Celebrated in the song “American Pie” as one of the rock icons that died in the plane crash (along with Buddy Holly and The Big Bopper), Ritchie Valens was arguably the first artist to create what was termed “Chicano Rock” back in the late 50s. This two disc set of 56 songs is essentially everything that he released, including his big hits as well as material from the legendary 1960 concert at Pacoima Jr. High. The energy emitted from these songs is strong enough to light up Van Nuys Blvd for a month of Cruise Nights.
Valens’ voice is earthy, upbeat and filled with optimism on infectious pieces such as “Come On, Let’s Go” and the classic Latin Rocker “La Bamba” but he was also able to croon out a love tune as on the doo wopping “Donna.” The 11 song concert in Pacoima is raw energy, and while the fidelity is not exactly state of the art, the heat is palpable, with Valens throwing in an instrumental, getting dramatic on “Malaguena” and going rockabilly on “Summertime Blues” as well as doing concert takes of his hits with some fun banter in between. Was music ever this fun again?