Los Tigres del Norte Albums (50)
What The Critics Say
The kings of norteño music return with their 512th album (give or take), their first disc of new material since 2007's Detalles y Emociones, which found them moving into some unexpected territory (releasing the song "El Muro," sung in multiple languages). That was followed by 2008's Raices, a set of classic Mexican songs transformed into norteño, and a live album. But based on this evidence, the four Hernández brothers and cousin/drummer Oscar Lara were hardly coasting. As regular as clockwork or the steady, polka-like norteño beat, this album offers a dozen new songs dealing with love, crime, and the immigrant experience. There are some surprises -- "Como la Vida Sin Fútbol" features almost rap-like vocals and an unexpectedly aggressive beat supporting a humorous lyric about soccer fanaticism (including the noise of a cheering crowd and a game announcer). But for the most part, Los Tigres del Norte rose to their position at the top of the norteño heap by delivering exactly what their fans want, and this is an extremely well-played and gracefully sung selection of songs that will surely keep their audience two-stepping across the floor for the year until their next release. (In an interesting acknowledgement of norteño's popularity as cell phone ringtones, the group has released an EP containing two album cuts and two exclusive songs -- "El Poste" and "Va Sola" -- downloadable from Verizon.) ~ Phil Freeman, All Music Guide
'Tu Noche Con Tigres del Norte'
Release Date 11/25/2008
Tracks 14
Label Fonovisa
See Album Tracklist and Review
'Karaoke Tigres del Norte'
Release Date 11/4/2008
Tracks 12
Label Prodisc
See Album Tracklist and Review
'Detalles y Emociones'
Release Date 3/27/2007
Tracks 15
Label Fonovisa
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
Los Tigres del Norte are as reliable as ever on Detalles y Emociones, a typically solid, thematically relevant, and all-around excellent album that ranks among their best. "El Muro" is the standout song here. The song, which appears in two versions, one a little longer than the other, addresses the proposed U.S.-Mexico wall from a Mexican-American perspective and, like "Jaula de Oro" before it, invokes a child's point of view as a framing device. "El Muro" isn't the only highlight. There are numerous others, including "Detalles," "Corazon Herido," and "Emociones." "America Central," also a highlight, is another song that is lyrically notable. That Los Tigres can record such consistently high-quality albums like Detalles y Emociones on an annual basis, all the while touring an ever-expanding circuit, which takes them from their Californian home base to all corners of the Americas and even to Europe and Asia, is a testament to the tireless work ethic of the bandmembers: Eduardo Hernández, Jorge Hernández, Hernán Hernández, Oscar Lara, and Luis Hernández. These guys are really on a roll. Truthfully, at this point in time there might not be a more reliably satisfying act in all of regional Mexican music, if not popular Latin music altogether, than Los Tigres del Norte. ~ Jason Birchmeier, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Lovers of jazz, cabaret, and traditional pop often speak of the Great American Songbook -- that is, all the classic songs that George Gershwin, Cole Porter, Irving Berlin, and others brought to New York City's Tin Pan Alley. And in Mexico and the southwestern part of the United States, there is a different but equally rich treasure chest of material that should be called "the Great Mexican Songbook." José Alfredo Jiménez (who was arguably the Antonio Carlos Jobim of Mexico), Felipe Valdés Leal, Pepe Guízar, and other Mexican songwriters gave listeners a wealth of time-honored standards that continue to receive a great deal of attention from mariachi, ranchera, banda, norteño, duranguense, and tierra caliente artists. In fact, the Great Mexican Songbook is exactly what Los Tigres del Norte pay tribute to on Raíces. Unlike the mariachi bands that play standards exclusively, this norteño powerhouse is hardly a cover band or a repertory act; many of the songs that they are best known for (such as "Contrabando y Traición," "La Reina del Sur," "La Juala de Oro," and "La Banda del Carro Rojo") became famous after Los Tigres recorded them. But on this 2008 release, Los Tigres savor the pleasures of a standards-oriented approach for a change -- and that means embracing several songs by Jiménez (including "No Me Amenaces," "Tu Recuerdo y Yo," "El Rey," and "El Hijo del Pueblo") as well as Leal's "Rumbo al Sur" and Guízar's "Sin Ti." These songs have been performed in many different musical settings over the years, but on Raíces, the Great Mexican Songbook is always approached as hardcore norteño -- and even though they are recording very familiar songs, Los Tigres always sound distinctive on this pleasing addition to their catalog. ~ Alex Henderson, All Music Guide
'Historias Que Contar'
Release Date 4/4/2006
Tracks 15
Label Fonovisa
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
Historias Que Contar, yet another first-rate album by Los Tigres del Norte, emphasizes the norteño group's strengths, presenting a bounty of corridos (most notably "Señor Locutor") as well as the occasional ballad ("Me Haces Falta"), duet ("Que Te Parece"), and cumbia ("No Diet"). Los Idolos del Pueblo perform songs written by some of the best in their field, including Manuel Eduardo Toscano, Paulino Vargas, Juan Villarreal, and Pablo Castro. In sum, you get the best of the best here: the most renowned act in norteño performing songs by some of the style's most gifted writers. Granted, there's not much to differentiate Historias Que Contar from countless other Los Tigres del Norte albums. Nonetheless, it's easy to be satisfied by such an excellent all-around effort by one of the hardest-working bands out there, without question -- a band that has been at it for decades and one that continues to please its fan base year after year, album after album. ~ Jason Birchmeier, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
