Music like this has been put together by the music industry since recording began: you re-jig the formula every once in a while but you trust the pros to do their job and you give the people what they want. You can imagine the images I have in mind – the road trip through sagebrush drylands, the impromptu party in the open air around an old cantina, the wedding party with everybody colourfully dressed and colurfully drunk. To me it sounds like the soundtrack to some cheerful cross border film that hasn’t been made yet. It’s pop, it’s beer joint dance music, it’s sentimental, irreverent and fun. You might be wary of such a project, there’s not a great history with “previously unreleased” material, but this sounds just fine – no sharp dividing line between good tracks and fillers. Those last two are no longer with us but both contribute posthumously as Doug’s son Shawn steers this first new recording in a decade. The star names were Flaco Jimenez, Augie Meyer, Doug Sahm and Freddy Fender. sometimes both languages in the same song, sometimes not quite either) and having a barrel of fun along the way. Founded in the 1990s as a Tex-Mex supergroup, the Tornados were renowned for cheerfully mixing up rock’nroll with Mexican styles, singing in Spanglish ( i.e. Texas Tornados: A Little Bit is Better Than Nada-Prime Cuts 1990–1996, a two-CD set featuring remastered album cuts, rarities, and unreleased tracks, was released in 2015.Short history lesson for those, like me, who know nada of the Tornados. Several of the original sidemen were still with the band, including Louie Ortega (guitar), Speedy Sparks (bass), and Ernie Durawa (drums). In the 2010s the Texas Tornados continued to perform, fronted by Shawn Sahm, Augie Meyers, and Flaco Jiménez. These recordings were released as an album titled ¡Está Bueno! in 2010 on Ray Benson’s Bismeaux label. ![]() ![]() Shawn began producing recordings by the Tornados, including unrecorded songs by Doug and new ones by Freddy. During this time Doug’s son Shawn became a member of the band. However, the 2005 New West Records release on DVD of the group’s 1990 Austin City Limits appearance, Texas Tornados-Live From Austin Tx, kept the group’s name in front of the public. Freddy Fender’s death in 2006 further depleted the front line complement. The Tornados slowed down for a time when Doug Sahm died unexpectedly in 1999. In 1999 the Virgin label released Live from the Limo, a recording of a 1998 live show at Antone’s club in Austin. ![]() The band toured extensively to promote their releases. A song on the 4 Aces album, “Little Bit is Better Than Nada,” was used as the theme for the Kevin Costner movie Tin Cup (1996). ![]() Reprise released four more Tornados albums, Zone of Our Own (1991), which was nominated for a Grammy Hangin’ on by a Thread (1992) The Best of Texas Tornados (1994) and 4 Aces (1996). Together they brought a blend of Tex-Mex rock, country, R&B, and conjunto that defined their unique sound and garnered glowing reviews. San Antonio accordionist Flaco Jiménez was the son of conjunto legend Santiago Jiménez, Sr., and Fender (born Baldemar Huerta in San Benito) made early strides in rock-and-roll as “El Bebop Kid” in the late 1950s and struck gold as a country and cross-over artist in the mid-1970s. Sahm and Meyers of San Antonio had first gained prominence in the Sir Douglas Quintet in the mid-1960s. The album was also released in an all-Spanish version titled Los Texas Tornados. The album hit Number 5 on the country charts, and a song on that album, “Soy de San Luis,” won the 1991 Grammy for Best Mexican-American Performance. Hailed at the time as a “supergroup of Texas legends,” they were signed by Warner Brothers Reprise and recorded their first album Texas Tornados in 1990 at the Fire Station Studios in San Marcos. Started by Doug Sahm in 1989, the now legendary band, Texas Tornados, was originally fronted by Doug Sahm, Freddy Fender, Augie Meyers, and Flaco Jiménez.
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