Mas Fuerte Que Nunca

• Artist: La Banda el Recodo de Cruz Lizárraga
• Rating:
• Release Date: August 29, 2006
• Genre: Latin

Review

In 2006, Banda el Recodo celebrated their 68th anniversary, and they didn't do it by acting like a "ghost band"; instead, Joel and Alfonso Lizárraga (the youngest sons of the late Recodo founder Don Cruz Lizárraga) kept the Mexican institution moving ahead musically. "Ghost band" is a term that jazz musicians use to describe bands that employ the name of famous bandleaders who have long since died -- for example, there was a still a swing band billing itself as the Glenn Miller Orchestra in 2006 even though Miller himself died in 1944 -- and the "ghost band" concept certainly isn't limited to jazz. There are many Latin "ghost bands," and by calling itself Banda el Recodo de Cruz Lizárraga, the outfit that Joel and Alfonso lead on Mas Fuerte Que Nunca (Stronger Than Ever) is technically a Mexican "ghost band." But unlike so many "ghost bands," this 2006 edition of Banda el Recodo is not a carbon copy of how the outfit sounded 50 or 60 years earlier. Mas Fuerte Que Nunca is faithful to Recodo's history in that everything on this 44-minute CD is easily identifiable as banda, but Joel and Alfonso use banda in many different ways. This diverse album includes everything from corridos ("El Chivo," "Los Dos Jefes") to ranchera ballads ("Ya No Llores Corazón") to tracks that combine banda with salsa ("Apreta'o, Apreta'o"), cumbia ("Quiero Que Me Des un Beso"), and pop-rap ("El Club de las Feas"). The latter was used extensively in the popular Mexican telenovela La Fea Mas Bella, a comedy drama loosely based on the hit Columbian telenovela Yo Soy Betty la Fea -- and Recodo's appearances in La Fea Mas Bella underscored their willingness to appeal to the Latin pop culture of 2006 instead of being stuck in the past. Not without its share of surprises, Mas Fuerte Que Nunca is a rewarding, lively demonstration of Joel and Alfonso's desire to keep Recodo forging ahead creatively while maintaining their late father's brassy banda orientation. ~ Alex Henderson, All Music Guide

Tracks

Track Title	Composers	Performers	Time
La Gran Pachanga		La Banda el Recodo	(2:50)
Los Dos Jefes		La Banda el Recodo	(3:06)
Como Te Va Sin Mi		La Banda el Recodo	(2:54)
Linda y Traicionera		La Banda el Recodo	(3:01)
Dos Botellas de Mezcal		La Banda el Recodo	(3:16)
El Chivo		La Banda el Recodo	(3:16)
Ya No Llores Corazon		La Banda el Recodo	(3:56)
Tus Palabras		La Banda el Recodo	(2:58)
Apreta'o, Apreta'o		La Banda el Recodo	(2:37)
Porque Te Quiero		La Banda el Recodo	(3:39)
Quiero Que Me Des un Beso	Miguel Mendoza	La Banda el Recodo	(3:10)
Mas Fuerte Que Nunca		La Banda el Recodo	(3:46)
El Club de las Feas [*]		La Banda el Recodo	(2:46)
La Gran Pachanga [Versión Radio][*]		La Banda el Recodo	(2:48)

Credits

Alfonso Lizárraga (Concept), Joel Lizárraga (Graphic Design), Joel Lizárraga (Concept), Alfonso Lizárraga (Graphic Design), Ezequiel Paez (Arranger), Joel Lizárraga (Executive Producer), Alfonso Lizárraga (Executive Producer), Yahid Rodriguez (Graphic Design), Alfonso Lizárraga (Arranger), Joel Lizárraga (Art Direction), Alfonso Lizárraga (Art Direction)