Al Hurricane – Mi Saxophone album review

Al Hurricane’s debut album is a fun, and slightly rebellious, take on the old sophisticated Spanish and Pueblo folk music of New Mexico. With a sincere respect for the songs, the rock-and-roll and rockabilly inspirations of the sounds, out of the then popular Norman Petty and Sun Studios, reverberating throughout. Al Hurricane had already been cutting his chops performing at concerts and clubs in Albuquerque, and recording alongside his brothers Baby Gaby and Tiny Morrie at Norman Petty’s Studios, the studio where Buddy Holly and Roy Orbison had been recording. In Al’s first record, he showed his knack for constructing a tenacious set of tracks, from wildly diverse sources of inspiration. The lead singles from this album are “Mi Saxophone / Sentimiento”, “Mi Saxophone” is a rock-and-roll track through-and-through, with heavy drums, rock guitar, and a buoyant high-pitched silly chorus. Tracks like “Sin Palabras” and “El Burro Norteño” maintain the rock-and-roll vibe. Whereas “Sentimiento”, is an earnest slow rock ballad, with the tracks “Triste y Solito” and “Sin Ti” maintaining that same earnest feel. The album was recorded on equipment from Norman Petty’s Studio, and featured a “tape echo” delay, both of which gave the tracks a Route 66, rock-and-roll 50s, vibe to them. This gave the songs a classic sound when it came out, and has allowed the album to age surprisingly well, and each of these classics still shine.