SOUNDS OF YESTERYEAR.

Byline: Sandra Barrera Staff Writer

Ask him about his new album, ``Enamorado,'' and Mexican folk superstar Pepe Aguilar is bound to wax nostalgic about the 1970s.

There's no getting around it.

The album -- a collection of yesteryear Latin pop standards given the mariachi treatment -- is the soundtrack of his childhood.

``I was too young to be a fan, but I remember these songs quite vividly,'' says Aguilar, whose ``Enamorado'' world tour, described by a reviewer in the Santa Barbara Independent as ``the closest I'll ever come to seeing Elvis live,'' stops into the Gibson Amphitheatre at Universal CityWalk tonight through Sunday.

But more on the concert later.

Each song a memory

Right now, the multiplatinum performer is remembering the time his mother played the big ballad ``Rio rebelde'' by then-young heartthrob Julio Iglesias.

She adored the Spanish crooner and often defended his singing talent against Iglesias' harshest critics -- namely, her jealous husband.

``My father hated that she loved everything that Julio Iglesias did, with a passion,'' Aguilar says. ``I didn't understand his jealousy because to me it was just music. Now I understand it's just a game that couples play.''

That memory inspired the son of famous Mexican entertainers Antonio Aguilar and Flor Silvestre, both actors and singers, to include a bold reworking of ``Rio rebelde.''

His rendition of ``Quien te cantara,'' meanwhile, was inspired by the cousins he visited every December.

During one of those visits, Aguilar recalls standing in the doorway of his cousin's bedroom and hearing the song by the Spanish vocal group Mocedades for the first time.

``I remember it very vividly,'' he says, ``and every time I heard it, it always made me a little sad. Not the message ... but the melody, the mood of it.''

Like the two songs just mentioned, each song elicits an anecdote that he shares in the booklet to ``Enamorado.''

The album is his 16th release. Since his recording debut in 1990, Aguilar has released a string of hit albums.

He won the Grammy for 2000's ``Por una mujer bonita'' and has received multiple Latin Grammy nominations over the years, most recently for the 2005 ranchero album, ``Historias de mi tierra.''

Reverberations of rock

Despite his success, Aguilar says he didn't set out to become a regional Mexican superstar.

Thanks to his older brother, his childhood attraction to progressive rock bands Pink Floyd, Jethro Tull and Rush led to a stint as a drummer in a rock band through the late '80s.

``I definitely got branded by that time in my life,'' Aguilar says, adding that rock continues to find its way into his life as a composer, performer and producer of artists like Julieta Venegas.

It's even found its way into his ``Enamorado'' world tour.

It's about the music

Working with Mark Fisher and Ray Winkler -- the designers behind past Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd and Cirque du Soleil shows -- Aguilar has created a grand Day of the Dead-themed set.

``Day of the Dead is one of the coolest traditions that Mexico has to offer,'' he says. ``Instead of being afraid of death, instead of being sad and dark, we celebrate it with color and art.''

And some good old-fashioned music.

``For me, that's the most important thing about this show,'' he says. ``And yeah, there's some moving parts and electronics and big, huge impressive visuals, but mostly it's about the music.''

Sandra Barrera, [phone]

sandra.barrera(at)dailynews.com

PEPE AGUILAR

Where: Gibson Amphitheatre at Universal CityWalk, 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City.

When: 8:15 p.m. today, Saturday and Sunday.

Tickets: $65 to $125. [phone] or www.ticketmaster.com.

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Pepe Aguilar's latest release, ``Enamorado,'' is a collection of Latin pop standards given a mariachi treatment.