Mas canciones

Mas Canciones
Studio album by Linda Ronstadt
Released	November 1991
Recorded	1991
Genre	Mariachi, Latin, Mexican
Length	40:40
Label	Elektra
Producer	Peter Asher
Linda Ronstadt chronology
Cry Like a Rainstorm, Howl Like the Wind (1989) Mas Canciones (1991) Frenesí (1992)

Mas Canciones (correct form: Más Canciones^[1]; Spanish for "more songs") is an album by American singer/songwriter/producer Linda Ronstadt, released in late 1991. Although it was a significant hit for a non-English language album, it peaked at number 88 on the Billboard album chart and sold approximately 400,000 copies in the United States. It also reached number 16 on the Top Latin Albums chart. The single "Gritenme Piedras del Campo" peaked at number 15 on the Hot Latin Tracks chart. The album has never been out of print.

History

Mas Canciones was released four years after the release of Ronstadt's Double Platinum-certified, first Mexican album, Canciones de Mi Padre.^[2]

"The reason I did it is selfish," Ronstadt said in an interview. "I had started to make a record in English, but I didn't like it and put it away. I found myself sleeping and dreaming in Spanish, and these songs were driving me crazy. I kept waking up in the middle of the night thinking that the musicians who know this music are old, and if they go I won't have anybody to help me do it. I didn't dare put it off another minute."^[2]

The album, according to Ronstadt, "concentrated more on trio and ensemble singing than did its predecessor." For the vocal trios, Ronstandt was joined by her two brothers, Pete and Mike. Pete Ronstadt at the time was the chief of police in Tucson, Arizona, where Mike owned a hardware store. Except for the professional guitar-playing, Ronstadt said, the arrangements are the same as those they sang in the living room when they were growing up.^[2]

Mas Canciones won the 1993 Grammy Award for Grammy Award for Best Mexican/Mexican-American Album.^[3]

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[4]
Entertainment Weekly	(B)[5]
Chicago Tribune	[6]

In his Allmusic review, critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine called the album a "thoroughly enjoyable collection of Spanish and Mexican songs that is arguably stronger than its predecessor, since Ronstadt sounds more comfortable with the material than ever before."^[4]

Track listing

1. "Tata Dios" (Trejo) – 4:19
2. "El Toro Relajo" (Felipe Bermejo) – 2:32
3. "Mi Ranchito" (Felipe Valdes Leal) – 3:33
4. "La Mariquita" (Rubén Fuentes) – 2:59
5. "Gritenme Piedras del Campo" (Cuco Sanchez) – 3:27
6. "Siempre Hace Frio" (Cuco Sanchez) – 3:18
7. "El Crucifijo de Piedra" (Roberto Cantoral) – 3:16
8. "Palomita de Ojos Negros" (Tomas Mendez) – 3:30
9. "Pena de los Amores" (Jose Luis Almada) – 4:00
10. "El Camino" (Jesus Navarro, Jr.) – 3:29
11. "El Gustito" (Jose Lopez) – 2:36
12. "El Sueño" (Nicandro Castillo) – 3:41

Personnel

• Linda Ronstadt – vocals
• Pete Ronstadt – vocals
• Mike Ronstadt – vocals
• Leonel Galvez – guitar
• Gilberto Puente – guitar
• Pedro Garcia – violin
• Flaco Jiménez – accordion
• Angela Koregelos – flute
• Martin Lara – trumpet
• Juan Jose Almaguer – choir, chorus, violin
• Jesús Guzmán – choir, chorus, violin
• Santiago Maldonado – choir, chorus, harp
• José Martínez – choir, chorus
• Rafael Palomar – choir, chorus, guitar
• Juan Morales – choir, chorus
• Nati Cano – violin
• Víctor "El Pato" Cardenas – vihuela
• José Martínez, Jr. – violin
• Katie McElrath – flute
• Mario Rodriguez – violin
• Federico Torres – trumpet

Production notes:

• Peter Asher – producer
• George Massenburg – engineer, mixing
• Rubén Fuentes – arranger, conductor
• Doug Sax – mastering
• Alan Yoshida – mastering
• Nathaniel Kunkel – engineer
• Kevin Scott – assistant engineer
• Craig Silvey – assistant engineer
• M.T. Silvia – assistant engineer
• Kosh – art direction, design
• Gilbert Ronstadt – artwork, painting
• Rossy Corsly – translation
• Linda Ronstadt – translation
• William Coupon – photography

References

1. ^ It should be noted that the album's title as published is cosmetically incorrect. According to Spanish orthographical rules, the word más ("more") must have an accent over the vowel to disambiguate it from mas ("but"). http://www.bowdoin.edu/~eyepes/newgr/ats/03.htm
2. ^ ^{a b c} The New York Times Article by Stephen Holden: 04 December 1991
3. ^ [1] Chronology of awards for Linda Ronstadt
4. ^ ^{a b} Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Mas Canciones > Review". Allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/album/r16865. Retrieved January 27, 2011. 
5. ^ Owen, Frank (17 January 1992). "Music Review: Mas Canciones (1992)". Entertainment Weekly. http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,309253,00.html. Retrieved 2 June 2011. 
6. ^ Obejas, Achy (12 December 1991). "Linda Ronstadt Mas Canciones". Chicago Tribune. http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1991-12-12/features/9104210880_1_star-mas-canciones-mariachi. Retrieved 2 June 2011.