If you asked an A&R person to suggest some artists for a compilation paying tribute to
los Tigres del Norte, certain names would come to mind immediately -- names like
los Huracanes del Norte,
los Rieleros del Norte,
los Tucanes de Tijuana, Grupo Exterminador, and
Oro Norteño. And if the A&R person wanted to add some banda to that norteño-oriented lineup,
Banda el Recodo,
Ezequiel Peña,
Rogelio Martínez,
Banda el Limón, and
Lupillo Rivera would also be quite appropriate. But try to envision a
Tigres del Norte tribute that isn't full of norteño, banda, or duranguense stars -- a
Tigres tribute that favors rock en español instead. Well,
El Mas Grande Homenaje a los Tigres del Norte (The Biggest Tribute to los Tigres del Norte) is exactly that -- and most of the time, these rock en español makeovers of
Tigres gems are as memorable as they are intriguing. Rock en español, of course, is a term that refers to lyrics rather than melodies, beats, or harmonies; Spanish-language rock comes in many forms, and on this compilation,
Tigres songs that started out as norteño are reinvented as everything from alternative metal (
Molotov on "Ya Te Velé") to adult alternative (
Julieta Venegas on "La Juala de Oro" and
Ely Guerra on "La Tumba Falsa") to ska-punk (Maldita Vecinidad on "El Circo"). The most traditional-sounding thing on the album, from a regional Mexican standpoint, is
los Lobos' heartfelt, ranchera-ish version of "El Mojado Acaudalado"; all of the other tracks take major liberties with
los Tigres' songs. But while the beats are generally quite different,
los Tigres' powerful messages still come through. A few of the more electronica-oriented, rave-ish tracks sound forced and unnatural, but more often than not, this CD is a major artistic success and demonstrates that
los Tigres' songbook can easily be relevant to rock en español. ~ Alex Henderson