Social Club" did for Cuban music and some of it's pioneers.

"San Patricio" (Spanish for St. Patrick) is a collaboration by legendary Irish group The Chieftans and Ry Cooder, joined by various guest artists. The recording commemorates a little-known connection between Mexicans and the Irish. During the Mexican-American War of the 1840s, a group of disaffected Irish-American conscripts led by Capt. John Riley crossed the border to fight with the Mexicans. Riley put together a battalion named the "San Patricio," deserted the U.S. Army and joined the Mexicans to fight on what he saw as the side of justice. The Chieftains' album features a long list of guest artists, including narration by Irish-born actor Liam Neeson of a poem in tribute to the San Patricios.

"Two Trains" is the latest CD by the Delgado Brothers. It's another collection of excellent original songs. As I mentioned regarding their previous album below, they're a great band whose style has elements of blues, Latin, and r&b mixed in for good measure. This band is the real deal and you can't go wrong with any of their releases. Be sure to check out their latest, "Two Trains." For more information on the Delgado Brothers visit their website: delgadobrothers.com.

"Learn To Fly" is a CD from East L.A.'s Delgado Brothers on their own label, Bell Asher. They're a great band whose style has elements of blues, Latin, and r&b mixed in for good measure. Their songs are strong and have excellent arrangements, many with a great horn section. My favorite cuts are the title track "Learn To Fly," which is bluesy with a distinctly Latin groove, and "Oh Brother," a soulful song written and sung from one brother to another. For more information on the Delgado Brothers visit their website: delgadobrothers.com.

"A Brother's Dream" is a CD by East L.A.'s Delgado Brothers on their own label, Bell Asher Records. They're a great blues band, the real deal. Bassist Bobby Delgado goes back to the East L.A. music scene of the 1960s when he was a member of The Exotics, who also featured brother Danny Delgado who's not with the Delgado Brothers band. The Exotics were one of my 60s band's (Mark & the Escorts) fiercest rivals, but the rivalry was good for both bands. In the same era, brother Eddie Delgado was bassist for popular East L.A. band, The Ambertones. The Delgado Brothers Band features the aforementioned Bobby, and younger Delgados, Joey Delgado on lead vocals and lead guitar, and Steve Delgado on lead vocals and drums. Ray Solis on congas & percussion and Dave Kelley on keyboards, round out the band's lineup. The Delgado Brothers have played blues festivals all over the country on the bill with such blues greats as Buddy Guy, Robert Cray and John Mayall, who has recorded a couple of Delgado Brothers songs. These guys have first rate vocals and are great players. All songs are originals and cover lots of different grooves and styles. For example, their song "Picture of You" is not a blues, but a melodic ballad with a conga driven groove with an acoustic guitar in the mix. "Jennie" is another such example. Another highlight is "Talk To My Friend," a gospel -style song written for a departed friend. The Delgado Brothers are a real blues band as most of the tracks on this CD will demonstrate, but some of their music isn't really blues based. They're simply a great band with some excellent songs. These guys are excellent songwriters. I highly recommend this band and their CD. They have a couple of previous CDs available also. For more info, visit delgadobrothers.com.

"Naked Lunch"- Naked Lunch was a San Francisco band in 1969. They were a funky horn band with Latin and psychedelic overtones who held their own on stage with Tower of Power, Boz Scaggs, Elvin Bishop and other top artists of the era. This CD collection features seven "live" tracks recorded at two different venues in the Bay area in 1969. Also included are four tracks recorded in 1972 by Banda de Jesus, which featured three former members of Naked Lunch. What makes this CD particularly special and important, aside from the great music they created, is that Naked Lunch members Abel Zarate (guitar), Roy Murray (trumpet), and Richard Spremich (drums) were founding members of Malo in 1970 and were major contributors to the success of Malo's first album and their mega hit, "Suavecito." It comes with a booklet that features lots of photos and a detailed history of Naked Lunch written by Jose Sierra. It's about time Zarate, Murray, and Spremich and Naked Lunch as a whole received the recognition they so richly deserve.

"Friend For Life" is a CD released on Anti Records by "Eastside Sound" veteran vocalist, Ersi Arvizu. Ersi was one of the singers in The Sisters, a popular female vocal trio in East Los Angeles in the '60s. In 1970, Ersi was lead vocalist for El Chicano, with whom she recorded their classic version of "Sabor a Mi." This collection of songs in Spanish and English, mostly written by Ersi, is produced by the legendary musician/producer, Ry Cooder.

