Product Description

Though once classified, however vaguely, as a country outfit, The Mavericks have expanded their sound far beyond those confines on TRAMPOLINE. This frothy, colourful piece of pop artistry boasts a variety of influences. There are Tex-Mex touches on "I Should Know" (which also features some unusual,Lennonish chord changes), and the effervescent "Dance The Night Away". There's the jazzy, vibraphone-coloured ballad "Fool #1". Elsewhere, '60s soul rhythms and Duane Eddy-style guitar licks alternate with Beatlesesque compositional touches (there's that Lennon influence again). Singer Raul Malo's primary influence, Roy Orbison, can still be heard here, both in Malo's lustrous tenor and the overall feel of the tunesand arrangements, which bring to mind the kind of classy early-'60s pop that was lushly orchestrated without sounding overproduced and could express heartbreak without losing its uplifting sonic veneer.

Track Listing

1. Dance The Night Away
2. Tell Me Why
3. I Should Know
4. Someone Should Tell Her
5. To Be With You
6. I've Got This Feeling
7. Fool #1
8. I Don't Even Know Your Name
9. I Hope You Want Me Too
10. Melbourne Mambo
11. Dolores
12. Save A Prayer
13. Dream River
14. All I Get
15. La Mucara

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #49262 in Music
• Released on: 1999-06-18
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: Extra tracks
• Running time: 63 minutes

Customer Reviews

Music to make you feel like dancing
This is that jackpot album the Mavericks were waiting for. You'd be forgiven for not having heard of them, as until Trampoline, they used to be filed under Country & Western. Actually the band is from Miami, they just do their thing in Nashville!
With each successive album (and since I discovered Trampoline, I've bought the rest!) they've gone less C&W, and more mainstream. On this one they've added a great horn section to give a latin flavour, and boy do they have fun!
Raul Malo, their lead singer has one of those voices that's clear as a bell, and soars effortlessly into falsetto as Roy Orbison's did, and Chris Isaak's does now. The musicianship from all is absolutely top class on ballads, and the foot tappers.
You must have heard the hit `Dance the night away' on the radio or TV ... it's the first track on the album, and it gets you within the first few seconds. I just have to dance every time I hear it - and it's definitely one of my desert island discs.

Country music with horns
Ostensibly this is country music but, despite the inclusion of a steel guitar, a banjo and some acoustic guitars, this album cannot really be described as country - even using contemporary definitions. Along with the aforementioned instruments, there are electric guitars, organs, pianos, drums, strings and a full horn section including trumpet, trombone, saxophone, flute and clarinet. Of all the instruments, the horn section is the most important but what makes the album so successful is that, despite the plethora of musicians, the overall fell of the album is relaxing and the musicians never get in the way of the outstanding voice of Raul Malo.

The album didn't fit easily into any popular category, which may explain why it became far more popular in Britain (where radio stations generally play a broad range of music) than America (where radio stations cater for specific audiences). The first single (Dance the night away) made the top five in the UK pop charts, much to my surprise and delight. There are many other great songs here, all originals except the final track, which is a traditional song (La Mucara) whose origin is unknown to me (it sounds Latin) but it definitely isn't country.

This is an outstanding album, very different from their previous album (Music for all occasions) or indeed anything else they've recorded. Country fans may not appreciate it (unless they have eclectic tastes, like me) but if you enjoy high quality, easy listening music, you might enjoy this album.

DANCE THE NIGHT AWAY
Like the band, who make no secret of their contempt for the Nashville-music industry, controversy surrounds whether this album is country or pop. Certainly this record, with a fully fledged orchestra including the ‘Havana Horns’ and the ‘Nashville String Machine’ has a big sound which falls outside the strict definition of traditional country.

I’ve always been a big admirer of the Mavericks during their early country days and was not surprised when their last album, ‘Music For All Occassions’, was well received by critics. This album represents a natural progression from their earlier work but retains the Maverick latin-american influenced (Tex-Mex) sound.

The sleeve notes are refreshingly different. Each of the four Mavericks are depicted on the front cover, one dressed as a clown, the others holding a megaphone, a meat cleaver and a doll respectively. Old-style photos cover two-thirds of the inlays (with song-titles overlaid along with lyric excerpts from the songs), with modern day pics of the band at work/play on the remaining third.

After seeing them give an impressive live promotion of this album it appears musically the Mavericks can do no wrong. The best track, ‘Dance The Night Away’ went on to become a top-ten cross-over pop hit. The slow burner, ‘Tell Me Why’, and frenetic ‘Save A Prayer’ were also blasted out, leaving the assembled audience with ringing eardrums and a feelgood factor times 10. Apparently the album was recorded live, with musical arrangements worked up in advance before going into the studio.

Listen out for the upright bass western-swing on ‘Fool #1’, the instrumental on ‘Melbourne Mambo’, the hauntingly touching vocals of ‘Moon River’, the deliciously ironic lyrics of ‘Someone Should Tell Her’. Give lead singer, Rao Malo, a mega-phone and what do you get? ‘Dolores’, with the memorable opening lyric ‘Dolores from the silver-screen, A bigger star than Charlie Sheen , With Quite A Knack For Being Mean’. Then there’s ‘I Don’t Even Know Your Name’, which has echoes of the Travelling Willberries sound. ‘All I Get’ and the closing track ‘La Mucara’ round off a truly brilliant album.

‘I’ve Got This Feeling’ that the best is yet to come from the Mavericks. This offering was thoroughly enjoyable, await their next album with anticipation.