Music For All Occasions

Rating

Album: Music For All Occasions
#	Song Title		Time
1)	Foolish Heart	More Info...	3:37
2)	One Step Away	More Info...	2:54
3)	Here Comes The Rain	More Info...	3:49
4)	Missing You	More Info...	3:29
5)	All You Ever Do Is Bring Me Down	More Info...	4:22
6)	My Secret Flame	More Info...	3:28
7)	The Writing On The Wall	More Info...	3:22
8)	Loving You	More Info...	4:19
9)	If You Only Knew	More Info...	2:56
10)	I'm Not Gonna Cry For You	More Info...	3:41
11)	Something Stupid	More Info...	3:00
12)	Blue Moon	More Info...	4:07

Album: Music For All Occasions
#	Song Title		Time
1)	Foolish Heart	More Info...	3:37
2)	One Step Away	More Info...	2:54
3)	Here Comes The Rain	More Info...	3:49
4)	Missing You	More Info...	3:29
5)	All You Ever Do Is Bring Me Down	More Info...	4:22
6)	My Secret Flame	More Info...	3:28
7)	The Writing On The Wall	More Info...	3:22
8)	Loving You	More Info...	4:19
9)	If You Only Knew	More Info...	2:56
10)	I'm Not Gonna Cry For You	More Info...	3:41
11)	Something Stupid	More Info...	3:00
12)	Blue Moon	More Info...	4:07

Performer Notes

The Mavericks: Raul Malo (vocals); Robert Reynolds (bass); Paul Deakin (drums); Nick Kane.
Additional personnel: Trisha Yearwood (vocals); Flaco Jimenez (accordion); Lari White, Shelby Lynne, Jerry Dale McFadden.
Includes liner notes by James Hunter and Marty Maroon.
"Here Comes The Rain" won a 1996 Grammy Award for Best Country Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal. MUSIC FOR ALL OCCASIONS was nominated for Best Country Album.
This UK edition contains an extra song, "Blue Moon."
CD contains bonus track.
Although they are most assuredly a contemporary band, the Mavericks take a decidedly retro approach to country music. MUSIC FOR ALL OCCASION evokes an earlier, more guileless epoch in the evolution of the music, an era of honky tonks and one night stands, church picnics and county fairs--a time when country music was far from the cultural mainstream.
The classic verities of their breakthough, WHAT A CRYING SHAME, are extended and refined on the Mavericks' latest offering, entitled (tongue firmly in cheek) MUSIC FOR ALL OCCASSIONS. Theirs is a sound somehow more western than country, blossoming like desert flowers far away from Nashville, in the bordertowns and dives that stretch from Waco to Bakersfield, echoing the influences of everyone from Bob Wills and Merle Haggard, to Hank Williams and Flaco Jiminez.
Singer Raul Malo is capable of any number of archetypal vocal stylings, such as his Frankie Laine gestures on "Here Comes The Rain." "Missing You" evokes the ethereal longing of early Roy Orbison over a dreamy Latin backdrop, while "Loving You" and "If Only You Knew" offer tender nods to vintage Elvis. But from the Tex-Mex revelry of "All You Ever Do Is Bring Me Down," to Malo's bluesy crooning over Floyd Cramer-styled lounge jazz piano on "My Secret Flame," the Mavericks also prove to be a great party band, with dozens of sweet instrumental touches.

Professional Reviews

Spin (10/95, pp.118-119) - 6 (out of 10) - "...Though MUSIC FOR ALL OCCASIONS keeps the anomalies flying--from the title's echo of the lounge revival to the up-to-the-minute Nancy Sinatra cover...--beneath the window dressing is...very traditional country minimalism..."

Entertainment Weekly (9/29/95, pp.60-61) - "...the CMA nominees turn the clock back again, this time gutsily delving into Nashville's countrypolitan crooner style..." - Rating: B+

Musician (11/95, pp.91-92) - "...[their songs] suggest something of contemporary playlists while hearkening back to country music's roots....MUSIC FOR ALL OCCASIONS refines the Mavericks' sound while reaching out to casual listeners..."