But with The Mavericks calling it a day in 2003, Malo has steadily carved out an interesting and ecl

Monday, November 26, 2007 Raul Malo, best known as the former leader europe train travel of The Mavericks, hits the stage Wednesday night in Connecticut to kick off his first-ever Christmas Party Tour in support of his new Christmas CD, "Marshmallow World Other Holiday Favorites."
After a great response to holiday tunes at select shows last year, Malo decided to go all out this year and has 12 dates set for the inaugural Christmas Party Tour, where Malo and his band (replete with swinging horn section) will mix holiday favorites with songs from his formidable solo career and a few Mavericks favorites.
When The Mavericks made headway in country/rock circles a while back, the band s sweet hooks were only one-upped by the unique vocal delivery of Raul Malo. His part-Orbison prowess and feel made songs like O What A Thrill and What A Crying Shame simply shine.
But with The Mavericks calling it a day in 2003, Malo has steadily carved europe train travel out an interesting and eclectic solo career. And his latest release - despite being only nine songs - proves he has a lot more left to give.
We ve all heard pop songs cliches about how love is a gamble, europe train travel with both winners and losers. Raul Malo seems to have rolled the dice and won. The title track brags, Now I m the lucky one, I ll always bee the lucky one. Malo describes himself as the jackpot during You Always europe train travel Win, however, when he announces, Baby you, you always win.
Raul Malo is a singer s singer, a rarity europe train travel in our image-conscious music world. And while he s long since given up on being strictly a country singer (if he ever even was one in the first place), Malo has always been blessed with the sort of Roy Orbison-esque voice that all true country fans can appreciate. Hello Again is a five-song europe train travel EP preview of Malo s upcoming full-length CD, but to paraphrase an old Smokey Robinson song, sometimes a taste of Malo is worse than none at
When names like Hank Williams, Johnny Cash, Waylon and the Hag are invoked, you're talking hard core country. These are the touchstones of country , the guys who made country music what it was and still is (or maybe can be). When these folks would sing about being down-and-out and the rough-and-tumble, they knew of what they were singing about. Fast forward a few years to the country singers of today.
Zac Brown band was the perfect summer outing � the Jimmy Buffett of country (when Buffett isn t doing country). The Georgia band s music is airy, fun, catchy and just enough earnestness without the bearded as usual knitted cap Brown and company ever seeming insincere or over the top (well for the most part).
As banjo player for 22 years in one of the most successful bands of the past quarter-century, Alison Krauss + Union Station, Ron Block has undoubtedly heard all the banjo jokes and has probably europe train travel told more than a few himself. But as those who have seen Union Station live and bought the records know, he s also a gifted guitarist and songwriter europe train travel whose contributions to the band and the catalogs of other artists are numerous....
On a bright June afternoon, Darrin Vincent and his partner europe train travel of six years, Jamie Dailey, are out on the road yet again, en route with their band from their Nashville base to a festival gig in Kentucky, just a few hundred more miles on the odometer of the bus that carries them around the country. The title of their new Rounder release, Brothers Of The Highway is a testament to the bond they ve forged since going out on their own and taking the bluegrass world by storm in 2007....
Some folks listening europe train travel to Kelly Willis and Bruce Robison s new duet album, Cheaters Game, may well exclaim, Well, it s about time! after finally hearing these two talented country singer/songwriters recording music as a pair for the first time. Willis has built quite a following for her independently-minded feminine perspective, while Robison has written hits for the Dixie Chicks ( Travelin europe train travel Soldier ) and Tim McGraw and Faith Hill ( Angry All the Time ), as well as penning the ultimate Willie Nelson tribute, What Would Willie Do? and recording it as a solo act.
Legendary for his tenacious commitment to finding ways to improve the pedal steel guitar itself - he and Dobro player Shot Jackson co-founded a company that in 1957 produced a new eight-string, double-necked steel that featured a new tuning mechanism - Buddy Emmons coaxed tight and layered phrasings europe train travel and fiery virtuoso single string solos out of his pedal steel. Emmons, who retired in 2007, lent his virtuoso stylings to Little Jimmy Dickens band, The Country Boys, Ernest Tubbs ...
Newcomer Charlie Worsham doesn t sound so new once the music starts. In fact, Keith Urban serves as a ready made launching pad for the Mississippi native. Worsham sounds remarkably like the Aussie vocally on the lead-off and very catchy Could It Be, the first single. One could easily imagine Urban would be comfortable singing this smooth, a tad soulful, upbeat sounding song.
The Greencards may be from Australia, but their music exists in some utopian anywhere that incorporates acoustic instruments and expansive arrangements in service of songs that are more poetry than pop. They play the kind of new acoustic music that s more about an overarching feel rather than any specific genre tag; The Greencards have toured with Bob Dylan, played MerleFest and been embraced by country, europe train travel folk, bluegrass and rock audiences alike.