El Circo

• Artist: Maldita Vecindad y los Hijos del Quinto Patio
• Rating:
• Release Date: 1991
• Type: Contains explicit content, Lyrics are included with the album
• Genre: Rock

Review

El Circo is a landmark album. The biggest-selling rock album in Mexican history, it brought the underground sound of the burgeoning "Rock En Espanol" movement to mainstream attention. El Circo succeeded because it captured the energy of Maldita Vecindad's ferocious live shows without sacrificing their songcraft. "Pachuco," the fiery leadoff track, became an instant classic (a pachuco is the Mexican equivalent of a Jamaican rudeboy), and from there the album veers all over the place, lyrically as well as musically. "Un Poco de Sangre" is a tragic ode to a doomed street urchin, but rather than turning the song into a morose ballad, Maldita Vecindad plays it as a horn-driven funk-metal jam. "Kumbala" incorporates mariachi and old west balladry into a gorgeous love song. That's not even to mention their cover of Mexican crooner Juan Gabriel's moony ballad "Querida," which the band turns into a ska-punk rave-up. As disparate as the sounds and ideas are, though, there is never anything forced or contrived here. The band works as a cohesive unit and the album flows from beginning to end. El Circo is as groundbreaking and influential as any album released in the '90s. ~ Victor W. Valdivia, All Music Guide

Tracks

Track Title	Composers	Performers	Time
Pachuco (Lyrics)	Maldita Vecindad, Juan Gabriel	Maldita Vecindad, Hijos del Pueblo	(3:14)
Un Poco de Sangre	Juan Gabriel, Maldita Vecindad	Los Hijos del 5² Patio, Maldita Vecindad	(4:00)
Toño	Juan Gabriel	Maldita Vecindad	(3:30)
Solin	Juan Gabriel, Maldita Vecindad	Maldita Vecindad	(3:11)
Kumbala (Lyrics)	Maldita Vecindad, Juan Gabriel	Maldita Vecindad	(4:27)
Un Gran Circo	Maldita Vecindad, Juan Gabriel	Maldita Vecindad	(4:11)
Pata de Perro (Lyrics)	Maldita Vecindad, Juan Gabriel	Maldita Vecindad	(3:29)
Crudelia	Maldita Vecindad, Juan Gabriel	Maldita Vecindad	(2:42)
Mare	Juan Gabriel, Maldita Vecindad	Maldita Vecindad	(3:38)
Otra	Maldita Vecindad, Juan Gabriel	Maldita Vecindad	(:17)
Querida	Juan Gabriel	Maldita Vecindad	(3:29)

Credits

Maldita Vecindad (Design), Gustavo Santaolalla (Percussion), Carlos Somonte (Cover Design), Pablo Labastida (Design), Carlos Monsivais (?), Don Tittle (Engineer), Pato (Guitar), Fernando Roldán (Engineer), Sax (Trumpet), Sax (Guitar), Oscar Necoechea (Photography), Aldao (Bass), Gustavo Santaolalla (Producer), Tony Peluso (Mixing), Keith Blake (Engineer), Sax (Saxophone), Carlos Monsivais (Bombo), Carlos Somonte (?), Tom Baker (Mastering), Anibal Kerpel (Keyboards), Gustavo Santaolalla (Guitar), Oscar Necoechea (Design), Maldita Vecindad (Concept), Armando Manzanero (?)