Izvajalec: Maroon 5
Založba: A&M Records / Interscope
Izid: 2007
Can you follow up a mega hit with a mega album?
Everybody remembers Maroon 5 for This Life from their debut, a song you couldn’t escape at the start of the 21st century. This Life was something like Smooth, except it was a huge hit for a young band at the start of its career. The debut itself, “Songs About Jane”, was pretty monotonous and predictable, made for a hit-hungry radio audience and nothing more, even though Maroon 5 worked hard at proving with their live shows that they were more than a (radio) one-day fly.
Five years of waiting, the album It Won’t Be Soon Before Long… maybe the pop peak of 2007! Mix the pop punch of Simple Minds and INXS, the musical chops of The Police and the catchiness of Simply Red, throw in Adam Levine’s distinctive voice, and you’re in business. The most interesting thing about this record is that after two or three listens you think you’ve heard it all. Then you give it one last chance. You really listen to it, and boom, explosion!!!
Varied intros, usually a mix of guitar and synth, a rhythmic backbone that wanders between funk, pop and rock and is more in love with the seventies and nineties than with the kitschy production of the 21st century. The individual passages are instrumentally full and set up a punchy chorus in the best possible way, even the ballads are packed with energy and emotion, and the whole thing is topped off nicely by the voice, which is sometimes rough, sometimes tender, often seductive, and at moments biting and cheeky. Either way, convincing and honest.
Thirteen songs, one album. No flaws. I warmly recommend it, so you’ll know that quality, spontaneous pop can be made in the 21st century too.
Lineup
Adam Levine – vocals, guitar
James Valentine – guitar
Jesse Carmichael – keyboards
Michael Madden – bass guitar
Matt Flynn – drums
Production
Mike Elizondo
Track List
1. If I Never See Your Face Again
2. Makes Me Wonder
3. Little Of Your Time
4. Wake Up Call
5. Won’t Go Home Without You
6. Nothing Lasts Forever
7. Can’t Stop
8. Goodnight Goodnight
9. Not Falling Apart
10. Kiwi
11. Better That We Break
12. Back At Your Door
Album length: 40.30