"About Time" is a CD by Max Baca's band, Los Texmaniacs. Max is a very talented musician who has worked with Flaco Jimenez, The Texas Tornados, and The Rolling Stones. This collection of songs includes a great cover of the Sir Douglas Quartet's classic "Rain Rain." Their music is Tex Mex and conjunto, with some blues, r&b, and Texas rock influence in the mix. Their new CD also has guest artists Flaco Jimenez, Augie Meyers, Ruben Ramos, and Los Lobos.

Rock En Español, Vol. 1- a CD produced by Cesar Rosas of Los Lobos on Yep Roc Records. On this CD, Los Straitjackets (from Tennessee) are backing Chicano singers Big Sandy, Cesar Rosas, and Little Willie G. on a collection of classic cover tunes including Spanish versions of The Kinks' "All Day and All of the Night," The McCoys' "Hang On Sloopy," Larry Williams' "Slow Down," The Troggs' "Wild Thing," and others. There's also an instrumental cover of Thee Midniters' "Whittier Boulevard." Some clever and amusing liner notes are written by Los Lobos' Louie Perez. I suspect Louie's referring to my dad, Lalo Guerrero, in his liner notes as "some Mexican dude singing a song about some little bitty bikini in Spanish." My dad had a record in the early 60s called "La Bikini de Mi Tia Trini," based on the mainstream hit "Itsy Bitsy Teeny Weeny Yellow Polka Dot Bikini."

"In Thee Midnite Hour" is a compilation CD and vinyl album released by Norton Records. It's a collection of recordings that reflect the rockin' side of East L.A.'s most popular band of the 60s. It's well known that Thee Midniters' lead vocalist, Little Willie G., is perhaps best known for his ability to sing romantic ballads with the best of them. This collection shows that Little Willie G. & Thee Midniters could rock too. It includes their classic "Whittier Boulevard," "Jump, Jive, and Harmonize," "Love Special Delivery," and "Land of a Thousand Dances." Also in the collection are covers of Barrett Stong's "Money," The Rolling Stones' "Everybody Needs Somebody To Love," and "Devil With a Blue Dress/Good Golly Miss Molly." My favorite cut on the album is "Never Knew I Had It So Bad," which is a Midniter original that typifies the mid-60s rock era. "In Thee Midnite Hour" is packed with 19 exciting recordings from the golden age of Thee Midniters. I was pleased to provide images of the 1960s Eastside flyers used in the CD booklet. The flyers I had saved were to promote the dances and shows where my bands of the period, Mark & the Escorts and The Men from S.O.U.N.D., performed on the bill with Thee Midniters. The CD is available on amazon.com at the link below or nortonrecords.com.

"Salas" is a CD by former, and once again, lead vocalist and guitarist for El Chicano. I would describe the style of the music as r&b and rock, with some Latin overtones. Jerry is joined by his two daughters Sara and Amanda on this album and, like their dad, they can sing! They sing excellent background vocals throughout the album and Sara steps out front on one of her dad's compositions "Best of Your Life" and tears it up. The album is produced by Jerry Salas and John Avila, the former bassist for Oingo Boingo. With the exception of one song, Jerry wrote or co-wrote all the songs on the CD. Highlights for me are the previously mentioned "Best of Your Life," a Billy Joel-style song called "Everything I Feel," and a great reggae song called "Shut Up." For more information on Jerry and the CD, visit jerrysalas.com.

A compilation of "Eastside Sound" recordings on the Varese Sarabande label with tracks by artists such as Cannibal & the Headhunters, The Premiers, The Blendells, The Romancers, The Salas Brothers, The Village Callers, and Little Willie G. For more information and to order visit varesesarabande.com.

"Welcome to Cafe East L.A." is a CD by Tierra produced by the leader of the band, Rudy Salas. It's a return to their r&b roots, with some Latin grooves added for good measure. The title track is a Pachuco swing song that starts the CD off with a bang. My favorite tracks are the Latin-styled "Ojos Negros" and "Oh God (Save Us From Ourselves)," which I would describe as gospel funk. Rudy Salas provides an excellent lead vocal on the latter song. Chief vocalist Bill Mondragon is a fine young singer who handles all the other lead vocals. There's also an instrumental, "Marrano Beach Mambo," and a rap song, "My Chiquita," featuring Mr. Capone. For more info on the CD visit Tierra's website, tierramusic.com.

