David Jarman has passed on The Everly Brothers magnificent ballad ‘So Sad (To Watch Good Love Go By)’ and I apologise for this tenuous link, but he mentioned several artists who have covered the song. In fact there are more than 40 versions of this great song, one of which is by the incomparable Raul Malo.
Raul Malo has been the lead singer of The Mavericks for well over thirty years (and in more recent times, co-lead guitarist). Although they have been accepted as an americana band, there is no doubt that they could be called pop, rock, world, latin and various other styles, including country which was very much the case with their first (self-titled) and half of their second album (‘From Hell to Paradise‘). A perfect example of their country background is this retro-sounding track ‘A Better Way’ which appeared on both of these albums. The second version shows the development of Raul Malo’s fantastic voice, surely one of the best in all of popular music, but I am playing the first version which was released on the virtually unknown debut album in 1990.
One of the best live acts to grace a stage (and the only one where I got a backstage pass!), and that voice is really something special. Enjoy!
