The Black Light

The Black Light is the second studio album by American indie rock band Calexico. It was released May 19, 1998 on Quarterstick.

The Black Light
Studio album by Calexico
Released	May 19, 1998
Recorded	Wavelab Studios, Tucson, Arizona in July, August & December 1997, except 2,4 & 11 at the homes of Burns and Convertino
Genre	Americana, indie rock, Tex-Mex, post-rock
Length	54:09
Label	Quarterstick
Producer	Joey Burns & John Convertino
Calexico chronology
Spoke (1996) The Black Light (1998) Hot Rail (2000)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
The Boston Phoenix	[2]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music	[3]
Mojo	[4]
NME	7/10[5]
Pitchfork	8.5/10[6]
Uncut	9/10[7]

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Gypsy's Curse"	Joey Burns	4:18
2.	"Fake Fur"	Joey Burns	2:36
3.	"The Ride (Part 2)"	Joey Burns	3:08
4.	"Where Water Flows"	Joey Burns, John Convertino	1:57
5.	"The Black Light"	Joey Burns, John Convertino	3:20
6.	"Sideshow"	Joey Burns, John Convertino	2:02
7.	"Chach"	Joey Burns, John Convertino	3:33
8.	"Missing"	Joey Burns	6:01
9.	"Minas de Cobre (For Better Metal)"	Joey Burns	3:09
10.	"Over Your Shoulder"	Joey Burns	4:10
11.	"Vinegaroon"	Joey Burns, John Convertino	1:06
12.	"Trigger"	Joey Burns	2:34
13.	"Sprawl"	John Convertino	1:27
14.	"Stray"	Joey Burns	2:54
15.	"Old Man Waltz"	John Convertino	2:29
16.	"Bloodflow"	Joey Burns	5:10
17.	"Frontera"	Joey Burns	4:21

The Black Light — 20th Anniversary edition bonus tracks

No.	Title	Length
18.	"El Morro"	4:44
19.	"Man Goes Where Water Flows"	4:18
20.	"Glowing Heart of the World"	4:49
21.	"Too Much Sprawl"	6:55
22.	"Rollbar"	5:01
23.	"Minas De Cobre (Extend-O-Mix)"	6:18
24.	"Minas De Cobre (Spatial Mix)"	4:16
25.	"Minas De Cobre (Acoustic Mix)"	2:16
26.	"Lacquer"	4:00
27.	"Drape"	4:15
28.	"Bag of Death"	1:45

Personnel

Calexico

• Joey Burns – vocals, double bass, guitar, cello, mandolin, accordion, keyboards, steel guitar, percussion
• John Convertino – drums, vibraphone, marimba, accordion, percussion, thunder drum

Additional personnel

• Howe Gelb – piano, organ
• Nick Luca – Spanish guitar, claves
• Gabriel Landin – gitaron
• Neil Harry – pedal steel guitar
• Bridget Keating – violin
• Rigo Pedroza – trumpet
• Fernando Sanchez – trumpet
• Al Tapatio – trumpet
• Tasha Bundy – background vocals
• Stephanie Nelson – fuzz vox
• Craig Schumacher – engineering
• Nick Luca – engineering

Mixed at Wavelab Studios, Tucson, Arizona.

References

1. Ankeny, Jason. "The Black Light – Calexico". AllMusic. Retrieved May 7, 2016.
2. Woodlief, Mark (May 18, 1998). "Calexico: The Black Light (Quarterstick)". The Boston Phoenix. Retrieved March 5, 2017.
3. Larkin, Colin (2011). "Calexico". The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th concise ed.). Omnibus Press. ISBN 0-85712-595-8.
4. Simmons, Sylvie (January 2019). "Calexico: The Black Light". Mojo (302): 101.
5. Empire, Kitty (May 9, 1998). "Calexico – The Black Light". NME. Archived from the original on October 4, 2000. Retrieved May 7, 2016.
6. Khan, Samir. "Calexico: The Black Light". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on September 6, 2006. Retrieved May 7, 2016.
7. Scoppa, Bud (January 2019). "Calexico: The Black Light: 20th Anniversary Edition". Uncut (260): 35.