"The Best of El Chicano" was released, October 4, 2004, on Geffen Records. It's part of the prestigious "20th Century Masters- The Millennium Collection" series. The collection has El Chicano's best and most popular recordings including "Viva Tirado," "Brown-Eyed Girl," "Tell Her She's Lovely," "Sabor a Mi," and my favorite, "Gringo En Mexico." All the tracks were recorded during El Chicano's prime years, 1970-74. This CD is a must for any Chicano music collection. For more info visit El Chicano's official website, elchicanomusic.com.

"Stand and Deliver"- A CD, compiled and released by East L.A.'s legendary singer Little Ray Jimenez, aka Monchie Jimenez, features tracks by The Delgado Brothers, Chico, Steve Salas, Geree Gonzalez, Elijah, Chan Romero, yours truly, and other Chicano and Eastside luminaries. Proceeds go to the legendary Garfield High School teacher who was portrayed in the motion picture "Stand and Deliver" by Edward James Olmos. Escalante, who taught and inspired a generation of students in East L.A., was very ill and facing mounting medical bills at the time of the CD's release. Jaime Escalante passed away on March 30, 2010. This CD will be a lasting musical tribute to Escalante who taught calculus at my alma mater, Garfield High School from 1974 to 1991. For more info contact Vista Entertainment at (323) 888-9884 or vistaent@pacbell.net.

"Give Love" is a CD by Manzo Rally, a band led by Malo guitarist Gabriel Manzo. Gabriel is an excellent lead guitarist and lead vocalist, who provides some of the lead vocals. He also wrote or co-wrote all but one of the songs on the album. Sergio Diaz provides some strong lead vocals on the majority of the songs. Gabriel's wife, Dawn Livingston Manzo, contributes to the album as an engineer, keyboardist, and sometimes co-writer. Gabriel's a lucky man! Most of the songs have a Latin groove, with the exception of "Something's Coming," which is hard rock bordering on heavy metal. It's got a nasty guitar riff, a strong rock lead vocal, and some nice harmonies. The song made me smile, it rocks! Other favorites are "Dolores Huerta," a montuno about the great UFW leader and cultural icon; "Don't Come Cryin'," a Latin rock song with some nice changes and harmonies in the choruses; and "Set My People Free," an acoustic guitar song sung by Gabriel and inspired by an experience he had at the Mexican border seeing a child and the poverty in which he lived. "Give Love" is a great album with some strong songs and excellent musicianship. I highly recommend it.

"Lalo's Town" is a CD by Los Nawdy Dawgs of Tucson Arizona. It's an album dedicated to my father, Lalo Guerrero who was born and raised in Tucson, hence the title "Lalo's Town." They do unique versions of three of my dad's songs on the album, "Los Chucos Suaves," "Tin Marin de do Pingue," and "Marijuana Boogie." The band does my dad's songs in their own style, putting a different spin on them. They do "Los Chucos Suaves" with a two-beat rock drum part behind the familiar Latin bass line to give the song a rock groove while keeping the usual cumbia-like feel. They start "Tin Marin de do Pingue," which they call "El Tin Marin" with a slow swing beat and walking bass line and before falling into the familiar up-tempo swing beat of the original version. "Marijuana Boogie" is done as an up-tempo rock shuffle as opposed to the original slower swing groove. They also wrote their own version of my dad's "There's No Tortillas" putting their own lyric to the melody of "O Sole Mio," becoming "Where's My Tamales." All the rest of the songs, with the exception of a traditional song, were written or co-written by band leader George Landa. Los Nawdy Dawgs can play and their style encompasses rock, Latin, and a touch of Tex-Mex. Some of the songs such as "Tranza Town," "Guero Canelo Special," and the aforementioned "Where's My Tamales" show the band has a fun and humorous side. I got a particular kick out of "Tranza Town," which includes sections which are inspired by The Beatles "Yellow Submarine." The cover of the CD features the three Nawdy Dawgs crossing the street in front of Tucson's Fox Theater, a la The Beatles' Abbey Road cover, led by an 18 year old Lalo Guerrero. Los Nawdy Dawgs are a fun and creative Chicano band. Take a trip to "Lalo's Town." You'll have a good time.

"Lalo's Town"
Los Nawdy Dawgs (2013)

"Copas Con El Diablo" is a previous release by the Tucson-based band who describes itself on its my space page as "South of the Border Pulp Fiction Latin Blues Rock." That's a good description since the songs on this CD includes Latin, blues, and rock with a hard edge. Virtually all the lyrics are in Spanish, even on the bluesy title track. This collection includes "Hey Lupe," which is a Spanish version of "Hang On Sloopy." However, the vast majority of songs are written by members of the band, mainly Jorge Landa. They also sent me a demo of a recording they did of my dad's classic song "Los Chucos Suaves." Their version is very different than others I've heard because they use a hard 2-beat, rather than the more usual Latin cumbia-style beat. I assume it will be on a future CD. For more info on "Los Nawdy Dawgs" go to losnawdydawgs.net.

