Though not a frequent visitor to the upper levels of the country charts, The Mavericks - with their unique Tex-Mex/latin tinged/roots rockin' sound - made some of the best music to come out of Nashville during the 90's. For many, Raul Malo IS The Mavericks and indeed, Malo wrote most of their recordings while his magnificent vocals - equals parts Orbison and Yoakam - hauntingly take center stage. Not to be ignored in The Mavericks mix, however, is the solid rhythmic foundation provided by bassist Robert Reynolds and drummer Paul Deakin.

The Mavericks' output for MCA/Mercury from 1992-99 consisted of merely four studio albums, a hits set with four new recordings, and a handful of side projects. Such was the quality of their music that even 2004's 20-track Definitive Collection group didn't come close to painting an accurate picture of the group's diversity. That has been rectified with this new two-disc, 41 track retrospective.

Disc one contains a hefty seven tracks from their first three albums: From Hell To Paradise (1992), What A Crying Shame (1994), and Music For All Occasions (1995). The second disc is where things get interesting, with a soundtrack offering ("Blue Moon" from Apollo 13), non-album singles ("I Don't Care," "She Does"), four tracks from international versions of their albums (including a shuffling rendition of the Peter & Gordon hit "A World Without Love"), two live recordings, and a contribution to a Gram Parsons tribute project ("Hot Burrito #1), in addition to seven tracks from Trampoline (1998) and the three tracks from their 1999 hits collection.

The omission of the Beatlesque "Things I Cannot Change" (from Super Colossal Smash Hits Of The 90's) and the collaboration with Trisha Yearwood on the Sinatras' camp classic "Somethin' Stupid" (from Music For All Occasions) keeps Gold from being my "ultimate" Mavericks set. But I'm picky. Gold is a great introduction/summation for Mavericks' neophytes and contains enough fine rarities to entice the devoted fan.

This is a great either for fans of the Mavericks or for those of us who are fans and introducing their music to friends and family. I love the sound of Raul Malo's voice and the guitars are fantastic. If you love country or even rock you will love this album. I highly recommend it.

I have just discovered a great music group that i didn't know about. the music is just great, the voices are something else, love this cd want to buy all of the ones they have out.

What a shame this group is no longer together. They made some of the most exciting music of its type I have every heard. The lyrics are often bluesy as are most country/rock songs but the music is so upbeat that you are constantly swayed by the positive emotion that it all creates. Every track is pure gold.

These are great CDs. This band is one of the best. I wish they would come back to the country music scene.