Los Rieleros Del Norte Para Ti... Nuestra Historia CD

In 2006, Fonovisa launched its ambitious Para Ti... Mi Historia/Para Ti... Nuestra Historia (For You...My Story/For You...Our Story) series, thoughtfully assembling an abundance of two-CD sets that contained both familiar recordings by Fonovisa artists and newly recorded spoken introductions to those songs by the artists. The Historia sets were essentially best-ofs, but the spoken introductions gave them a much more collector-friendly, biographical, anthology-like approach than the type of basic no-frills budget CDs that are quite prevalent in the regional Mexican market -- and the fact that the introductions were always en español made them inappropriate for the non-Spanish-speaking listener who has only a casual interest in norteño, mariachi, or banda. Stylistically, the series runs the gamut, ranging from the sleek Latin pop/grupero of Ana Bárbara to the hardcore, straight-ahead mariachi, ranchera, and banda of Ezequiel Peña; this double-disc by Los Rieleros del Norte definitely falls into the straight-ahead category. Los Rieleros are, of course, one of the top norteño groups, and the 30 songs that Fonovisa picked for Para Ti... Nuestra Historia offer a very traditional (as opposed to pop/crossover) view of norteño. All 30 of those songs have spoken introductions by members of Los Rieleros, who offer their informative insights on the material; for españolhablantes (Spanish speakers), it's a pleasure to hear what they have to say about "Almohada Mojada" (Wet Pillow), "Entre Nosotros" (Between Us), or "Amor Prohibido" (Forbidden Love). Most of the selections are studio recordings, although live performances of "Amor Clandestino" and the famous corrido/standard "Juan Martha" are also included on this double-disc -- which is well worth owning if one speaks at least some Spanish and has more than a casual interest in Los Rieleros' norteño legacy. ~ Alex Henderson