Record: Y Volvere
Label: EMI Odeon
Year of Release: 1969
Sounds like: Latin Rock, Romantic Ballad, Bolero,
Chile
Los Angeles Negros ''The Black Angels'' are a Chilean romantic group that has been working and producing music since 1968 and whose line up has suffered diverse and drastic changes preventing the band from having an actual identity and also causing several fans of the different singers to argue on which era has been the best for this group. Being Mario Gomez the only constant member of this nostalgic collective of voices and performers.
''Y Volvere'' was the record that launched them to an international and massive range, in fact, this group has been covered by artists around the world and also sampled (curiously) by Hip Hop Artists like the Beastie Boys and JayZ. Anyways, Los Angeles Negros' sound has nothing to do with beats or samples, it is totally focused on ominous ballads devoted to romance, heartbreaks and love.
The impact that they had in different Hispanic cultures was so strong that their music is still common at parties and celebrations in countries like Mexico, Argentina, Peru and obviously, Chile, even after all this time.
This record features Germain Fuentes as main vocalist and condensates the style of the band, which has been exposed to changes and dramatic break ups, but has never been really compromised.
Regina Says: I was listening to this record with Hugo because we both enjoy the sound of this band and we concluded that Germain Fuentes was the best singer this group could ever have, it wasn't the same after his departure, never. Germain had a powerful falsetto that was unmistakable Latin American and he had a lot of personality and style as singer as well .
The reason why this band is still prominent is because it wasn't one more of those corny/romantic projects that flourished in the 60's (in different parts of the world), it was a crafted sound in part provoked by the cheap keyboards and the cheap instruments in general with which they played. When you listen to Los Angeles Negros for the first time you notice that atmospheric magic in each of their songs, like a crude wall of sound or a kind of artificial Symphonic recreation, whatever it is, it's simply captivating.
Rate: Highly Recommendable
Hugo Menanth Says: Los Angeles Negros are not a cult band, not at all, they are the type of band that you can hear on the radio in Mexico (well, not very much,since radio is dying) or anywhere else in Latin America. It is music that your mother would listen to and that you grew up hearing far in distant houses. Highly popular. Unfortunately, the wrongly called ''Chilean Beatles'' deserved more attention, apart from the attention that inertia gives them, I mean, they deserve real attention. When you sit down and play this record, you feel caught in that vintage reverb that will be hard to find in any other record. It's a pity that the Junta made it impossible for the band to go back to their native Chile, in Mexico (sort of adoptive country) they are still constantly acclaimed
Rate: Highly Recommendable