Narco Corridos, Vol. 3 : De Parranda Con El Diablo

Album review

Some listeners refuse to listen to any recordings that are performed in a foreign language -- if they can't understand all the words, they aren't interested. But not everyone feels that way; there are people who love Edith Piaf's recordings but speak no French or enjoy Talip Özkan but don't understand a word of Turkish. And even if one doesn't speak any Spanish at all, he/she can still appreciate De Parranda con el Diablo on a musical and rhythmic level and find Grupo Exterminador's norteño/Tex-Mex to be highly infectious. That said, knowing some Spanish certainly doesn't hurt where this CD is concerned -- it isn't necessary, but it doesn't hurt. In the '90s and 2000s, Exterminador has offered some of the liveliest, most colorful storytelling in norteño music, which combines Mexican ranchera with German polka -- and on Narco Corridos, Vol. 3: De Parranda con el Diablo, they continue to do it with a healthy dose of humor. Indeed, Exterminador brings a uniquely Mexican sense of humor to "La Leona," "El Garañon de Michoacan," and other memorable corridos. Clearly, they've learned a thing or two from Los Tigres del Norte, a norteño/Tex-Mex powerhouse famous for their rough-and-tumble tales of Mexican life. Not everything on this CD is hardcore norteño; "Necesito un Amor" and "Nos Tienen Envidia" find them detouring into pop-minded Tejano and grupero territory, and "La Manguera" is a vibrant example of Cumbia Mexicana (a Mexican interpretation of the Colombian Cumbia rhythm). Nonetheless, De Parranda con el Diablo is a norteño album first and foremost -- norteño is what they do best, and they do it with a lot of heart on this excellent CD.

© Alex Henderson /TiVo