It’s nice to see Raul Malo back in the spotlight. The onetime Mavericks frontman hadn’t exactly gone quiet, but over the last several years his big voice has been muted somewhat by label difficulties and diffident promotion (not to mention an underwhelming reunion with his former band). Fortunately, that’s all changed with last week’s release of his new album, Lucky One, which is receiving a welcome reception from critics and a nice push from his new label, Fantasy. (Yes, that Fantasy Records, which is now part of the Concord Music Group and is building a nice little stable of Americana artists to go with prodigal — if not fortunate — son John Fogerty.)
Malo co-wrote every track on Lucky One, which brings together the myriad influences that have long kept his work so interesting. The swinging “Moonlight Kiss” is equal parts Bob Wills and Dean Martin, and recalls the jazzy sound Malo brought to a set of classic-country covers on his last album, After Hours. (That disc had been Malo’s third consecutive covers album, and followed a collaboration with legendary producer Peter Asher that had the misfortune of being released by the Sanctuary label just before it collapsed in 2006.) Another key track on Lucky One, “Lonely Hearts,” allows Malo and producer Steve Berlin (Los Lobos) to immerse themselves in their beloved Latin rhythms. Then there’s a pair of big ballads, the epic and haunting “One More Angel” (inspired, if that’s the word, by the death of a friend’s daughter) and the lovely “So Beautiful,” which is proving a highlight of the sets on Malo’s current tour.
Malo rolls into Austin for SXSW gigs this Thursday and Friday, 3/19 and 3/20. Popdose caught up with him last Friday as he was preparing for a show in central California, on the heels of a two-day whirlwind through SoCal’s two Houses of Blues and a Wednesday-evening stopover to perform “Lucky One” on the Tonight Show.
Was that your first late-night booking in awhile? And more important, did you get to hang out with the kid from Superbad [fellow guest Christopher Mintz-Plasse]?
Yeah, it was my first time with Jay Leno … actually my first late-night show as a solo act. I did get to meet him – he’s a real nice kid. Of course, later that night my boys were like, “Dad, you hung out with McLovin!” I was an instant hero. (more…)
