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