Hey! Merry Christmas!

by The Mavericks

Overview

The Mavericks have always been up for some dancing and some romancing, so it makes perfect sense that they'd want to throw a little party for the holiday season. Released in 2018, Hey! Merry Christmas! is the first seasonal album from the group, featuring nine original tunes that celebrate Yuletide in their trademark retro-pop-Latin-roots music style, along with two familiar numbers from days gone by. The Mavericks have long shown a fondness for pop music's past, and they put their skills to good use on Hey! Merry Christmas! "Santa Wants to Take You for a Ride" is a slinky R&B number with a hint of double entendre in the lyrics, "Christmas Time Is (Coming 'Round Again)" and the title cuts are rockin' numbers suitable for dancing, "Santa Does" and "One More Christmas" merge upbeat lyrics with good-natured sentimentality, and if their version of "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)" doesn't match the brilliance of Darlene Love's classic recording, Raul Malo's big-as-all-outdoors voice was made to order for this music. It wouldn't be a Mavericks album if Malo didn't get to wrap his vocal cords around something romantic and something sad, and "I Have Wanted You (For Christmas)" and "Christmas for Me (Is You)" fill the bill in the former category, while "It's Christmas Without You" is just rueful enough to qualify for the latter. Malo's voice may headline this show, but guitarist Eddie Perez, keyboard man Jerry Dale McFadden, and percussionist Paul Deakin certainly give him all the support he needs and more, generating a wall of groovy sounds, and producers Malo and Niko Bolas give the audio a big vintage sound with modern-day clarity. Hey! Merry Christmas! delivers a solid shot of good cheer for the holidays, and if this doesn't get a party started when you put it on, you and your friends need to ask Santa to bring you some coolness. ~ Mark Deming

Product Details

Release Date:	11/02/2018
Label:	Mono Mundo Recordings
UPC:	0752830541771
Rank:	96865

Album Credits

Performance Credits

The Mavericks   Primary Artist
Tabitha Fair   Vocals (Background)
Regina McCrary   Vocals (Background)
Raul Malo   Piano,Vocals,Mellotron,Percussion,Guitar (Acoustic),Guitar (Electric),Vocals (Background)
Ann McCrary   Vocals (Background)
Paul Deakin   Drums,Percussion,Vibraphone,Glockenspiel,Tubular Bells
Jeff Coffin   Saxophone
Tiffany Turner   Vocals (Background)
Jerry Dale McFadden   Organ,Piano,Mellotron,Glockenspiel,Vocals (Background)
Etta Britt   Vocals (Background)
Ed Friedland   Bass (Upright),Bass (Electric),Vocals (Background)
Max Abrams   Saxophone,Vocals (Background)
Eddie Perez   Guitar (Acoustic),Guitar (Electric),Vocals (Background)
Michael Guerra   Accordion,Percussion,Guitar (Acoustic),Vocals (Background)
Julio Diaz   Trumpet,Percussion
Alfreda McCrary   Vocals (Background)
Lorenzo Molina   Trumpet,Percussion,Vocals (Background)

Technical Credits

Raul Malo   Producer,Group Member
Niko Bolas   Mixing,Engineer,Producer
Richard Dodd   Mastering
Paul Deakin   Group Member
Jerry Dale McFadden   Group Member,Art Direction
Kevin Dresser   Type Design,Package Design
Eddie Perez   Group Member
Sean R. Badum   Engineer
Rik Catlow   Illustrations