Track Listing

1. Today
2. I See You
3. Every Little Thing About You
4. Ya Tu Veras
5. Are We Almost There?
6. No Me Preguntes Tanto
7. Takes Two To Tango
8. De Tí Me Olvidaré
9. Ocho Versos
10. I Said I Love You
11. Let's Not Say Goodbye Anymore
12. Since When

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #53594 in Music
• Released on: 2002-05-11
• Number of discs: 1

Amazon.co.uk Review
A tremendous and far-reaching effort, Today (Raul Malo's solo debut) showcases not only what a genre-blending writer and powerful singer he is, but makes clear just how connected Malo is in his delivery and phrasing, both in Spanish and in English. As the primary songwriter and frontman for the Mavericks and as a member of all-star band Los Super Seven, Malo's soulful croon has bent round the blue notes of country and spread itself thickly yet pliantly between and on top of the polyrhythms of Latin roots music. There's something behind and under every syllable the man utters, from the excitable title cut to "It Takes Two to Tango", a frisky duet with pal and vocal powerhouse in her own right Shelby Lynne. Today, a full-on exploration of roots and rhythm, rocks righteously and rolls with balanced restraint and abandon. Raul Malo's velvety tenor is warm and dirty in all the right ways. --Paige La Grone

Customer Reviews

Dance the night away!
For all of you out there missing The Mavericks, take heart. Raul's solo effort is the next best thing. Slip the CD into the player and within seconds of the opening (title) track your toes will be a tappin'.
The feel is definitely latin, but listen harder and you will hear lot's of other musical references and influences - big band, a little lounge lizard in there as well.
The latest single, "I Said I Love You" is the outstanding track on the album, but only just. There are many treasures here.
The wonderful Shelby Lynne duets on "Two to Tango"
and Raul's rich voice works wonders with some of the slower tracks near the end of the album.
Don't be put of by the tracks in Spanish - just immerse yourself in the music and that great feeling of fun that epitomised The Mavericks's music.
You'll love it!

Raul Malo - Today
This is the best album i've heard in a long time. Today contains alot of very good songs,especially "I said i love" which has a "Mavericks" feel about it. The foreign songs on this album are also very good. I do like the duet with Shelby Lynn "It takes Two to Tango", it makes you want to get up and do the tango. I think this album is really worth buying and i hope it isn't long before he makes another album.

Raul Malo's Going Solo!!!
It's always a welcome surprise when a longtime band member's solo effort turns out to be good. That it eschews his familiar genre is even rarer. Raul Malo, ex-frontman of the Mavericks, scores on all fronts with a disc more rooted in his Cuban-American heritage than his previous country efforts.

Malo's voice is versatile, bold and dramatic in the way of a Broadway or opera star. And when paired with a wall of Mexican horns, shifting rhythms and melodic hooks sunk into everything from samba, salsa and honky tonk to '60s pop, it's reminiscent of the big, broad records Johnny Cash or Marty Robbins made.

Though most of Malo's lyrics are about love both passionate and faded, the words aren't tired. The sheer happy-go-luckiness of the title track perfectly encapsulates the feelings of new love. And the first single, "Every Little Thing About You," with its tango-like backing, is the kind of sweeping romantic statement that makes women weak and men jealous (it helps to have a rose clenched between your teeth if you're going to try this at home).

Malo's duet with Shelby Lynne, a cover of "Takes Two to Tango," simply smolders. And Malo is equally adept at ballads -- "Are We Almost There?" is a showstopper. You can envision him singing it mournfully under the spotlight on a '60s variety show, before segueing into the frenetic "I Said I Love You," with Tom Jones' dancers shimmying in the background.

A bonus track, "Since When," even recreates '30s jazz. Only "Let's Not Say Goodbye Anymore" falls flat with its overwroughtness. Today's four Spanish vocal numbers hold up as jaunty exotic sidetrips, where Malo's crack backing band lets loose, particularly on the majestic "Ocho Versos."

With the country career of Mavericks on permanent hiatus, Malo is putting all of his efforts into a solo career steeped in the Latin sounds of his youth. And if Today is any indication, no doubt there's a tomorrow on the way.