Today sees the GRAMMY, CMA & ACM winning band THE MAVERICKS release “Poder Vivir” as the first single and performance music video from their upcoming first all-Spanish language album “En Español”. With the pre-save / pre-order period for the album also beginning today, the full track listing (below) now reveals a truly unique collection befitting the band’s critically praised notoriety for energetic eclecticism. Born from the Latin heritage influences of band members Raul Malo and Eddie Perez, their early founding roots in Miami, and long embrace of injecting Tejano (Tex-Mex) rhythms into country and rock & roll, a close examination shows a mix of Maverick originals written in Spanish and classic songs of the Latin-American songbook enlivened with their distinctive style.
“This is the record I’ve been wanting the Mavericks to make for a very long time. I’m a first generation Cuban-American, and some of these songs are songs my family would play and sing on weekends at family parties and get-togethers. But it’s not all nostalgia either. There are plenty of new original songs that put this record squarely in the moment for us.” – Raul Malo of The Mavericks
From the album’s background bio, we learn that first single and new original song “Poder Vivir”:
“…at first blush appears to be a simple song about lost love [but] the two-word title suggests much more. “I had this phrase and melody that just kept playing in my head,” says Malo. “I wasn’t quite sure what it meant exactly, or what I was going to say, but somehow it felt right to start the song with those words.... After many conversations and late nights out on the road, the song kind of wrote itself. We wanted it to be conversational and simple in the end, and that’s what we got.”
… That, and a killer final verse that makes the song what Malo intended it to be: “a bit philosophical and wise”:
“…A veces la vida nos hace pensar – Que el mundo no cambia sino para mal
Son solo momentos, también pasarán – En fin, ni la muerte nos marca un final”
(“Sometimes life makes us think – That the world only changes for the worse
These are just moments, they will also pass – Anyway, not even death marks the end”)
The Mavericks “En Español” – Track Listing
01. La Sitiera / “The Sitiera” – Writer: Rafael López González
02. Recuerdos / “Memories” – Writers: Raul Malo, Alejandro Menéndez Vega
03. No Vale la Pena / “It’s Not Really Worth It”– Writer: Alberto Aguilera Valadez
04. Poder Vivir / “To Live” – Writers: Raul Malo, Alejandro Menéndez Vega
05. Sombras Nada Más / “Shadows and Nothing More” –Writers: José María Contursí, Francisco J. Lomuto
06. Mujer / “Woman” – Writer: Raul Malo
07. Me Olvidé de Vivir / “I Forgot to Live” – Writers: Pierre Abel Billon, Julio Iglesias, Jacques Able Jules Revaud
08. Pensando en Ti / “Thinking of You” – Writers: Raul Malo, Cynthia Susana Medina
09. Sabor a Mí / “Taste of Me” – Writers: Alvaro Carrillo Alarcón
10. Suspiro Azul / “Blue Sigh” – Writers: Raul Malo, Alejandro Menéndez Vega, Lisset Diaz Guevara, Miguel Comas
11. Cuando me Enamoro / “When I Fall In Love” – Writers: Mario Panzeri, Daniele Pace, Roberto Livraghi
12. Me Voy a Pinar del Río / “I’m Going to Pinar del Rio” – Writers: Néstor Manuel Pinelo Cruz
“The Mavericks are capable of doing everything from rock & roll to Tex-Mex to jazz and soul… a breathtaking collective that can do anything – everything, really – better than the rest. …The Latin-fused big band sound of the … wildly eclectic group …is an earthy but globetrotting place where Tex-Mex, Western swing and Miami music all intersect…Just try not to get up and dance.” – Rolling Stone
