Song Review: Los Cenzontles feat. David Hidalgo - “A Rainy Night in SoHo”
Los Cenzontles’ recording of “A Rainy Night in SoHo” is both quite similar to and radically divergent from the Pogues’ original.
This is the brilliance of the track, recorded with Los Lobos’ David Hidalgo on vocals, accordion and percussion, as both a tribute to Shane MacGowan, who died in 2023, and for Los Cenzontles’ forthcoming Covers 3 project.
“It is a glorious song,” Los Cenzontles’ Eugene Rodriguez sid in a statement. “Now we have a Chicano version.”
This “SoHo” remains a languid waltz. But the new version is transplanted from Ireland to the U.S./Mexico boarder, with Hidalgo at the fore and a Mariachi arrangement that marches with Hidalgo’s snare drum on the outro.
Due in June, Covers 3 will feature Los Cenzontles’ interpretations of songs by Billie Holiday, Bob Dylan, John Prine, the Rolling Stones and others in what’s described as an album “celebrating cross-cultural connections.” If “A Rainy Night in SoHo” is any indication, it’ll be a joy to hear.
Grade card: Los Cenzontles feat. David Hidalgo - “A Rainy Night in SoHo” - A
Saint MacGowan // Jessie Lynn McMains, November 2023
I'm not singing for the future
I'm not dreaming of the past
I'm not talking of the first times
I never think about the last
Now the song is nearly over
We may never find out what it means
Still there's a light I hold before me
You're the measure of my dreams
The measure of my dreams
—The Pogues, "A Rainy Night in Soho"
no clue who has or hasn't done this yet no so pressure tags! @pluggedintosaverockandroll @setting-in-a-honeymoon @ballad-of-what-could-have-been @a-reality-dream @ignorancelive