Published on Mar 4, 2002
“Quick – name someone associated with Cuban music. Couldn’t come
up with someone? Don’t feel bad – had it not been for Ry Cooder and
Buena Vista Social Club, quite possibly the only recognizable name
in this genre would have been Desi Arnaz and his “Ricky Ricardo”
character.”
So wrote “Daily Vault” Grand Poobah Christopher Thelen back on
February 14 in his review of
Cuba Swings from J.P. Torres And His Cuban All Stars. Which
made this reviewer want to throw my arms in the air and bellow
“Hey! Wait! Over here!”
Because – with all due respect to my pal Chris — the answer is,
and has been for several years, Raul Malo.
To be sure, prior to 1995’s
Music For All Occasions, Malo and his former band the
Mavericks were primarily a country-rock outfit, albeit one with a
twist. It seemed Malo and company never would cooperate with the
A&R department (and radio programmers) by settling into a
single “safe” genre, instead applying any number of different
shadings to their neo-traditionalist musical base. After a couple
of well-regarded albums but no major hits, the Mavericks began to
branch out even further, exploring a diverse palette of influences
ranging from Tex-mex to countrypolitan to lounge soul to lead
singer Malo’s own Cuban roots. In the end the principal point of
consistency for the band was Miami native Malo’s magnificent voice,
a rangy, stunningly expressive cross between Roy Orbison and the
one and only Elvis.
And while
Music For All Occasions embraced a variety of approaches,
the band’s 1998 follow-up
Trampoline audaciously zeroed in on the one that lay perhaps
farthest out of the mainstream. If you’ve ever wondered what Hank
Williams might have sounded like fronting the aforementioned Ricky
Ricardo’s Havana big band (answer: awesome!),
Trampoline is for you.
Needless to say, it wasn’t for country radio. It appeared to
receive little label support and died an untimely death on the
charts, putting the band in limbo. Other than a sardonic 1999
greatest hits disc (
Super Colossal Smash Hits Of The 90s) that was one third new
songs and one third songs that never charted, the band has been
without a label and on ice since the
Trampoline tour ended. Malo’s response might be summed up
as, The hell with this. I’m going to make the music I want to
make.
Which turns out to be an entire album of frothy big band salsa
featuring an all-star cast of players from Latin supergroup Los
Super Seven, among others. And while it’s certainly not going to be
everybody’s cup of tea, make no mistake – this album rocks.
Every track here has that island vibe, rhythmic piano playing
laid over a writhing bed of congas, timbales and other Latin
percussion, the entire concoction spiced with precision bursts of
trumpet, trombone and sax. Malo wisely kicks things off with the
giddy title track, a party tune that sets your feet tapping and
hips undulating until you start grasping around for a margarita and
a dance partner, quick. “I See You” takes a dramatic turn, adding
call-and-answer vocals and flute, before sliding right into the
slower – but just as urgent — “Every Little Thing About You.”
It’s worth noting that, although most of the trappings of
country-rock are long gone, Malo hasn’t shaken the lyrical theme of
his Mavericks days — loss and longing. Almost every track here –
whether sung in English or, on four tracks, in Spanish — has the
narrator confronted by a major romantic obstacle of some sort,
either fighting or lamenting it. And while any good writer knows
you need conflict to create drama, Malo can be something of a
one-trick pony on this count.
That’s why you savor upbeat cuts like “Today,” “I Said I Love
You” and “Takes Two To Tango,” in which Malo executes a witty,
sensuous duet with that other Nashville genre-bender Shelby Lynne.
The band’s greatest passion may actually be reserved for the
Spanish cuts, though, especially the rousing “Ya Tu Veras,” which
has positively Santana-esque energy, albeit with a flute taking the
place of Carlos’ guitar solo.
Today is obviously a statement straight from Malo’s heart,
and as such, you feel almost obligated to give it your respect,
even if it does feel like there’s a certain sameness to the themes
and melodies after seven or eight tracks. Put it this way; it’s an
album with a definite, distinct flavor, and if you like that
flavor, you’ll like this disc a lot.
And that flavor is, just for the record, distinctly Cuban.