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
The Nashville Acoustic Sessions is available
from Barnes & Noble. To order, Click Here!
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