Malo, More Latin Than Country

As the singer and main songwriter for the Mavericks during the band’s ‘90s run, Raul Malo pushed commercial country into eclectic territory by folding all manner of American vernacular music into the mix. By the end of the decade, however, it became painfully obvious that the band was uneasily trying to wedge itself into radio’s love-song ghetto, and it produced diminishing returns artistically.

As Malo’s L.A. solo debut Tuesday at the Troubadour demonstrated, this Miami native’s talent is too expansive to be fenced in by Top 40 conservatism. The material on his new album, “Today,” virtually jettisons country altogether in favor of propulsive Cuban rhythms (his family is from the island) and, in several songs, Spanish lyrics.

Perhaps Malo still has his finger in the wind: In a post-Buena Vista Social Club world, Cuban-flavored music isn’t exactly out of vogue. But it’s also the best possible context in which to hear Malo’s gripping, wide-screen vocals.

Backed at the Troubadour by a clutch of crackerjack pros, including a three-piece horn section, Malo seemed at ease singing material that bore the distinct watermark of traditional Latin music. While the band stirred up polyrhythmic tempests, Malo swung lightly, his soaring vocals conjuring bedroom melodrama and simmering exoticism.

A handful of Mavericks songs were reworked as Latin ballads, but Malo wisely left the evening’s sole country outing, Merle Haggard’s “Okie from Muskogee,” in the barroom where it belonged.

Marc Weingarten