"Copas Con El Diablo"
Los Nawdy Dawgs (2009)

"I Hear Voices" is a CD by singer/songwriter Alan O'Day. Alan, who grew up in Indio, California, had a number one hit as a solo artist in 1977 with "Undercover Angel." He also had hits writing for others such as "Angie Baby" by Helen Reddy and "Rock & Roll Heaven" by the Righteous Brothers, which he co-wrote. His new CD spans many styles including rock, blues, country pop and what he describes as "uplifting spiritual songs." My favorites are a rocker called "My Rock & Roll Shoes," the funky "Things That Are Lost," and the melodic "Please Don't Believe Me." This collection of songs show his great songwriting ability and his vocals are excellent, particularly on "Please Don't Believe Me," on which his voice is silky smooth while cleanly reaching some impressively high notes. For more info visit alanoday.com. "I Hear Voices" is available at amazon.com on the button below.

"Romantic & Sexy Guitars" is a release from Tri-Lo Productions. It's got 14 tracks including new versions of "Una Paloma Blanca," "Memories Are Made of This," "Somewhere Over the Rainbow," and "If I Were a Carpenter." Most of the album is Trini playing various acoustic and/or electric guitars, percussion, and singing various parts. This technique works great and Trini is in excellent voice. The only song that has a full band production is my song, "Oh Maria." I provided the track and also played lead guitar.

The best Redbone compilation ever has been released by Sony Records on their Legacy label. "The Essential Redbone" has 14 of the best songs Redbone recorded in the early 70s, including their hits "Maggie," "The Witch Queen of New Orleans," and their mega hit "Come and Get Your Love." The recordings have been digitally re-mastered and sound better than ever! Pete DePoe, Redbone's original drummer, sent me a copy and tells me Redbone will soon be out on the road again.

Carmen has a great CD out called "Lovers & Legends," which she describes as "ballads of heroes, bandits, causes, and lovers." Her voice is as great as ever and her songwriting continues to evolve to new heights. Some of the highlights of the album are "The Battle of Cinco de Mayo," which chronicles the history of the legendary event in Mexican history; "You'll Always Have Sabor a Mi," an English language version of the classic Mexican bolero; a sexy, bluesy song called "Working Man's Woman;" the beautiful and jazzy "Ellen's Song;" a cover of Jack Hanna's "Ballad of Joaquin Murrieta;" and a beautiful Spanish/English version of "America O' Bella/America the Beautiful."

a CD released in 2002 on Arhoolie Records, which features the pachuco music of Don Tosti. Also included are pachuco recordings by Lalo Guerrero and others.

APB

"Be On the Lookout" is a CD by veteran East L.A. band APB, led by drummer extraordinaire Aaron Ballesteros. Aaron has played with classic Eastside bands Tierra, Thee Midniters, and Los Lobos, as well as Latin giants such as Tito Puente, Poncho Sanchez, and Willie Bobo. Aaron wrote most of the songs on this collection and sings lead on several of them. Also on lead vocals is Gilbert Stokes, who is a first rate vocalist. The band is rounded out by guitarist Dennis Alvarez and bassist Steve Falomir of Tierra. Guest artists on the CD include Poncho Sanchez, Cesar Rosas of Los Lobos, guitarist Bob Robles of Thee Midniters, and others. Highlights include the title track "Be On the Lookout," an excellent reggae song, the clever and humorous "Oranges," a political anthem ("Huelga"), the musically sophisticated "Freedom Jazz Rap," and a ballad called "For the Rest of My Life." There are also solid cover versions of "How Long" and Led Zeppelin's "Whole Lotta Love." Included with the CD is a DVD of the song "Huelga."

"Be On the Lookout!"
APB (2006)

Frankie Firme
(compilation)

"16 Golden Treasures from the Vaults of Rampart Records"- an eclectic compilation of classic "Eastside Sound," r&b, and tex mex recordings from the Rampart Records group of record labels founded by the late Eddie Davis. Some of the artists included in the collection are The Heartbreakers, Little Ray Jimenez, The Salas Brothers with the Jaguars, The Romancers, and The Atlantics featuring Barry White. It's very well-packaged with a booklet filled with vintage photos and information on the artists and recordings. The CD is available at amazon.com at the link below. Click here to order CD at EastLARevue.com.

"Frankie Firme
16 Golden Treasures" (2007)