When a regional Mexican group has "de Durango" in its name, it usually means that the group is providing duranguense (
los Horóscopos de Durango,
Grupo Montéz de Durango,
los Primos de Durango). And when a regional Mexican group has "del Norte" in its name, it usually means that the group is providing norteño (
los Tigres del Norte,
los Rieleros del Norte). But there are exceptions to that rule, and
los Canelos de Durango are definitely an exception. There isn't a drop of duranguense to be found on
Al Aire Libre; everything on this late 2008 release is easily identifiable as norteño. Of course, norteño isn't one-dimensional. There are many different types of norteño recordings, ranging from hardcore norteño to norteño that has crossover and Latin pop leanings -- and
Al Aire Libre is clearly an example of the former rather than the latter. This 43-minute CD isn't norteño for people who don't really comprehend norteño; instead, the norteño that
los Canelos de Durango provide on
Al Aire Libre is purist-friendly and decidedly straight-ahead. And that is true on the disc's ranchera offerings ("Querer y Amar," "Voy a Marcharme" and "La Soledad") as well as on its corridos, which include "Alfredo Alvarez," "Corrido de Efrain," "Aurelia Féliz," "El Coralillo" and "El Compa Belém." Corridos are one of
los Canelos de Durango's strong points; thankfully, there are plenty of them on
Al Aire Libre. A small number of duranguense enthusiasts might be disappointed to learn that
Al Aire Libre is norteño rather than duranguense, but then, most duranguense fans are also norteño fans. So it is unlikely that there will be a lot of people who acquire
Al Aire Libre thinking it is duranguense and decide to part with the disc upon learning that it is norteño. This is a rewarding norteño effort that
los Canelos de Durango can be proud to have in their catalog. ~ Alex Henderson