Mas Canciones (correct form: Más canciones;The album's title as published is cosmetically incorrect. According to Spanish orthographical rules, the word más ("more") must have an accent over the vowel to distinguish it from mas ("but"). http://www.bowdoin.edu/~eyepes/newgr/ats/03.htm Spanish for "more songs") is an album by American singer/songwriter/producer Linda Ronstadt, released in late 1991.
A significant hit in the U.S. for a non-English language album, it peaked at number 88 on the Billboard album chart, and reached number 16 on the Top Latin Albums chart. It won the Grammy Award for Best Mexican/Mexican-American Album, Ronstadt's second win in this category. The single "Grítenme Piedras del Campo" peaked at number 15 on the Hot Latin Tracks chart.
In 2016, this album was reissued on the Rhino label after several years out of print.
History
Mas Canciones was released four years after the release of Ronstadt's Double Platinum-certified, first Spanish-language album, Canciones de Mi Padre.The New York Times Article by Stephen Holden: 04 December 1991
"The reason I did it is selfish," Ronstadt said in an interview. "I had started to make a record in English, but I didn't like it and put it away. I found myself sleeping and dreaming in Spanish, and these songs were driving me crazy. I kept waking up in the middle of the night thinking that the musicians who know this music are old, and if they go I won't have anybody to help me do it. I didn't dare put it off another minute."
The album, according to Ronstadt, "concentrated more on trio and ensemble singing than did its predecessor." For the vocal trios, Ronstandt was joined by her two brothers, Pete and Mike. Pete Ronstadt at the time was the chief of police in Tucson, Arizona, where Mike owned a hardware store. Except for the professional guitar-playing, Ronstadt said, the arrangements are the same as those they sang in the living room when they were growing up.
Mas Canciones won Linda the 1993 Grammy Award for Best Mexican/Mexican-American Album.Chronology of awards for Linda Ronstadt
Reception
In his AllMusic review, critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine called the album a "thoroughly enjoyable collection of Spanish and Mexican songs that is arguably stronger than its predecessor, since Ronstadt sounds more comfortable with the material than ever before."
Track listing
Personnel Linda Ronstadt – vocals Linda Ronstadt, Michael J. Ronstadt and Pete Ronstadt – trio voices (4, 10, 12) Juan José Almaguer, Jesús Guzmán, Santiago Maldonado, José Martínez, Juan Morales and Rafael Palomar – chorus
Musicians Rubén Fuentes – arrangements and conductor Flaco Jiménez – accordion (8) Leonel Gálvez – guitars Rafael Palomar – guitars Gilberto Puente – guitars Raúl Puente – guitars Enrique de Santiago – guitarrón Víctor "El Pato" Cárdenas – vihuela Angela Koregelos – flute (1, 11) Katheryn McElrath – flute (1, 11) Martin Lara – trumpet Federico Torres – first trumpet Santiago Maldonado – harp Juan José Almaguer – violin Nati Cano – violin Pedro García – violin Monica Treviño - violin Jesús Guzmán – violin José Martínez, Jr. – first violin Mario Rodríguez – violin
Production Rubén Fuentes – producer George Massenburg – producer, recording, mixing Nathaniel Kunkel – recording Kevin Scott – recording assistant Craig Silvey – recording assistant M.T. Silvia – recording assistant Doug Sax – mastering Alan Yoshida – mastering The Mastering Lab (Hollywood, California) – mastering location Ivy Skoff – production coordinator Janet Stark – production coordinator John Kosh – art direction, design Gilbert Ronstadt – artwork, painting William Coupon – photography Rossy Corsly – translation Mercedes Dalton – translation Linda Ronstadt – translation
Charts Chart (1991)Peakposition Australian Albums (ARIA) N.B. The High Point number in the NAT column represents the release's peak on the national chart. 183United States (Billboard 200) 88
Release history + Release history and formats for Mas Canciones Region Date Format Label Ref. North America November 19, 1991 Elektra Records
References