Customer Reviews

Music for All Occasions

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Desiring for many years to avoid what is today termed C&W music, I missed the emergence of The Mavericks onto the pop/country scene. After seeing the band's lead singer, Raul Malo, on a production of PBS' Soundstage, and investigating his recording history, I was thrilled to find what he and his Mavericks cohorts had accomplished.

I am of an age that can recall the smell of the dust burning from the radio's vacuum tubes as it warmed and the cadence of an Everly Brothers, Roy Orbison or Gene Pitney hit grew into my ears and imagination.

I purchased both the "Music For All Ocassions" and "What A Crying Shame" CD's, and am happy that I did.

I love this music.

The Mavericks are certainly country, but with this album they have taken on an early 60's pop sound, but with a country feel. It is so hard to explain because they are so unique. Even the booklet is lavishly illustrated with photos that could be right out of the late 50's early 60's timeframe. One of the highlights is "All you ever do is bring me down" which feature Flaco Jimenez on accordian, for a rousing dance number. But every song on this album is excellent, not one that could be called a filler. I also love listening to the instrumentation in the background as well as the instrumental breaks...wonderful...piano, pedal steel, guitar, strings etc...listen to the piano on "My Secret Flame"...beautiful! Highly recommended.

Speaking as a pop music fan who does not appreciate the kinds of music known as either the old "country and western" or the new "new country" (a genre that manages to simultaneously offend both rockers and country fans, all while causing label management to drool over the crossover demographics), let me say this about The Mavericks' "Music For All Occasions": Wow. Maybe it's "new country", maybe it's something else. Either way, I won't rehash others' comments about how great Raul Malo is as a singer/songwriter; I won't dwell on how tight the band is; I'll even forget my distaste for country music! I will instead advise that anyone with a taste for well-crafted, well-arranged, well-played and well-sung pop music (ok, with a slightly Latinized country flavor) do what I did: 1. Give this CD a spin. 2. Try to stop humming.

You never know what to expect from a Mavericks album. Even as I write this, I don't even know if there will be another. Each album released so far is markedly different to any of the others, yet each is brilliant in it's own way. This is my favorite. Some of the others were more commercially successful, so obviously a lot of people disagree.

This album isn't really country, yet it has a definite country flavor (like so much of contemporary country music). Most of the songs are originals, but there is a stunning cover of Something Stupid (with guest Trisha Yearwood, then married to one of the band) which beats both the famous versions (which I also enjoy) - the original by Nancy and Frank, and the more recent by Robbie and Nicole. I have the British version of the CD, which also includes a cover of Blue Moon, which is better than either Elvis or the Marcels. Great though these covers are, it is the original songs which are the reason to buy this.

There is a great slice of Tex-Mex swing on All you ever do is bring me down, which hints at what would appear on their follow-up album (Trampoline). Most of the other songs are love ballads, beginning with Foolish Heart (this includes backing vocals by Lari White and Shelby Lynne), all sung superbly by Raul in his distinctive voice. The songs have enough variation in styles and tempos to keep the album interesting, yet they all fit together really well.

This was one of my most played albums in the late nineties. I hadn't played it for a while before getting it out to review it, but it still stands as one of my favorite contemporary country albums.

A great album, this being their third from MCA (fourth album officialy). Here, the sounds of 50's/ 60's Nashville pop with a splash of country is such a wonderful treat.

The only two songs that suggest quite different, are the 12 string set "Here Comes The Rain", which deserved the Grammy it got, and the honky-tex trip "All You Ever Do Is Bring Me Down", which is so much fun...great video too......

"Foolish Heart" makes jukeboxs across the land ache to play it.....smooth vocals from Raul as well as Shelby Lynne and Lari White backing him up....and great GOLDEN sounds from Nick's tasteful playing on arched top electric guitar.
"My Secret FLame" carries you to lounges way across town at night, and "Missing You" is striking as the ballad of ballads. Bassist Robert Reynolds makes "One Step Away" and "The Writing On The Wall" a happy tempo, while drummer Paul Deakin makes the door in the joint swing wide open in the MEGA snappy "If You Only Knew".

