Tio Gringo's Top 10 Modern Tejano Albums
Apr 06 '01
The Bottom Line There's thousands of tejano albums, over 100 that are "great". Getting down to just 10 was a tough job, but delicious listening!
I wanted to do a list of my top ten latin artists, and I quickly realized that was just too broad to be meaningful -- it would be like doing "best albums sung in English". (I can't even begin to imagine how someone could do just 10 "international" albums!)
Better to pick just one genre and do it well. I chose tejano since its one of my favorite kinds of music, I listen to it all the time, and since I have a lot of favorite artists in the category.
If you're not familiar with Tejano music, think pop country sung in spanish (with some accordians thrown in), and you won't be far off. But there's a lot more to it than that. Tejano is an old genre, with roots going back to before Texas was a state, or even a republic. It's the evolution of conjunto music, as it is performed north of the Rio Grande. It's also music influenced by German and east Europoean immigrants (polkas are common). Tejano and its identical-twin brother genre, norteno, share almost everything, but if you look closely, there are differences. Norteno is closely identified with Mexico and is likely to be ranchera type music. You're more likely to hear stories (corridos) in norteno. Tejano is not an international or foreign music style -- it's Texan (born and raised), and is more likely to include influences from American pop or rock. Many tejano artists also do pure country or pure pop songs.
Music is a wonderful thing in that you can listen to it and appreciate it whether you understand the language of the lyrics or not. You don't need to speak a word of spanish to dance to a song. Enough widi-widi! On with the list!
1. Selena -- Amor Prohibido
Nobody disputes that Selena is the immortal queen of tejano music. Born and raised in Corpus Christi Texas, Selena was unquestionably the tejano artist who was most successful at appealing to audiences in both spanish and english. Five years after her death, Selena's albums continue to outsell new artists and her songs continue to get daily airplay on tejano radio. Of all her albums, Amor Prohibido is my favorite -- it best represents her work at the peak of her career and it doesn't include any of the stuff that was specifically recorded to try to capture an anglo crossover market. English-speaking audiences often prefer Dreaming of You, but in my opinion, Amor Prohibido is the far stronger album. Es puro tejano y pura Selena -- simplamente lo mejor!
2. Texas Tornados -- Best of the Texas Tornados
When some of the best musicians in Texas get together to record Texas' native music genre, you're guaranteed licks hotter than a San Antonio barbecue! The Texas Tornados are Freddy Fender, Flaco Jimenez, Doug Sahm, and Augie Meyers. I love that this album so accurately captures the essence of border music and that it truly appeals to an audience that walks in two cultures -- it's got cuts in English (like "Who Were You Thinkin of" and "Is Anybody Goin' to San Antone") as well as Spanish (like "Mentiras" and "La Mucura"). Great stuff!
3. Intocable -- Contigo
Intocable is one of my favorite modern tejano groups. Based out of Zapata, Texas, the group has developed an amazingly loyal following and they've got several strong CDs to choose from. While Intocable IV was a strong contender for my favorite Intocable album, I think I prefer the emotional edge of Contigo a little more. I saw these guys in concert at the Houston Astrodome last month -- the show totally convinced me that they are truly a powerhouse of modern tejano. There's a lot of good cuts on this album, but the strongest are probably the emotional rollercoaster tribute, "El Amigo Que Se Fue", and the fast-paced "Ya Estoy Cansado".
4. Bobby Pulido -- Desvelado
Hmmm. I should include something from the Pulido dynasty, but who? Do I go for Roberto Pulido -- the old master, or do I pick something from Bobby Pulido -- the young generation. Tough call, but since this list represents my favorite modern tejano artists I'll go for Bobby.
Based out of Edinburg Texas, Pulido's albums include some hits that are pure tejano, and others that are pure country-western -- guess that's what happens when you're a born and raised Texan. Songs like "Cindy Don't Know" or "Regretfully" sound like they could be coming out of a Nashville hits radio station. Best cut on this album is probably the title cut, "Desvelado", but my personal favorite is the fast-paced "Ya No Quiero Sonar".
