If you want authentic border norteño music, Ramon Ayala is the biggest and best purveyor of the genre. In a decades-long career, Ayala has become the standard-bearer and a major influence on hundreds of bands, from Intocable and Palominos to Mazisso and Jody Farias. This is one of his finer albums, as it includes his hometown tribute "Adios a Reynosa" and the evergreen ranchera-corrido "Mujer Paseada." The rest is familiar boot-scootin' norteño cumbias and floor-rattling boleros. Some critics charge that Ayala has varied little in his 60-plus albums, but that hardly matters. Ayala does what he does so well, few artist have been able to match him. Another classic from the norteño canon is included here--"Contrabando y Traicion." --Ramiro Burr