Sangre by Smokey Wonder
A lonely cosmic cholo, Smokey, travels warp speed in his intergalactic lowrider, a beaming spray-painted gold 2084 Grand Marquis, pondering heart-break, solitude, y amor while he traverses endless boulevards of star dust nearing una nueva frontera.
He is in search of the mythical Aztlán, thought to be nestled deep in a scattering of stars thousands of light years away, más de allá in the Crab Nebula located in the Perseus arm of the Milky Way. There lies his dormant warrior princess, Izta Clara.
With nothing but a few pinups of dreamy rucas floating weightlessly near his chrome dash, and an old roach laced with radioactive asteroid dust he picked up in Mars in the solar ashtray, he tunes between space station transmissions, searching for the perfect rola to soundtrack his spacy stoned sentimentos.
Leaving Earth was hard, and space is an alien place for this extranjero. He knows if he finds his new home in the heavens, he will have to pay the ultimate price: His sangre, pulsing and flashing in his veigns like a boom bap beat, will spill out onto the vast speckled concrete of a distant galaxy.
Melodías y ritmos swirl around like smoke as he closes in on this vacated homeland, awash in disintegrated memories that singe the crushed purple velvet of his alma olvidado. Stars bend into light beams and sounds give way into radio fuzz like a black vinyl comet disappearing into a deep gravitational pull.
Is time racing forward from the Oldies of another siglo, or is the past just another dimension? Looking in the rear view, is Smokey just peering into another realidad? Will love last forever, or is it just another unfulfilled promise? Is it worth the price to reach home, when perhaps home has really been adentro all along?
There are many ways to find out, but feel free to hitch a ride with Smokey as he searches eternidad for signs of life and love.
Tracklist
| 1. | Pensamientos Vagos (feat. Fondo) | 3:55 |
| 2. | You Know a Long Time Ago (Interlude) | 0:38 |
| 3. | I Know I Need Someone (By the Way You Look at Me) | 2:51 |
| 4. | Que No | 2:50 |
| 5. | I Had a Choice | 3:05 |
| 6. | Wishful Thinkin' | 5:03 |
| 7. | Too Many Goodbyes | 2:44 |
| 8. | How I Love You (Decirte Quánto Te Quiero) | 2:48 |
| 9. | Quédate (One Last Time) | 1:05 |
| 10. | L-O-V-E (feat. Fondo) | 4:01 |
| 11. | I'll Be in Love (To be Continued) | 1:42 |
| 12. | Someday | 1:13 |
| 13. | The Gold is Best, but the White is the Baddest (Interlude) | 0:58 |
| 14. | Olvídate (Anyways) | 2:17 |
| 15. | Questions | 3:08 |
| 16. | Like a Fool (You Said You Loved Me) | 2:39 |
| 17. | I'm Still a Man | 1:56 |
| 18. | I Want to Feel | 2:18 |
| 19. | Otra Taza De Café (feat. Fondo) | 4:37 |
| 20. | Stayin' High | 2:28 |
| 21. | He's Mi Hermano (Interlude) | 0:22 |
| 22. | Rule The World | 5:00 |
| 23. | 2084 Grand Marquis | 3:44 |
| 24. | Sittin' in el Parque | 3:17 |
| 25. | Anillo De Oro | 2:39 |
| 26. | Sun Up (I Miss Earth) | 4:08 |
| 27. | I Don't Wanna Cry | 1:43 |
Credits
First and foremost this album would not have been possible without my family's support. My wife Claire and mi hijo David gave me nightly inspiration (and time) to get to work on music I love so much.
Having Fondo literally bless three! tracks was incredible for me. He is a talent and a force on so many levels to be reckoned with. Do yourself a favor and check everything he puts out. Solid gold material.
I would be remiss not too mention the many artists and musicians who were sampled for this album. I love their music and hold it close to my heart and part of this work is an homage to every Oldie I listened to coming up. And while I'm not about to sample snitch on myself, a huge musical influence on me this past year and many others is el grupo Los Angeles Negros. La neta ellos son muy de aquellas.
Lastly, this album was made in the memory of Carmen, David, Ana, Frank, and Darren.
Con mucho amor,
Smokey