5. La Mafia -- Euforia
I like La Mafia because they're a local band (based in Houston), and because they've got a very strong traditional norteno sound. The best cut on this album is probably "Ayer y Hoy", which is still heard a lot on the radio even though its about 5 years old. I also like the slower moving "Paso lo que Paso."
6. Ramon Ayala -- Quemame los Ojos
Ramon Ayala has been dishing out great hits on both sides of the Rio Grande for almost two decades. I don't think you can talk about border radio without mentioning Ayala. This is one of his newer albums and it really shines as a showcase for Ayala's accordian talent. While the title cut is an undisputed hit on most radio stations, my personal favorite is the melodic "El Tanto Que Te Amo."
7. La Tropa F -- Desde el Corazon de Texas
Talk about keeping it all in the family! La Tropa F is basically the Farias family, from David on the accordian to Juan on the drums -- and in between, there's Jaime, Jesse, Joe, and little Jesse playing just about every other instrument you can imagine. I like the traditional tejano sound that cuts across most of the album, but like Bobby Pulido, they do a lot of pure English-language country music too -- like "I'll Just Keep Your Picture". My favorite cut is probably "Chaparrita".
8. Jennifer y los Jetz -- Abrazame y Besame
Although I didn't really like her first album, "Jennifer", which I felt was raw, immature, and too canned, Jennifer Pena has gotten better as she's gotten a little older. Her Mariposa CD included the hit "Tengo Miedo", and I really like her latest CD -- Abrazame y Besame. The title cut is an undisputed hit on tejano stations and she's got a couple of english language tunes to broaden her appeal among the Anglo audience. If I were a betting man, I'd lay odds down that she becomes a real powerhouse in a few years.
9. Grupo Limite -- Por Puro Amor
While I wanted to keep this list as Texas oriented as possible, I just couldn't keep Limite off! The problem is that though they're based out of Monterrey, the sound is purer tejano than most groups from Texas. Alicia Villarreal brings her soft, youthful voice to these pop-sounding rancheras. Best tunes are the hits "Esta Vez" and "Te Aproveches".
10. Anthology -- Tejano Music Awards
This is actually a series of albums for different years. The awards have been given out annually for over 20 years. Pick one, any one. I chose this as my last top pick not so much for specific cuts or artists on any given CD as for the fact that its always a good snapshot view of what artists are currently doing top-drawer work.
Close, but No Cigar at the Photo Finish...
There were a lot more albums that I really wanted to include, but that I dropped off my list for one reason or another. Here are some of the also-rans...
Conjunto Masters: There were a lot of outstanding albums by some of the real masters of tejano and conjunto -- people like Flaco Jimenez, Valerio Longoria, or Little Joe -- who I didn't include because I felt the music was a little dated, or was not often played on modern tejano radio stations. It's sort of like the problem I face when creating lists of my favorite rock artists: do I include greats like Buddy Holly, or do I stick to newer than Aerosmith, or even newer than the Beastie Boys? I know perfectly well that the classics are often the superior tunes, but ya gotta draw the line somewhere....lo siento caballeros...
Exitos Nortenos: Another tough decision. While geographic borders are always a bit arbitrary, I really wanted this list to be essentially Texan and not Mexican despite the fact that the music of the whole border region is often very similar and albums produced on either side of the border are equally popular on both sides. Nonetheless, I chose not to include some very important groups, such as Tigres del Norte, because their music identifies most closely with the culture and life experience of northern Mexicans.....lo siento senoras y senores...
Ten Best?
I don't know if I can really say these are the best tejano albums on the market today -- they're just my favorites. A lot of people would pick some of the newer artists -- like Eddie Gonzalez, and a lot of people would choose different albums as more representative of some of the artists I do include -- most likely "Dreaming of You" instead of "Amor Prohibido" for Selena. That's okay. This is my list and I'll like what I like...I hope you like it too.
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