Of all the recent musicians we have sadly lost in recent times, the tragic news of the passing of Raul Malo last year was one of the most gut-wrenching for me. He was only 60 years old but had announced in 2024 that he was suffering from cancer, and the world lost a truly shining light in the annals of americana.
He’d begun blasting his way into the punk clubs in Miami before he fronted the wonderful Mavericks for over thirty years. He was such a captivating presence on stage, with his gorgeous, rich, and heartbreaking vocal style. His solo albums were also a masterclass in high-quality original songs and covers, with a personal favourite of mine being his majestic cover of Welcome To My World on his After Hours album. When The Mavericks performed live, they were an almost perfectly formed group with superb musicianship throughout the band, as evidenced whenever they played All You Ever Do Is Bring Me Down. They also released one of the best of the recent Christmas albums with Hey! Merry Christmas! in 2018.
But it’s Malo’s sumptuous voice that is most memorable, as demonstrated by this goose bump-inducing live performance of Born To Be Blue from their In Time album. Recorded back in 2012, this also included the magnificent Eddie Perez and the equally multi-talented accordionist Michael Guerra. Many times stripped-back versions of songs can miss the feel of the original, but here it almost betters the album version, with the three of them conjuring up the sweetest sound imaginable.
Every time I watch this, it almost brings me to tears; it’s so beautiful. With the knowledge that Malo is no longer with us, it makes the experience even more moving. Truly sublime.
