Maroon 5's 2002 debut album, Songs About Jane, was the kind of hit that doesn't happen often in the new millennium -- a genuine word-of-mouth hit whose popularity grew steadily after its release, largely due to the sweet, sunny hit "This Love," a song sly and catchy enough to stay on the adult pop charts for years without wearing out its welcome. It also was catchy enough to engender years of goodwill. Five years of goodwill, in fact, as the band toured heavily while slowly tinkering away on their second album, finally delivering It Won't Be Soon Before Long (its title perhaps a pun on the gap between records, perhaps not) half a decade after Songs About Jane. If that delay sounds like a symptom of sophomore jitters, that's not exactly true, since during that long stretch between albums Maroon 5 worked Songs About Jane and, in a sense, that album wasn't strictly their first album, either. Maroon 5 evolved out of Kara's Flowers, a post-grunge pop band whose 1997 debut never took off, not even when their debut was reissued in the wake of Maroon's success, but it did provide the group with the foundation for their success; it's where they paid their dues and learned how to be a pop band. Traces of Kara's Flowers could be heard in Maroon's rockier moments on their debut, but under their new name, the group began to develop an infatuation with lue-eyed soul-pop, which they wisely develop on It Won't Be Soon Before Long. More than develop, they modernize it, borrowing elements of Justin Timberlake's stylized synthesized soul, but Adam Levine is wise enough to know that he's no young colt, like JT. He knows that he's a pop guy, somewhat in the tradition of Hall & Oates, but he isn't trying to be retro, he's trying to fill that void, making records that are melodic, stylish, and soulful, which It Won't Be Soon Before Long certainly is.
In every respect, It Won't Be Soon is a bigger album than its predecessor: hooks pile up one after another, there's not an ounce of fat on the songs, the production is so immaculate that it glistens. If there were lingering elements of Maroon 5's alt-rock past on Songs About Jane -- primarily in its lazy, hazy vibe -- they're gone now, replaced by the sleek, assured sound of a band that's eager to embrace its status as the big American mainstream pop band of the decade. But Maroon 5 isn't desperately grasping at the brass ring, they're playing it smart, building upon the core strengths of their debut and crafting a record that's designed to appeal to many different listeners, from teens crushing on Nelly Furtado's R&B makeover to adults looking for something smooth and melodic. It Won't Be Soon Before Long appeals to both audiences with an ease that seems effortless, but like any modern blockbuster, this album was shepherded by several different teams of producers, all brought in to emphasize a different personality within the group. The bulk of the record was cut with Spike Stent and Mike Elizondo -- Stent worked with U2, Oasis, Björk, and Gwen Stefani, while Elizondo had produced Fiona Apple and Pink -- but Queens of the Stone Age producer Eric Valentine was brought in for a couple of cuts, as was Mark Endert, who mixed "This Love." There may have been three different sets of producers, but the album is streamlined and seamless, never seeming calculated even if it was clearly made with an eye on mass appeal, and there are two reasons for that. First, Maroon 5 has gelled as a band, developing a clean, crisp attack that may bear traces of its influences -- there are knowing references to Prince, the Police, even OutKast sprinkled throughout (the keyboard on "Little of Your Time" is a direct nod to "Hey Ya") -- but it's a sound that's instantly identifiable as the band's own signature. Nowhere is that more evident than in how they can give soulful grooves like "If I Never See Your Face Again" a ock edge -- or how they can suddenly explode into shards of noise as they do on the coda of "Kiwi" -- or how when the electronic instruments dominate the production, the music still breathes like the work of an actual band, not like something that was constructed on a computer. But like with any good lue-eyed soul, the reason that this album works is the songs themselves. Even the flashiest production-driven tracks here -- the opening one-two punch of "If I Never See Your Face Again" and "Makes Me Wonder" -- aren't about feel; they're about the songs, which are uniformly tight and tuneful, sounding better with repeated plays, the way any radio-oriented pop should. If some of the allads aren't as distinguished as the livelier tracks, they nevertheless are as sharply crafted as the rest, and the end result is that It Won't Be Soon Before Long is that rare self-stylized blockbuster album that sounds as big and satisfying as was intended.
So Maroon 5 performed at the awesome Troubadour in West Hollywood this past Saturday, June 2, 2007. It was a good show, not the greatest I've seen at that venue, but fun regardless. I could've done without the starstruck fangirl next to me who kept looking up at the VIP loft and taking pictures of its inhabitants during the show though. (I don't give a damn if Jessica Simpson was whispered to b...
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So here's my thing with the new Maroon 5 album: I like it, but I loved the first album, the continuity of that one was perfect. This one, while it's still very good in my book, lacks a little in that department. It seems like they tried to branch out a little bit on this one. However, in doing so they created some good songs, but they just don't fit as well together as the ones on their firs...
