Mexican Moon

Mexican Moon is the fifth studio album by alternative rock band Concrete Blonde.[4][5]

Mexican Moon
Studio album by
Concrete Blonde
ReleasedOctober 19, 1993
GenreAlternative rock, gothic rock
Length62:28
LabelIRS Records (later reissued by Capitol Records)
ProducerConcrete Blonde with Sean Freehill
Concrete Blonde chronology
Walking in London
(1992)		 Mexican Moon
(1993)		 Still in Hollywood
(1994)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Chicago Tribune[2]
Los Angeles Times[3]

Mexican Moon takes the gothic rock of the previous albums and adds more of a hard rock edge to it. Johnette Napolitano provided the vocals, bass guitar, samples, and the album artwork. Paul Thompson played drums and James Mankey played guitar.

"Jenny I Read" details the rise to stardom and subsequent fall into happy obscurity of a fashion model (rumoured to be Bettie Page), while "Mexican Moon" finds Napolitano singing about a failed romance and fleeing into Mexico. The song "Jonestown" is a critique of the theology surrounding the Jonestown Massacre and opens with a minute-long sample of Jim Jones ranting about warfare. "End of the Line" is a Roxy Music song, written by Bryan Ferry and released on Siren.

On the closing track, "Bajo la Lune Mexicana," Napolitano (who does not speak Spanish) wrote the Spanish lyrics, which are a literal translation of the lyrics to the album's title track. However, none of the verbs are conjugated, noun gender is ignored, and correct grammar is non-existent; it doesn't detract from the overall translation from Spanish to English.

Critical reception

People wrote that "even in its quieter moments, Mexican Moon seethes with emotion."[6] Trouser Press wrote: "Napolitano — who is still a mighty bad singer and doesn’t seem to know it — gives her headstrong, knicker-twisting all to the effort, and very nearly gets by on sheer gumption."[7]

Track listing

All songs written by Johnette Napolitano, except where noted.

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Jenny I Read" 5:20
2."Mexican Moon" 5:03
3."Heal It Up" 4:21
4."Jonestown" 6:09
5."Rain"James Mankey, Napolitano, Murphy3:28
6."I Call It Love"Mankey, Napolitano5:17
7."Jesus Forgive Me (For the Things I'm About To Say)" 5:17
8."When You Smile"Steve Wynn4:21
9."Close To Home" 3:32
10."One of My Kind"Napolitano, Texacala Jones3:55
11."End of the Line"Bryan Ferry4:41
12."(Love Is a) Blind Ambition" 6:15
13."Bajo la Lune Mexicana" 5:07

Personnel

Credits are adapted from the Mexican Moon CD album booklet.[8]

Concrete Blonde

  • Johnette Napolitano – vocals (all tracks), guitars (tracks 1, 3, 5, 7–8, 12), bass (tracks 1, 3–4, 7–8), keyboards (track 12), percussion (tracks 6–7, 9, 11), electric guitar (tracks 2, 13), piano (track 9)
  • James Mankey – guitars (tracks 1, 4–12), bass (tracks 2, 5-6, 9–11, 13), guitar synthesizer (tracks 6–7, 11), vocals (track 9), Spanish guitar (tracks 2, 13), acoustic guitar (tracks 2, 13), additional voices (track 4)
  • Paul Thompson – drums (tracks 3–9, 11–12), timpani (tracks 3, 5), percussion (tracks 6–7)

Additional musicians

Production

  • Concrete Blonde – producer
  • Sean Freehill – producer, recording, additional drum programming
  • Alex Gordon, Robert Fayer – recording assistance
  • Earle Mankey – additional recording
  • Robert Read – additional recording assistance
  • Tim Palmer – mixing
  • Mark O'Donoghue, Jamie Seyberth – assistant mixers
  • Ted Jensen – mastering

Other

  • Johnette Napolitano – paintings, photographs
  • Stephen Stickler – band photograph
  • Brigid Pearson – cover design, assemblage

Charts
Chart (1993) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[9] 53
Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[10] 36
US Billboard 200[11] 67

References
  1. Mexican Moon at AllMusic
  2. Webber, Brad. "Concrete BlondeMexican Moon (Capitol) (STAR)(STAR)(STAR)Religion is the..." chicagotribune.com.
  3. "CONCRETE BLONDE"Mexican Moon" Capitol* * 1/2The five-song..." Los Angeles Times. October 24, 1993.
  4. Buckley, Peter (June 15, 2003). The Rough Guide to Rock. Rough Guides. ISBN 9781843531050 – via Google Books.
  5. Augusto, Troy J. (March 8, 1994). "Concrete Blonde".
  6. "Picks and Pans Review: Mexican Moon". PEOPLE.com.
  7. "Concrete Blonde".
  8. Mexican Moon (US CD album liner notes). Concrete Blonde. Capitol Records, I.R.S. Records. 1993. CDP 0777 7 81129 2 1.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  9. Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (pdf ed.). Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 65.
  10. "Top RPM Albums: Issue 2304". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved January 4, 2022.
  11. "Concrete Blonde Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved January 4, 2022.
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