Quick--name five American bands that have been together continuously for 25 years, earned consistently strong critical notices, and managed to remain a vital, groundbreaking musical force without succumbing to trends, fads, breakups, substance abuse, cash-in "reunions," or any other rock burnout cliche you care to name.

Not that damn many, are there?

With tenacity that would make the tortoise proud, Los Lobos have outlasted all their former contemporaries from the L.A. club scene, maturing into a rock band that has virtually no equal in American music: seasoned, mature, experimental, and still capable of playing balls-to-the-wall rock n' roll. Los Lobos's twenty-fifth year finds them offering their fans an embarrasment of riches: an excellent new album, This Time, and two solo projects: guitarist Cesar Rosas' Soul Disguise and the Latin Playboys' Dose.

Los Lobos, This Time

Cesar Rosas, Soul Disguise

Latin Playboys, Dose