…And a Time to Dance is a 1983 EP by Los Lobos. It was co-produced by T-Bone Burnett and Steve Berlin (not yet a full-time member of the band) and was the band’s first release on Slash Records. The EP brought the band its first wide acclaim. It was voted best EP of the year in the Village Voice’s influential Pazz & Jop critics poll. Critic Robert Christgau gave the record an “A-” in his Consumer Guide, calling it “good old rock and roll East L.A. style.” Trouser Press raved about “a spicy romp (in two languages) back and forth across musical borders few can traverse with such ease,” while Rolling Stone called it “an infectious dance record that deserves to be heard by rock fans.”
The track “Anselma” won the first Grammy Award for Best Mexican-American Performance. The album was mixed and recorded entirely digital (by wikipedia)
1983’s …And a Time to Dance wasn’t Los Lobos’ first record, but if you lived outside of East Los Angeles, chances are excellent that you’d never crossed paths with a copy of their self-released debut album (Del Este de Los Angeles (Just Another Band from East L.A.)) before this EP hit the racks. At only seven songs, …And a Time to Dance didn’t give the group the space to present more than a quick once-over of their eclectic musical range, but it did make it clear that this was a really great band, with the kind of chops, intelligence, and maturity that can come from a decade of woodshedding. And on …And a Time to Dance, not only was the band having a great time playing “spot the genre” with their audience, they were crossbreeding styles and coming up with great sounds all their own: the straight-up rock & roll of “Let’s Say Goodnight” is fortified with a strong dose of Tex-Mex fire thanks to David Hidalgo’s accordion, the bluesy swing of “Walking Song” gets a spring in its step from a fleet-fingered jazz guitar line, and the two traditional numbers in Spanish both burn with the high spirits and hot tempos of a potent rock & roll band. And it’s hard not to love a song like “How Much Can I Do?,” in which a guy tries to prove his love to his wife by promising to lay off cheap wine and nights out at the nudie bar. If …And a Time to Dance didn’t quite make clear Los Lobos were one of America’s truly great bands, it did make clear they were a lot of fun and a force to be reckoned with, and that’s quite enough of a message to pass along in seven songs. (by Mark Deming)
Personnel:
David Hidalgo (guitar, accordion, vocals)
Cesar Rosas (guitar, bajo sexto, vocals)
Louie Pérez (drums, vocals)
Conrad Lozano (bass, vocals, guitarrón)
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Steve Berlin (saxophone)
Tracklist:
01. Let’s Say Goodnight (Hidalgo/Pérez) 2.30
02. Walking Song (Hidalgo/Pérez) 2.45
03. Anselma (Suedan/Trigo) 3.04
04. Come On Let’s Go (Valens) 2.08
05. How Much Can I Do? (Hidalgo/Pérez) 2.34
06. Why Do You Do (Rosas) 2.17
07. Ay Te Dejo En San Antonio (Jimenez) 2.31
ManyFantasticColors 