by Adam GreenbergThis album was released by Arhoolie from recordings made between 1986 and 1988 of the great conjunto accordion player Flaco Jiminez playing with various friends of his in the music business -- primarily Fred Ojeda, Ry Cooder, and Peter Rowan. Truthfully, on most of the tracks, the influence of his "amigos" is hardly noticeable. When Ry Cooder appears on mandolin by the time of "Jennette,," the sound begins to change a bit away from the classic Tex-Mex sound to something almost a bit Hawaiian. Later on in the album, other songs with Cooder hold a less Tex-Mex feel, partially due to the instrumentation, but partly as well due to the change in mood or style from the musicians themselves. They're more relaxed on the Cooder sessions. Again though, the bouncing throb of the conjunto bass returns to pull the listener back to a San Antonio parking lot. Overall, it's quite a nice collection of music, though other Jiminez recordings might be somewhat more representative of his sound.