Mixing the familiar guitar twang of Southern California surf music with the over-the-top camp of lucha libre (Mexican wrestling), Nashville-based combo Los Straitjackets first donned their trademark wrestling masks in the mid-'90s... For Rock en Español, Vol. 1, however, the masked musicians changed gears, opting to record a set of tunes with vocals - in Spanish. Enlisting the help of Cesar Rosas of Los Lobos (who also produced the disc), Big Sandy of Big Sandy & His Fly-Rite Boys, and Little Willie G. of Thee Midnighters, Los Straitjackets recorded an entertaining set of classic rock & roll tunes, proving once again that music is a universal language... Kicking off with "De Dia y De Noche", a boisterous cover of the Kinks classic "All Day and All of the Night", the disc maintains its raucous energy all the way through the closing notes of "Tu te Vas", a cover of Barbara Lynn's "You'll Lose a Good Thing" with vocals by Big Sandy. Other highlights include "La Hiedra Venenosa", a fabulous cover of the Coasters' "Poison Ivy", also featuring Big Sandy on vocals, and "Hey Lupe", a version of the McCoys' "Hang on Sloopy", transformed into an ode to a girl named Lupe. Through it all, Los Straitjackets play it straight, cranking out these covers with boundless energy and enthusiasm.

- Dave Hoffman, Popmatters