By the Light of the Moon (album)

By the Light of the Moon is the third album by the Mexican American rock group Los Lobos, released in 1987.^[1]

By the Light of the Moon
Studio album by Los Lobos
Released	January 19, 1987
Studio	Sunset Sound, Los Angeles, California
Genre	Rock and roll
Length	40:29
Label	Slash, Warner Bros.
Producer	T-Bone Burnett, Los Lobos
Los Lobos chronology
How Will the Wolf Survive? (1984) By the Light of the Moon (1987) La Pistola y El Corazón (1988)

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[2]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music	[3]
Orlando Sentinel	[4]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	[5]
Spin Alternative Record Guide	8/10[6]
The Village Voice	A−[7]

The Chicago Tribune wrote that "not since Bruce Springsteen's Nebraska has a rock-and-roll album taken such a brutally frank look at the betrayals of the American Dream."^[8]

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"One Time One Night"	Hidalgo, Pérez	4:48
2.	"Shakin' Shakin' Shakes"	Rosas, Burnett	4:13
3.	"Is This All There Is?"	Hidalgo, Pérez	4:00
4.	"Prenda Del Alma"	traditional	3:21
5.	"All I Wanted to Do Was Dance"	Hidalgo, Pérez, Burnett	3:57
6.	"Set Me Free (Rosa Lee)"	Rosas	3:35
7.	"The Hardest Time"	Hidalgo, Pérez	3:12
8.	"My Baby's Gone"	Rosas	3:41
9.	"River of Fools"	Hidalgo, Pérez	2:55
10.	"The Mess We're In"	Hidalgo, Pérez	3:01
11.	"Tears of God"	Hidalgo, Pérez	3:46
Total length:			40:29

Credits

Writing, performance and production credits are adapted from the album liner notes.^[9]

Personnel

Los Lobos

• David Hidalgo – lead vocals, guitars, accordion, six-string bass, lap steel, violin, hidalguera, percussion
• Cesar Rosas – lead vocals, guitars, bajo sexto, mandolin, vihuela
• Conrad Lozano – Fender electric bass, acoustic bass, guitarrón, vocals
• Louie Pérez – drums, guitars, tenor longneck plectrum, hidalguera
• Steve Berlin – tenor and baritone saxophones, harmonica

Session members

• Alex Acuña – percussion
• T-Bone Burnett – vocals
• Mickey Curry – drums
• Anton Fier – drums
• Mitchell Froom – keyboards
• Ron Tutt – drums

Production

• T-Bone Burnett, Los Lobos – production
• Bernie Grundman – mastering
• Larry Hirsch – recording, mixing
• David Glover, Mike Kloster, Stephen Shelton, Jimmy Preziosi, Doug Schwartz, Tony Chiappa, Magic Moreno – assistant recording
• Mark Linett – remixing ("Is This All There Is?")

Artwork and design

• Jeff Price, Jeri McManus – art direction
• Lendon Flanagan – photography

Charts

Chart (1987)	Peak position
Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)[10]	62
Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[11]	20
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[12]	42
Finnish Albums (The Official Finnish Charts)[13]	18
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[14]	12
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[15]	29
UK Albums (OCC)[16]	77
US Billboard 200[17]	47

References

1. Lacey, Liam (29 Jan 1987). "By the Light of the Moon Los Lobos". The Globe and Mail. p. D3.
2. Deming, Mark. "By the Light of the Moon – Los Lobos". AllMusic. Retrieved February 13, 2018.
3. Larkin, Colin (2011). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th concise ed.). Omnibus Press. ISBN 978-0-85712-595-8.
4. Duffy, Thom (March 1, 1987). "Los Lobos". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved February 13, 2018.
5. Considine, J. D. (2004). "Los Lobos". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. pp. 495–96. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
6. Weisbard, Eric; Marks, Craig, eds. (1995). Spin Alternative Record Guide. Vintage Books. ISBN 0-679-75574-8.
7. Christgau, Robert (February 24, 1987). "Christgau's Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. Retrieved February 13, 2018.
8. Brogan, Daniel (9 Jan 1987). "Los Lobos, By the Light of the Moon". Friday. Chicago Tribune. p. 47.
9. By the Light of the Moon (booklet). Los Lobos. Slash Records. 1987.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
10. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 181. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
11. "Top RPM Albums: Issue 0795". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved July 10, 2024.
12. "Dutchcharts.nl – Los Lobos – By the Light of the Moon" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved July 10, 2024.
13. Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin – levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. ISBN 978-951-1-21053-5.
14. "Charts.nz – Los Lobos – By the Light of the Moon". Hung Medien. Retrieved July 10, 2024.
15. "Swedishcharts.com – Los Lobos – By the Light of the Moon". Hung Medien. Retrieved July 10, 2024.
16. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved July 10, 2024.
17. "Los Lobos Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved July 10, 2024.