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If you're someone who loved Songs About Jane, you will have mixed feelings about the new It Won't Be Soon Before Long, released today (May 22). The tracks are generally more dance/disco oriented than the SAJ tracks we are accustomed to...but this album still includes slower and more-melodic tracks that SAJ-lovers will thrill over.If you're someone who hated Songs About Jane, you too will have m...
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Finally!This is quite different from the first bit of M5, but I must say. With the promise of more progressive material, I'm (not so) patiently awaiting next week and the new album. However, as much as I love this track, I will be disappointed if all the new material is similar to this. Too repetitive if you catch my drift.Good night and good luck,Marie Nicaea
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Here's the newest Maroon 5 video. The "Before and After" format reminds me of a Proactiv ad. Hmm.I might have blogged about this before, but now there's video: ever busy lead singer Adam Levine will have his signature on a line of musical instruments :First Act has unveiled the 222 by First Act line of musical instruments in an exclusive partnership with Adam Levine, lead vocalist and guitari...
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After taking forever to record their sophomore album Maroon 5 will finally release It Won't Be Soon Before Long on May 22nd. The album’s first single, the funky “Makes Me Wonder,” jumped from Number 64 to Number One (the largest jump to No. 1 in the history of the Billboard Hot 100) in the past week. Digital sales of single hit 243,500 downloads helping break Kelly Clarkson’s previous 52 to 1 j...
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Maroon 5’s It Won’t Be Soon Before Long took the Number One spot on the Billboard 200 this week, selling 429,000 copies. The sophomore release from the LA-based rock group pushed Linkin Park’s Minutes to Midnight to the Number Two position. Linkin Park only sold 198,000 copies of the album. We say only because that’s about 400,000 less than last week.But it was the biggest week for Ozzy Osbour...
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So, i just moved into my new place on sunday. It's a cute 2 bedroom appartment in Paterson, NJ - not the greatest place in the world, but not too bad and the proximity to school and reasonable distance from NYC are huge plusses in my book. I moved in with a good friend of mine and I already feel at home there (the most important thing about a living situation, i think). I am so happy to be o...
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Thanks to illRoots .PigeonsandPlanes
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So here's my thing with the new Maroon 5 album: I like it, but I loved the first album, the continuity of that one was perfect. This one, while it's still very good in my book, lacks a little in that department. It seems like they tried to branch out a little bit on this one. However, in doing so they created some good songs, but they just don't fit as well together as the ones on their firs...
More >
So Maroon 5 performed at the awesome Troubadour in West Hollywood this past Saturday, June 2, 2007. It was a good show, not the greatest I've seen at that venue, but fun regardless. I could've done without the starstruck fangirl next to me who kept looking up at the VIP loft and taking pictures of its inhabitants during the show though. (I don't give a damn if Jessica Simpson was whispered to b...
More >
Just heard part of the new Maroon 5 album . . . raced home to see if it was out. No luck, grrr!Maroon 5 is crack to me, how will I cope??
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The new song and video from Maroon 5 seriously make me wonder if they will have a sophmore slump. I doubt it, based on the video for their first single. It's stylized in a way that evokes the 1980's while still being throughly modern and futuristic in a totally non-eighties cheestastic fashion. If only flying nowadays was as glamorous as pretending to be James Bond going to Studio 54.
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If you're someone who loved Songs About Jane, you will have mixed feelings about the new It Won't Be Soon Before Long, released today (May 22). The tracks are generally more dance/disco oriented than the SAJ tracks we are accustomed to...but this album still includes slower and more-melodic tracks that SAJ-lovers will thrill over.If you're someone who hated Songs About Jane, you too will have m...
More >
Finally!This is quite different from the first bit of M5, but I must say. With the promise of more progressive material, I'm (not so) patiently awaiting next week and the new album. However, as much as I love this track, I will be disappointed if all the new material is similar to this. Too repetitive if you catch my drift.Good night and good luck,Marie Nicaea
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so yeah...i just moved out of my parents house and into atl with some good friends and they have like massive internet connections like in every room...so i went and downloaded some music...i never listened to maroon 5 before because i had always thought that they were too "poppy" for me...this song is amazing thoWATCH IT!!!
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hmm. maroon 5 has been my favorite band since I first heard their music. Hands down, no matter how much they are played on the radio or annoying tv stations such as MTV Or Vh1. Theyre songs are catchy and the lyrics are definitely unique. I will say M5's sophomore album is good. Their first album was really good, despite the singles being overplayed. I dont feel that this album will be the same...
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| Title | Lyrics | Buy |
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| 1 If I Never See Your Face Again |
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| 2 Makes Me Wonder |
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| 3 Little of Your Time |
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| 4 Wake Up Call |
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| 5 Won't Go Home Without You |
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| 6 Nothing Lasts Forever |
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| 7 Can't Stop |
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| 8 Goodnight Goodnight |
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| 9 Not Falling Apart |
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| 10 Kiwi |
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| 11 Better That We Break |
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| 12 Back at Your Door |
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Click to purchase…
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