Other soft sounds in "Loving You" and "I'm Not Gonna Cry For You" are sweet, and the surprise her eis the great and best version yet of the classic from a while back "Something Stupid". Trisha Yearwood (Robert's wife at the time) duets with Raul for a well done cover.
Please forgive those people out there for excusing this as a chessy, fluffy, and goo-goo project. It is a romantic themed album mostly, and should be taken as for what it showcases. THREE songs here may play tag in their THEMES sounding "SOMEWHAT" alike, but don't a lot of Beatles songs, or Frank Sinatra tunes do the same? Come on !! Nobody knows how to awaken the sounds of this era better ...than the Mavericks.

p.s.- give the goofy "One Step Away" a chance...it always puts away any gloom in my day......okay dudes / dudettes ?
Whats wrong with songs being just happy....simple?

Highlights: Foolish Heart, truly a song for the jukebox...GRAMMY? OVER HERE...Need another one for this one!
And Here COmes The Rain.....what an original.....

This LP fulfills the promise of 1994's "What a Crying Shame" On this release, the Mavericks wed Raul Malo's awe-inspring voice with a relaxed countrypolitan sound that at once celebrates and makes an ironic twist of its 50s/60s roots. From the packaging, on through the early 60s female backing vocals of "Foolish Heart", the Mavericks swing with an easy beat. There's not the overt Bakersfield twang of Buck Owens or the depth of despair of contemporary crooners like Dwight Yoakum (or even Chris Isaak), it's a smoother, more polished effort. Which isn't to suggest that this sounds like the plastic cookie-cutter pap that Nashville often tries to pass of as country - it doesn't. The roots are there, but they're a bit polished up for goin' to town on Saturday night.

The whole LP is a wonderful mix of country and pop melded less to a barroom than a country club. Don Cook and Raul Malo produce everything with a balanced feel - pedal steel easing its way in, rather than jumping to the front and forcing its way into the spotlight, lots of nice hollowbody electric guitars, a great shuffling beat and a swingin' tempo. Even the more upbeat numbers such as "All You Ever Do is Bring Me Down" mix Flaco Jimenez's accordion in to spice up the beat, but keep it polite.

Oon top of it all, Malo's voice - with a depth that can't really be described in words. Whether singing solo, with backing, or dueting with the likes of Trisha Yearwood (on a nice remake of the Sinatra & Sinatra hit single "Something Stupid"), Malo's style and ability give the Mavericks their trademark sound. Whether he's crooning "My Secret Flame" or plumbing the Buck Owens' blue sound of "The Writing on the Wall", Malo bends and shapes his voice to fit, with the production team crafting the sound all around him.

I have the complete collection of the Mavericks' music and this cd is one of my favorites. This is a love song arrangement with each having a unique touch. "All You Ever Do Is Bring Me down" is high tempo, "Something Stupid" is a mellow duet (with Raul Malo and Trisha Yearwood), and others are simply delivered at slow and moderate tempos with some sad and some uplifitng lyrics. The music and lyrics do blend nicely and I personally think that this cd deserves more recognition than it gets. Difficult to categorize this because it is not the country tune of the earlier days of The Mavericks and it is not yet filled with the additonal horn section and miscellaneous instruments of todays Mavericks.

This CD is a wonderful collection of songs that combine influences from Rock and Blues and blend them beautifully with country music. Every song is noteworthy. The collection also shows the maturation of this band which shows a great deal of promise. Their follow-up CD (Trampoline) has mexican influences as well and continues the rich orchestral sound of this CD.

Rob Orbison sound alike ?....not, if you were raised on Roy!! The Maverick's sound is recognizable anywhere. A really unique band with a style all their own. The cajun sounding "All You Ever Do Is Bring Me down" defies you not to sing along or get up and dance. This album is a real "crank it up" gem for lover's of real American music. Listen and fall in love with the Mavericks all over again!!!

How can you not love the "Coolest Band on the Planet"? The Mavs have stuck gold with their 4th album. Anyone who has ever heard Roy Orbison will love this. More than that, however, is the band's obvious latin influences that appear most strongly in "All You Ever Do". Malo's vocals are strongest when he's singing to a latin beat, although he is more than capable of doing justice to Sinatra's "Something Stupid." A must for anyone who likes real music and hates grunge rock! This isn't traditional country, folks! The Mavs herald a brave new world in music. They are the band to watch!