The Years Will Not Be Kind: Raul Malo Talks Kentucky Connections And Concerts

By Kevin Murphy Wilson • Photos Provided 

Raul Malo is best known as the affable frontman and principal songwriter for genre-bending, GRAMMY Award-winning Americana band The Mavericks. Leaning into his Cuban heritage, Malo frequently weaves Latin rhythms, early rock ’n roll, and neotraditional country into a tapestry of sound that has provided the backdrop for such original hits as “All You Ever Do Is Bring Me Down,” “Here Comes The Rain,” and “Dance the Night Away.” We recently caught up with Malo to discuss his band’s latest record and upcoming Louisville concert date with Kentucky native Dwight Yoakam. 

VOICE-TRIBUNE: The Mavericks LP Moon & Stars is as fun and eclectic as anything else in your extensive catalog. What was special to you about the process of assembling it with your bandmates and various guests? 

Raul Malo: “For one thing, we brought a different kind of energy to the process by recording parts of it in faraway locations [including New Mexico and Louisiana] before finishing it off at our home away from home, which is Blackbird Studio [in Tennessee], where everything is always comfortable and easy. The other interesting thing about Moon & Stars is that some of the material is not new, we just weren’t ready for it until now. Probably the best example of that is the album’s opening track, ‘The Years Will Not Be Kind’ [a fairly profound co-write with Elton John’s lyricist Bernie Taupin] which had literally been sitting in a storage bin for decades because it would not have been believable if I had been presenting it to the world as a 30-year-old.” 

VT: The album closer, “Turn Yourself Around,” was also a nice surprise. It feels like it would have been right at home on an early [Paul] McCartney release. 

RM: “Yeah. I guess that’s my tribute to [Harry] Nilsson’s mid-70s work with [John] Lennon. My co-writer on that one was really ‘ going through it’ with his wife at the time and his life was descending into a Nilsson-like madness. So, it resonated spiritually. Musically, it became an exercise in not being subtle, and that’s alright. Sometimes more is just more and that’s better.” 

VT: Overall, this collection provides another fine example of why you are considered to be one of the great crooners of our time. Looking back, who were some of your early role models in that realm? 

RM: “The ‘OG’ for me was Elvis [Presley]. I remember the day it happened, too. I was playing one of my mom’s albums that was his Greatest Hits or something like that. The first song on side two was, ‘It’s Now or Never.’ I thought, ‘what the hell was that?’ but I kept playing it over and over. It was so different, so brilliant. I have spent my entire [musical] life imitating that record. And I say that proudly.” 

VT: Here in Kentucky the Judds are still held in high regard by many emerging artists. What’s the story behind your collaboration with [the late Rockabilly legend] Carl Perkins on that recent Judds tribute project?

RM: “The Mavericks once recorded with Carl Perkins and Duane Eddy, for real, back in the 90s. And, you know, Carl was Mr. Rock n’ Roll, Mr. Blue Suede Shoes, Mr. The-Fucking-Beatles-Have-Recorded-My-Shit. That’s who that was. But yet he was really laid back and easy to work with. So, I was excited to add my vocals to the track they built around his original demo [for the Judds’ 1989 hit ‘Let Me Tell You About Love’] when the opportunity presented itself.”

VT: How is the co-headlining tour with [Kentucky-born musician/actor] Dwight Yoakam going?

RM: “Honestly, being on this tour has been a blessing on so many levels. And it’s been fun as hell. Dwight is formidable. I mean that in as positive and professional a way as you can say it. He’s a powerhouse. And I’m not just saying that because we’re on the road together. I’ve admired Dwight and his records from the beginning.”

VT: Lyle Lovett shared that, without fail, he always makes his way to the bar of the Brown Hotel and orders a Hot Brown whenever he’s in town. Is there anything you like to do when you’re in the area?

RM: “Louisville has a surprisingly large Cuban population, which is fun for me because I love getting my fix of Cuban food whenever I am around. I am a big fan of both Havana Rumba and La Bodeguita de Mima.”

The Mavericks and Dwight Yoakam play Iroquois Amphitheater on April 25. For more information visit, themavericksband.com.