The Mavericks Ready Spanish Language Album ‘En Español’
It’s the fashionable thing to point out country music’s lack of diversity at the moment, and though it’s true the genre still has room for improvement, folks often overlook the inclusion of The Mavericks who’ve been working within the country music community for now over 30 years. Frontman and songwriter Raul Malo is one of the most revered singers in not just country, but in all of modern music. And the band’s injection of Latin influences have given country music some much needed spice, and emphasized important sounds integral to country music’s Hispanic influences.
Bringing their flair for Cubano and Tejano textures to music that still fits well with country sensibilities and style, country music has welcomed The Mavericks with open arms, awarding them multiple CMA and ACM trophies in their heyday of the 90’s. But up until now, aside from a song here or a song there, The Mavericks have entertained mostly in the English language. That is what will make their upcoming album En Español unique not just for the Mavericks, but a rarity for the greater country music community.
Produced by Malo and longtime collaborator Niko Bolas, En Español will be released on the band’s own label Mono Mundo Recordings on August 21st, supported by Thirty Tigers. It includes both new originals, and classic Spanish compositions.
“This is the record I’ve been wanting the Mavericks to make for a very long time,” says Raul Malo. “I’m a first-generation Cuban-American, and some of these songs are songs my family would play and sing on weekends at family parties and get-togethers. But it’s not all nostalgia either. There are plenty of new original songs that put this record squarely in the moment for us.”
Of course joining Raul Malo will be the rest of The Mavericks nucleus, guitarist Eddie Perez, keyboardist Jerry Dale McFadden, drummer Paul Deakin, along with their auxiliary players “The Fantastic Five.” Also joining The Mavericks will be Grammy-winning keyboardist and arranger Alberto Salas and Tejano accordion legend Flaco Jiménez.
Ahead of the album The Mavericks have released a new song called “Poder Vivir.” The artwork is also worth noting, drawing from multiple influences similar to The Mavericks themselves. It was done by Denver’s Dolan Geiman.
En Español out August 21st is now available for pre-order.
Track List:
1. La Sitiera
2. Recuerdos
3. No Vale la Pena
4. Poder Vivir
5. Sombras Nada Más
6. Mujer
7. Me Olvidé de Vivir
8. Pensando en Ti
9. Sabor a Mí
10. Suspiro Azul
11. Cuando me Enamoro
12. Me Voy a Pinar del Río
June 15, 2020 @ 9:04 am
Cool. I’m down.
June 15, 2020 @ 9:16 am
Love these guys!
Will have dive/spearfishing buddy, Carlos, help interpret this album.
June 15, 2020 @ 9:57 am
Something for the landscaping crew.
June 15, 2020 @ 10:10 am
Cool.
Upbeat, get everybody’s blood going.
Knock those yards out.
Know you can never replace Maggie, but do you have another four-legged member on your crew yet?
June 15, 2020 @ 10:25 am
No. Not yet. I work too long of days right now for a puppy. Maybe in the fall, I will adopt an older dog. Thanks for asking.
June 15, 2020 @ 9:40 am
Orale! Great news!
June 15, 2020 @ 9:47 am
Cool , I hope “classic spanish compositions” stands for mexican/cuban rather than flamenco style ala Pepe Romero.
June 15, 2020 @ 9:49 am
I’m in.
June 15, 2020 @ 10:16 am
Cool- beans! 🙂
I hope they throw in a little mariachi for spice!
June 15, 2020 @ 2:44 pm
I’m sure whatever they’re doing, Raul Malo’s singing will be out of this world. it’s worth looking up some covers he’s done (lots of stuff on youtube)- he’s comparable to Dwight Yoakam as a vocalist.
June 15, 2020 @ 4:14 pm
So excited for this!
June 15, 2020 @ 6:03 pm
Did you know that “mestizo” is a dirty word?
I didn’t either, but, apparently, Trigger thinks it is.
Can you say, “Liberals don’t deserve to be called ‘Texans?”
June 15, 2020 @ 7:07 pm
Big Tex,
Quit trying to push the envelope and crying whenever your shit gets deleted. Contribute, or move on.
June 16, 2020 @ 2:54 pm
It’s not “crying” to point out that a moderator who claims to be a Texan gets offended just the same as a prancing girlyman from New York City.
June 16, 2020 @ 7:53 am
Love this!
June 16, 2020 @ 12:35 pm
Very excited for this. I love country music. But world music like spanish, african and asian music are a big part of my music listening habits as well.
June 17, 2020 @ 7:22 am
One hopes that EN ESPANOL will do well for the Mavericks; and certainly their track record of inserting Latin-American influences into their brand of country (I think they were formed in Miami, if I’m not mistaken) isn’t an unknown.
The group does have kind of a high bar in terms of how well the album will sell. Back in 1987-88, Linda Ronstadt’s album of traditional Mexican mariachi/ranchera music, CANCIONES DE MI PADRE, which I might add, was not an easy album for her label Elektra to promote, sold 2.7 million copies, making it even today the biggest-selling foreign-language album by any American artist or group. But if the Mavericks get even a fraction of that, EN ESPANOL can be considered a significant success (IMHO).