Rolling Stone (4/2/98, p.73) - 4 Stars (out of 5) - "...while TRAMPOLINE finds the Mavericks dishing out breezy, lovelorn melodies, they're also sneaking a lot of genuinely eclectic weirdness past....a pop-orchestral blowout the likes of which hasn't been heard since Orbison's days on the Monument label..."
Entertainment Weekly (5/8/98, p.77) - "On their expansive fifth album, these Nashville iconoclasts fuse a myriad of unlikely stylistic elements into a satisfying whole....frontman Raul Malo['s]...majestic tenor...[and] emotional depth matches his band's skillful eclecticism." - Rating: A-
The Mavericks: Raul Malo (vocals, acoustic & electric guitars, electric sitar, 6-string bass, piano, drums); Nick Kane (acoustic, electric, 12-string and baritone guitars); Paul Deakin (electric guitar, drums); Robert Reynolds (acoustic & electric basses, background vocals).
Additional personnel includes: Mark Casstevens (acoustic, gut string & arch-top guitars, banjo); James House (acoustic guitar); Robbie Turner (pedal steel guitar); George Tidwell, Jim Williamson (trumpet); Dennis Good, Chris Dunn (trombone); Dennis Burnside, Dane Bryant (piano); David Hungate (acoustic bass); Glenn Caruba (percussion); Nashville String Machine.
Recorded at Ocean Way Recording Studios, Nashville, Tennessee.
All tracks have been digitally mastered using HDCD technology.
"Dance The Night Away" was nominated for a 1999 Grammy for Best Country Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal.
Though once classified, however vaguely, as a country outfit, The Mavericks have expanded their sound far beyond those confines on TRAMPOLINE. This frothy, colorful piece of pop artistry boasts a variety of influences. There are Tex-Mex touches on "I Should Know" (which also features some unusual, Lennonish chord changes), and the effervescent "Dance The Night Away." There's the jazzy, vibraphone-colored ballad "Fool #1." Elsewhere, '60s soul rhythms and Duane Eddy-style guitar licks alternate with Beatlesesque compositional touches (there's that Lennon influence again). Singer Raul Malo's primary influence, Roy Orbison, can still be heard here, both in Malo's lustrous tenor and the overall feel of the tunes and arrangements, which bring to mind the kind of classy early-'60s pop that was lushly orchestrated without sounding overproduced and could express heartbreak without losing its uplifting sonic veneer.