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Prolific genre-jumper Raul Malo may go down in music history as one of themost expansive guys on the country circuit: he effortlessly traverses fromLatin jazz to Cuban pop to lounge-inspired schmaltz to boogie-down rock'n' roll and beyond. But when he's playing catchy-as-hell twang rock withhis band the Mavericks, it's easy to understand that country music is thisman's forte. The Mavericks formed in Miami, Florida, in the late 1980s andmade friends and fans by playing their infectious Americana foot-stompersinside of rock clubs. (Apparently, country clubs wanted country coverbands and turned the Mavericks away because they played original songs.)Their eponymous 1990 debut wasn't as strong in its songwriting as thealbums that would come after it, but this first album really showed offtheir bona fide chemistry, which could blow the oversized hat acts offalmost any Nashville stage. MCA caught wind of the Mav's buzz and signedthem in 1991, giving their second LP, From Hell To Paradise, moremoney and production help than their first release. On this sophomorealbum, Malo's songwriting bore more fruit than a field of prickly pearcacti. Songs like the Sir Douglas Quintet-flavored "I Got You" and theroadhouse rocker "End Of The Line" should have climbed the charts,... Read More ... butthey were upstaged by a drop-dead gorgeous rendition of Hank Williams'"Hey Good Lookin'" (the only single from their second album to get radioairplay). In 1994, the band released What a Crying Shame, athird-time's-the-charm album that went platinum and yielded three singles.
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