In Spanish, Directo al Corazon means straight to the heart. For some artists, such a lofty title would be an example of empty rhetoric. But in the case of los Tigres del Norte, Directo al Corazon is an appropriate title because they really do provide songs that go straight to the heart -- songs that working class Mexicans can relate to, and songs that non-Mexican listeners can find heartening even if they don't have first-hand knowledge of the things the group addresses. One doesn't have to be from Trenchtown, Jamaica to be moved by Bob Marley's "No Woman, No Cry," and one doesn't have to be Mexican to find los Tigres' songs heartening. Directo al Corazon, on the whole, isn't as lyrically biting as some of los Tigres' other albums, but the warmth, charm and infectiousness one expects from the norteño veterans are certainly present. They are present on the earnest "A Ellas"; they are present on "Viva la Sinaloa," which pays tribute to the Mexican state of Sinaloa. Another high point of the album is the poignant single "La Sorpresa," which is about a man who leaves behind the woman he loves when he departs his country in search of financial opportunities elsewhere -- a difficult decision, but one he feels he has to make. For all its highlights, Directo al Corazon isn't among los Tigres' essential albums -- and when a group's catalog is as huge as los Tigres', casual listeners really need to make a distinction between the essential albums and the albums that are worthwhile but not quite essential. Nonetheless, there are many die-hard Tigres fans who insist on owning everything that they record, and listeners who fit that description will find Directo al Corazon to be a solid addition to their catalog. ~ Alex Henderson, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
In Spanish, Pacto de Sangre means "Pact of Blood" -- not exactly the sort of title that makes one think of starry-eyed romanticism, but then, starry-eyed romanticism isn't the thing that los Tigres del Norte are best known for. The norteño/Tex-Mex powerhouse hasn't totally excluded romantic lyrics -- los Tigres aren't immune to the pleasures of love, love, love -- but romanticism isn't their primary focus. Mention los Tigres' name to a longtime fan, and the first thing that comes to mind are biting, gritty, hard-hitting accounts of the struggles and challenges that the Mexican working class has faced in both Mexico and the southwestern United States. If you're seeking regional Mexican music that is romantically comforting, you turn to Marco Antonio Solis, Intocable, or Conjunto Primavera; if you're in the mood for a norteño equivalent of the Clash, Rubén Blades, KRS-One, Bob Marley, or Neil Young, you turn to los Tigres -- whose reputation for gutsy, meaningful lyrics certainly isn't going to be damaged by Pacto de Sangre. With this 2004 release, the norteño rebels continue to offer compelling accounts of Mexican struggles north and south of the border. The best sociopolitical songs -- the Clash's "Career Opportunities," Gil Scott-Heron's "The Bottle," Grandmaster Flash's "The Message," or Marvin Gaye's "Inner City Blues," for example -- have a way of making the political personal, and that is certainly true of this CD. Not that the listener has to relate to los Tigres' subject matter in order to appreciate Pacto de Sangre on a musical level; the polka-influenced grooves are infectious even if one doesn't speak any Spanish. And not everyone who speaks Spanish will have firsthand knowledge of everything los Tigres write about; someone who has spent his/her entire life in Barcelona or Buenos Aires won't be writing songs about their experiences growing up in Mexican neighborhoods. But then, Bob Marley's and Peter Tosh's accounts of black life in Jamaica touched millions of nonblack, non-Jamaican listeners -- and similarly, many of the issues that los Tigres tackle on Pacto de Sangre (crime, poverty, economic deprivation) have international implications. Both musically and lyrically, Pacto de Sangre is an exciting addition to los Tigres' sizable catalog. ~ Alex Henderson, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
In Spanish, La Reina del Sur means "the queen of the south." But Los Tigres del Norte are kings of the north -- north as in norteño/Tex-Mex music that was invented by Mexican-Americans who lived north of the U.S./Mexico border. For a long time, the San Jose CA-based outfit has enjoyed a reputation for being a well-oiled norteño machine; they're one of the groups that listeners turn to when they want to hear pure, unapologetic norteño. And their albums have, for the most part, been impressively consistent; La Reina del Sur is no exception. Released in 2002, this CD doesn't point the veteran group in any new directions -- anyone who already has a lot of Los Tigres del Norte albums in his/her collection won't find La Reina del Sur to be groundbreaking. But in terms of quality and consistency, you can't go wrong with this album. Hearing this band playing norteño/Tex-Mex is a lot like hearing a veteran Cuban outfit playing son, mambo, guaguancó, and cha cha -- sure, Los Tigres have long since become predictable, but they're still great at what they do. Tracks like "No Merezco Tus Lágrimas" and "Mira, Mira, Mira" are pure, state-of-the-art norteño -- warm, lively, expressive, and emotionally rich. Of course, describing norteño artists as purists is rather ironic because norteño, after all, is a hybrid form that owes something to different cultures. Norteño's lyrics are in Spanish and are inspired by the Mexican experience, but the polka beat that one hears on much of this album has a strong German connection -- the same beat one hears at Oktoberfest is also heard at Cinco de Mayo. La Reina del Sur is yet another fine album from a Tex-Mex institution. ~ Alex Henderson, All Music Guide
