Los Lobos [ tickets ]' latest yields a handful of gems, but ultimately feels mostly inspired and partly assembled.

At Los Lobos' 30-year anniversary mark, "The Ride" implies chronology as much as geography. The album looks back by pairing previously-released songs with guest musicians, and looks forward with what proves to be a mixed bag of new material.

Midway through "The Ride," the band moves effortlessly from the dusty, country roads of "Somewhere in Time" to the urban grit of "Wicked Rain/Across 110th Street" to the comical domestic conflict of "Kitate." In those 16 minutes, the band displays the mastery and range of musical styles and instrumentation that have been its calling card, particularly since 1992's "Kiko."

But the album's emphasis on mixing influences and voices seems to have left less room than usual for developing new material, as evidenced by "Charmed" and "Chains of Love," two tracks that might not have surfaced if competing with songs as strong as those that fleshed out 1990's "The Neighborhood" or 2002's "Good Morning Aztlan."

Highlights include the aforementioned "Wicked Rain/Across 110th Street," re-worked into an eight-minute '70s groove that showcases the band's great soul chops, with Bobby Womack handling vocal duties; and the rollicking, electrified Mexican-village party of "Venganza De Los Pelados," which kicks off the album as a great dance track in 6/4 time.

The band also shines brightly on the Ruben Blades-sung "Ya Se Va," and manages an intriguing sort of Celtic-flavored shuffle-jam with Richard Thompson on "The Wreck of the Carlos Rey."