The first thing you hear on Los Straitjackets' new album is the for-the-ages guitar riff to "All Day and All of the Night," and you might think you're listening to a straight-up cover of the Kinks' garage-rock classic. Until the lyrics kick in, as sung by guest vocalist Big Sandy:

Estoy feliz estar junto aqui...

It's a cover of a cover, sort of -- not of the Kinks 1964 original but of Los Yaki, a Mexican rock band whose version is called "De Dia y De Noche." And the album is called Rock en Espanol, Vol. 1. Los Straitjackets and Big Sandy will play Carrboro's Cat's Cradle on Wednesday.

Rock en Espanol is a throwback to 40-plus years ago, when Mexican garage bands would record Spanish-language versions of English hits. While the practice has since fallen out of favor, Los Straitjackets guitarist/ringleader Danny "Daddy-O Grande" Amis says it hasn't vanished completely.

"I've heard stuff like that from the past few years, but it's not as common as it used to be because there are so many great original bands in Mexico now," says Amis, calling from a tour stop in Annapolis, Md. "That first wave in the early '60s was a result of Bill Haley relocating to Mexico to avoid charges of income tax evasion. He really inspired the rock 'n' roll scene there."

Of course, a few things were lost in translation with these covers -- but plenty was gained, too. The Troggs' "Wild Thing" became "Loco te Patina el Coco" (roughly, "Crazy Person Slides the Coco to You") by Juan el Matematico ("John the Mathematician"). The McCoys' "Hang on Sloopy" mutated into "Hey Lupe" by Los Rockin' Devils. And Hermanos Carrion transformed Marty Robbins' "Devil Woman" into "Magia Blanca" ("White Magic"). Rock en Espanol includes them all.

"Bands wanted to cover the hits, but in their own language," Amis says. "Often the rewrites had nothing to do with the original versions, which I think is very much in the rock 'n' roll spirit. 'El Microscopico Bikini' is a good example -- 'Dizzy Miss Lizzy' being changed to a song about a girl on the beach in a tiny bikini."

Los Straitjackets formed 13 years ago in Nashville, playing surf instrumentals while wearing their trademark Mexican wrestling masks. They've frequently worked with guest singers, including bluesman Eddy Clearwater (a collaboration that earned them a Grammy nomination for 2003's "Rock 'N' Roll City"), Mavericks frontman Raul Malo, El Vez, Rev. Horton Heat and Allison Moorer. Their schtick also lends itself to multimedia collaborations such as last year's Twist Party!!!, a CD/DVD with the Pontani Sisters burlesque troupe.

But in the fine tradition of Christina Aguilera's "Mi Reflejo," David Lee Roth's "Sonrisa Salvaje" and other works of Spanish translation, Rock en Espanol seems like the album Los Straitjackets were put on this earth to make. Los Lobos co-leader Cesar Rosas produced it and also sings on three tracks, with Big Sandy and Little Willie G. (from Latino rock pioneers The Midniters) handling the rest. And of course, the Straitjackets themselves display their customary instrumental flair

"This album is something we've been talking about doing for years," Amis says. "It's just taken this long to bring it together with the right producer and everything else. I have a pretty sizable collection of Mexican rock 'n' roll stuff, so we just listened to a lot of records to get a playlist. We mostly left the final selections up to the guys doing the singing. And yes, there will be a Volume Two."

But it's hard to say when Volume Two might come together, given how much time Los Straitjackets spend on the road. Amis guesses they'll play at least 200 dates this year.

At this late date, don't expect them to pull a "Kiss Unmasked" and abandon their signature visual gimmick. When asked if Los Straitjackets will ever come out from behind their wrestling masks, Amis just laughs.

"Didn't do Kiss's career much good, did it?" Amis says. "No, I think that'd be a bad idea. Without the masks, we're just four ordinary-looking guys like any other band. We definitely did not imagine it lasting this long when we started out. But we've always done a lot of originals, we get a lot of placements in soundtracks, and we try to put on a presentation. That sets us apart from the average party band."

David Menconi, Raleigh News & Observer