The Mavericks - What a Crying Shame

The Mavericks fully hit their stride with their third album, 1994's What a Crying Shame, in which the band's blend of rootsy country and vintage pop sounds finally found the balance they'd been searching for. While producer Don Cook gave the band a significantly glossier sound than that of their first two albums, with a hefty number of guest musicians (and guest songwriters) on board, remarkably enough The Mavericks' personality wasn't subsumed in the process; if anything, the high-priced help seemed to have prodded the boys into playing at the top of their game. Raul Malo's keening tenor gets a superb workout on "I Should Have Been True" and the title cut (the latter of which boasts a guitar hook Roger McGuinn would have been proud to come up with), while "Pretend" and "There Goes My Heart" are honky tonk floor-fillers of the first order. Robert Reynolds and Paul Deakin are a rhythm section who can give these songs the nervy drive of a rock band without betraying The Mavericks' country leanings, and they give the covers of "All That Heaven Will Allow" and "O What a Thrill" a taut foundation most contemporary Nashville acts lack. Truth to tell, What a Crying Shame doesn't have a single dud track, and offers encouraging proof that it's still possible to make an engaging and idiosyncratic country album while signed to the Nashville division of a major label...and the best news is, the band managed to turn that accomplishment into a hat trick over the next few years. ~ Mark Deming, All Music Guide

Name Credits Alan Umstead Violin Brent Mason Guitar (Electric) Bruce Bouton Guitar (Steel) Buddy Jackson Art Direction Carl Gorodetzky Violin Connie Ellisor Violin Dennis Burnside Conductor, String Arrangements Dennis Wilson Vocals (Background) Don Cook Producer Gary VanOsdale Viola Glenn Worf Bass (Upright), Bass James House Vocals (Background) Jim Herrington Photography John Barlow Jarvis Piano, Organ (Hammond) John Jarvis Organ, Piano John Wesley Ryles Vocals (Background) Joy White Vocals (Background) Kris Wilkinson Viola Lee Larrison Violin Mark Casstevens Guitar, Guitar (Acoustic) Mike Bradley Engineer, Mixing Nick Kane Main Performer, Guitar Paul Deakin Drums, Main Performer Raul Malo Guitar (Rhythm), Main Performer, Guitar, Vocals Rob Hajacos Fiddle Robert Reynolds Main Performer, Bass (Electric) Stan Lynch Claves, Cabassa, Tambourine, Tympani [Timpani], Conga Ted Madsen Violin The Mavericks Main Performer Trisha Yearwood Vocals (Background)