Los Lonely Boys - Forgiven (2008)

PBS music documentaries absolutely rule. I don't care if you think I'm a square, cause’ they do. With that said, late night channel surfing, I stopped on a documentary featuring Texas Rock bands. Most of it was on my rock hero Stevie Ray Vaughan, which initially stopped my surfing, but it was the band of three brothers from South Texas, Los Lonely Boys, that made me stay. Henry, JoJo, and Ringo are the three sons of a share cropper/part time cotton picker and apparently, the voice of the Chicano rock scene right now. Their newest release, "Forgiven" is an absolute gem. The brothers worked with producer Steve Jordan who has worked with John Mayer and Herbie Hancock previous, which I feel really helped to solidify all the tracks and make a solid record as a whole. They have chill, laid back, melodic vocals that pick up just at the right time, with heavy bluesy guitar riffs, and man can Henry play. They aren't the most super innovative, in fact, they have a very 12- Bar, traditional, 70s style rock feel, but they are fucking good at it. It's hard to explain, but I got a similar sense of satisfaction witnessing Barry Bonds spit on fastball a 1/4" off the plate, then hit a rod to the opposite field gap on the very next pitch. There's just nothing quite like watching a master craftsman doing what they do best. Wow, what's my word count, I think I am giving Mona a run for her money (j/k), anywho, the title tracks are awesome "Lovin You Always" and "Superman". I was also very excited to see they had done a remake of Chicago's "I'm A Man" because first, I love that song, second because I thought they sounded very similar when I first saw them on T.V. My personal favorites are, "You Can't See the Light" and "Heart Won't Tell a Lie". This may be premature, but "Forgiven" gets my vote for album of the year, and by now, I am sure my neighbors all know the lyrics by heart* as you cannot play this shit loud enough.


*No complaints as of yet, which is a hallmark sign of a kick ass band