Los Fabulosos Calaveras

1	El Muerto 4:07
2	Surfer Calavera 4:36
3	El Carnicero de Giles/Sueño 3:41
4	Sabato 4:41
5	Howen 2:31
6	A Amigo J.V. 5:07
7	Hoy Llore Cancion 4:01
8	Calaveras Y Diablitos 4:24
9	Il Pajarito 3:18
10	Nino Diamante 6:00
11	Piazzolla 4:21
12	Amnesia 2:28
13	A.D.R.B. (En Busca Eterna) 6:03
14	Surfer Calavera Radio Edit 3:56
15	Howen Radio Edit 2:04

Barnes & Noble

As sprawling, ambitious, enigmatic, and brilliant as any classic of postmodern Latin American literature, the Cadillacs' black velvet concept album reinvented the band at the height of their popularity. Where earlier hits relied on a tried-and-true ska-based formula, FABULOSOS CALAVERA is all over the stylistic map. The classic Argentine tonalities of tango show up on the appropriately titled "Piazzolla"; "Surfer Calavera" veers between Mickey Katz-styled orchestral madness, Santana groove, and death metal; "Hoy Llore Canción" is a duet with Ruben Blades (a longtime Cadillacs supporter) over an Afro-Cuban rumba. Less a band than a mobile soundtrack unit, the Cadillacs demonstrate a mastery of myriad genres -- "Howen" is convincing spaghetti-western fodder; while the less convincing "A Amigo J.V." delves into dissolute cocktail jazz) but manage to tame these influences into a dark song cycle seemingly obessessed with mortality. Like their legions of fans throughout Latin America, the Cadillacs have always known how to party in the shadow of death. Mark Schwartz

All Music Guide

Arguably the most focused, self-assured record of their career, Fabulosos Calavera shows the Cadillacs incorporating the hardest, heaviest guitar rock they've ever played into their usual mélange of ska, reggae, Caribbean, and Latin rhythms. The band draws its sound from all over the place (salsa legend Ruben Blades appears on one track), but the songwriting is superbly honed -- there seem to be no fat or extraneous parts in any of the album's 13 tracks. "Surfer Calavera" mixes thrash, funk, reggae, and harmony vocals into the album's most infectious track, while "El Carnicero de Giles/Sueno" goes from jazzy beatnik poetry to pounding speed metal. ("Howen" even flirts with Western and Mariachi music) Rather than being distracting, however, such stylistic shifts enhance the energy and highlight the emotional contrasts of the music. Its seeming dark edges are leavened with a warm, wry humor that appears everywhere (including the album's cover art, which is black and features multiple skulls and keletons, but seems downright cheerful rather than foreboding). Fabulosos Calavera demonstrates that it is possible to have fun and give listeners plenty to chew on motionally. 12 years into their career, they made their most successful record yet. ~ Victor Valdivia, All Music Guide