The Devil's Swing: Ballads from the Big Bend Country of the Texas-Mexican Border

by DEVIL'S SWING: BALLADS FROM BIG

Overview

These 19 performances in traditional Tejano styles were recorded in the mid- to late '90s during the making of the documentary film The Devil's Swing, which examines the region where the Rio Grande and the Rio Conchos meet. At this point on the Texas-Mexico border, around the towns of Ojinaga in Mexico and Presidio in Texas, the isolation from large urban centers has helped preserve the traditional ballad "corrido" styles that are heard on this CD. On the surface this is just another disc of traditional border music: brisk numbers with soulful vocal harmonies, accordion, and pulsing bass, as well as some sax and occasional drums. Read the English translations (provided in the bilingual lyric sheet) of these Spanish-sung numbers, however, and a darker side emerges. Most of these narrative ballads are in fact the stories of drug trafficking along the border, in which the protagonists often meet violent death and harsh prison sentences. This means you really do need to know Spanish to get the most out of the album, as without knowledge of the lyrical nuances, it just sounds like typical music of the genre. Of course, one could argue that as corridos have always dealt with current events, songs about drug trafficking are not really out of the ordinary, anymore, in this style. Note that while a few of these songs are heard in the accompanying film, this isn't a soundtrack but a collection of performances recorded in the making of the documentary, some of which happened to be used in the movie. ~ Richie Unterberger

Product Details

Release Date:	11/14/2000
Label:	ARHOOLIE RECORDS
UPC:	0096297048023

Tracks

1. Corrido de Kiansis  -  Palomares De Ojinaga  -  Traditional
2. Jacinto Trevi¿¿o  -  Palomares De Ojinaga  -  Traditional
3. La Tumba De Villa  -  Palomares Del Bravo
4. Los Traficantes del Bravo  -  Palomares Del Bravo
5. La Tragedia De ojinaga  -  3 Amigos
6. Corrido De Ferm¿¿n Ar¿¿valo  -  Suspiros De Ojinaga
7. La Muerte De Ferm¿¿n Ar¿¿valos  -  Jilgueros del Arroyo
8. El Corrido de Israel y Guadalupe  -  Luceros de Ojinaga
9. Corrido De Mart¿¿n "El Shorty" Lopez  -  Tres Amigos De Isidro Ruiz
10. El Corrido De 'El Pira' Ramirez  -  Frontera  -  Melquiades  -  Sevilla
11. El Zorro De Ojinaga  -  Suspiros De Ojinaga  - Paulino Vargas
12. Corrido De Pablo Acosta  -  Palomares Del Bravo
13. El Corrido de Amado Carrillo  -  Sevilla
14. El Arresto De Los S¿¿nchez  -  Jinettes De Odessa
15. El Corrido De Gravielo Gardea  -  Frontera
16. El Corrido De "El Kilo"  -  Suspiros De Ojinaga
17. El Leon De La Sierra  -  Los Palomares de Ojinaga
18. Ejido De Palomas  - Carlos Olivas
19. El Corrido de Esquiel Hernandez  -  Amado Banda  - Santiago Jr. Jimenez  -  Mermea  - Mark Rubin

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Jinettes De Odessa   Primary Artist
Los Luceros De Ojinaga   Primary Artist
Palomares De Ojinaga   Primary Artist
Melquiades   Primary Artist
Tomas Sevilla   Primary Artist
Tomas Sevilla Vocal Duet   Primary Artist
Los Jilgueros del Arroyo   Primary Artist
Melquiades Sevilla   Primary Artist
Los Palomares de Ojinaga   Primary Artist
Santiago Jimenez, Jr.   Primary Artist
Los Palomares Del Bravo   Primary Artist
Mariachi Frontera   Primary Artist
Los 3 Amigos   Primary Artist
Los Tres Amigos De Isidro Ruiz   Primary Artist
Carlos Olivas   Primary Artist
Tres Amigos De Isidro Ruiz   Primary Artist
Amado Banda   Primary Artist
Mark Rubin   Primary Artist
Frontera, Mariachi   Primary Artist
Luceros de Ojinaga   Primary Artist
Sevilla, Tomas   Primary Artist
Mermea, Victor   Primary Artist
Palomares Del Bravo   Primary Artist
Suspiros De Ojinaga   Primary Artist

Technical Credits

Carlos Olivas   Composer
Paulino Vargas   Composer
Traditional   Composer
Los 3 Amigos   Performer
Morgan K. Dodge   Graphic Design
Amado Banda   Performer
Mark Rubin   Performer
Chris Strachwitz   Liner Notes,Editing
Los Jilgueros del Arroyo   Performer
Santiago Jimenez, Jr.   Composer