CD review: The Mavericks “In Time”
A version of this review appears in Friday’s Weekend Look section of The Oklahoman.
Country/pop
The Mavericks “In Time” (Valory Music)
The Mavericks are making a comeback, and fans of their buoyant, genre-busting sound should greet their long-awaited new album, aptly named “In Time,” with open arms and ears.
The Nashville, Tenn.-based band’s reunion after an eight-year hiatus offers a welcome balm for country fans weary of the format’s current obsession with party-hearty Southern arena rock.
Formed in 1989 in Miami, Fla., the progressive, polyrhythmic country/rock band earned widespread acclaim and notched hits in the 1990s with “All You Ever Do Is Bring Me Down,” “Here Comes the Rain” and “Dance the Night Away.”
On the Grammy-winning group’s seventh full-length album, Cuban-American singer-songwriter Raul Malo’s voice is just as rich and dramatic as ever, and his musical cohorts — multi-instrumentalist Robert Reynolds, drummer Paul Deakin, guitarist Eddie Perez and keyboardist Jerry Dale McFadden — are so talented and self-assured that you get the sense they could easily play anything from tangos to polkas.
And that’s just what they do on “In Time,” an album that’s so free-wheeling and eclectic that you can hardly wait to hear what’s coming next with each of its 14 tracks.
From the opening horn blasts of the bouncy “Back in Your Arms Again,” it’s clear The Mavericks intend to mix up divergent sonic with the reckless energy of mad scientists. Mariachi trumpets, surf guitars and an insistent squeezebox keep “All Over Again” zipping along at a dizzying clip, while Caribbean, polka and old-school country influences ricochet cheerfully on “Dance in the Moonlight.”
Malo channels Roy Orbison with the retro-pop “Born to Be Blue,” while the sorrowful waltzes “In Another’s Arms” and “Forgive Me” let him unleash his inner crooner.
Someone please send Quentin Tarantino a copy of “Come Unto Me,” because the dusty ballad just belongs in a really great spaghetti Western. The Spanish-language reprise “Ven Hacia Mi” actually manages to get even sexier and more sweeping.
The Mavericks also bring a grand cinematic scope to the album’s most epic track, the 8 ½-minute “(Call Me) When You Get to Heaven,” featuring the appropriately angelic guest vocals of the McCrary Sisters.
— BAM
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Comments
The Mavericks are back in action. Raul Malo is very good by himself. My wife and I saw him in conscert a couple of years back. He put on a good show. I also saw the Mavericks in I think 1994 or 5 The boys played around 2 hours. I’m going to see them in Chicago in April. This cd is on fire. How they can blend Country, rock, pop and flamingo is unreal. I had this cd for a week and played it about 10 times already. Everytime I listen to it something new pops out. A rhythm or phrase that I haven’t heard before. This is fun music but also so intricate that it makes one think.
Writing, singing, instrumentals and production values all well-above today’s industry standards. If one were to pick the “weak track” it still would be superior to Nashville’s drivel of the last two decades.
In addition to the tracks mentioned by the author, Amsterdam Moon, followed by That’s Not My Name, showcases the incredible breadth of material covered in this album.
Good luck finding the physical CD, but it is worth the search. Vinyl version comes in a 2 lp set for around $15.
Every song rules, moves me, gets me dancing all over the room! I play it several times during the day, AND also love your DVD “Live In Austin at Stubbs”…would love to have a new DVD. hint, hint. I recommend this record to Any music lover no matter your choice of style. THIS Maverick’s is THE Mavericks. When Raul, Robert, and Paul brought Eddie on. WHOA. They came together is a Spectacular appreciation of each other, and the fun they are having pulls me in. I love this band, and this is a GREAT Record. and yes, I got it in vinyl (which I love) CD, and my ipod. Love this band. <3 Buy this records, and turn it UP.