Written and produced by two-time Grammy-nominated Eric Alexandrakis, One More Angel (A Tribute to Raul Malo) is an album filled with colour and life despite being a memorialization of the lead-singer of The Mavericks, Raul Malo, who passed away after being diagnosed with stage four cancer.
On Dec. 8, 2025, Raul Malo of The Mavericks, passed from stage four colon cancer, only 18 months following his initial diagnosis. In spreading awareness of the illness, and in memorializing the late musician, two-time cancer survivor and Grammy-nominee Eric Alexandrakis revitalized Malo’s prior music, even producing an exclusive vinyl version of the album, One More Angel (A Tribute to Raul Malo). Only 500 vinyl copies will be available for purchase, with all proceeds being donated to the American Cancer Foundation.
Originally released in 2008 on Malo’s solo album, Lucky One, the original version of One More Angel features Malo’s warm tenor voice and Latin-inspired sound, embodied by gentle acoustic guitar and relaxed harmonies. Credited by the Rolling Stones as a voice, “on par with the best of ‘em; Sinatra, George Jones and Orbison”, Malo’s ballad was inspired by the heavy grief following the death of his friend’s young daughter. With a warm resonance, Malo reminds listeners of the fragility of life in his lyrics, “Time passes by, you never get it back. Even if, even if you try when yours finally comes, have all that love is on your side. When they remember you these words will all be true”.
Aside from being a two-time survivor of cancer, Alexandrakis and Malo also shared a friendship of more than 30 years since meeting in Miami Florida during Malo’s early days as lead-singer of the country rock band, The Mavericks. In re-recording, Alexandrakis demonstrated an unmatched level of care in the production of the album, making no changes to the original lyrics, only augmenting and diversifying the auditory experience to reflect Malo’s artistry and latin roots. The connection between the two musicians gives the tribute a true emotional gravity while also maintaining Alexandraskis’ artistic vision as a polyphonic musician and producer.
The first side of the record will include four arrangements of Malo’s ballad, One More Angel. Unlike the original, One More Angel (a Tribute to Raul Malo), departs from the original as a more vibrant version featuring phrases of crisp electric guitar, twangy banjo, harmonica and ukulele. Accompanied by the faint chirps of birds, Alexandrakis brings life into the lyrics of Malo’s somber song, gifting the piece with a revitalized multi-layered auditory experience while inviting listeners to reflect on the life of the late-musician. More so than the original, Alexandrakis’ version is infused with latin-styled melodies that reflect the cultural Cuban heritage of Malo while maintaining its folky sound.
One might expect that listening to four different versions of a song may become repetitive, but the experience of listening to Side 1 of the vinyl is anything but. Rather than re-record one version of One More Angel, Alexandrakis developed four different renditions to memorialize Malo, including the Havana Nights Mono Mix, and an orchestral reprise of the song. The Havana Nights Mono Mix begins with silence as the sounds of thunder, wind and rain emerge creating a soft soundscape. Followed with a gentle acoustic guitar, listeners are guided to the first verse and greeted by Alexandrakis’ voice. In the Havana Mix, the tempo is slowed while incorporating phrases of the diverse sounds of the mandolin and castanets. The emotional depth of the song’s lyrics are chilling against the backdrop of the outside world, allowing listeners to be transported to Malo’s ancestral home of Cuba prior to his parents immigrating to Florida during the Cuban Missile Crisis.
The orchestral version, however, is a reprise of the original track. In the reprise, Alexandrakis is unafraid to hide his musical talents as a producer and instrumentalist. The reprise beautifully deconstructs and isolates the vocals of Alexandrakis while waltzing the audience through an emotional arrangement of One More Angel as the senses become roused by resonant strings and tranquil sounds of nature, even including the somber howling of dogs as the track comes to an end.
Side 2 of the album features the exclusive discography of Alexandrakis, with songs that further the tribute album’s themes of loss, taking risks and the fragility of time while also returning the audience to genre of country folk music. The set of tracks include The Same Mistakes Again, which takes listeners through feelings of remorse and nostalgia with wistful, reflective lyrics like, “There’s a bridge over the river, which takes me home with ease. But if life was always so easy, we’d never scrape our knees. Yeah, the trees, the bees and blades of grass get teased by the breeze and terrain, but if we never ride that river we’ll make the same mistakes again”.
500 copies of the limited edition vinyl of One More Angel (A Tribute to Raul Malo) will be available for purchase on elasticstage.com and also includes a Renaissance art colouring-book insert. The album can be streamed on Apple Music, and Bandcamp.