Raul Malo, Pat Flynn, Rob Ickes, & Dave Pomeroy
The Nashville Acoustic Sessions

(CMH)

First Appeared at The Music Box, April 2004, Volume 11, #4

Written by T.J. Simon

On The Nashville Acoustic Sessions, Raul Malo of The Mavericks gathered a bunch of his friends together to record some classic acoustic numbers with amiable results. Consequently, the collection contains 11 enjoyable and faithful re-creations of songs — many of which should be quite familiar — including Moon River and (I Love You) For Sentimental Reasons. Covering Roy Orbison’s Blue Bayou was also an obvious move considering the similarities between the distinctively rich voices of Malo and Orbison.

Elsewhere, Malo and his pals do a superb job on Van Morrison’s jolly Bright Side of the Road as well as on a pair of the Louvin Brothers’ country-gospel numbers (The Great Atomic Power and When I Stop Dreaming) — both of which fare better than anything on the recently issued tribute Livin’, Lovin’ Losin’: Songs of the Louvin Brothers. However, while there’s nothing offensive about this disc, there’s nothing particularly dangerous, edgy, or innovative about it either. In short, those familiar with The Mavericks’ catalog of music who can’t get enough of Malo’s singing voice certainly will enjoy The Nashville Acoustic Sessions, but for everyone else, there are better places to begin, such as the group’s recent self-titled gem. ½

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Ratings

1 Star:   Pitiful
2 Stars: Listenable
3 Stars: Respectable
4 Stars: Excellent
5 Stars: Can't Live Without It!!

Copyright © 2004 The Music Box