Maroon 5 - Songs About Jane

[anela]

Hey Everybody,

I figured I'd make my first post here something useful. (I hope) I wrote this for a newsletter that's being published for the people I work with.

Up and Coming in the Music World

Who: Maroon 5

CD: Songs About Jane
Current Single: Harder to Breathe

What do you get when you mix soul, pop, alternative rock, r&b, funk and jazz? You get Maroon 5. This quintet out of California, made up of vocalist/Guitarist Adam Levine, drummer/backing vocalist Ryan Dusick, keyboardist and backing vocalist Jesse Carmichael along with guitarist James Valentine and bassist Mickey Madden have the potential to make a strong impact on the pop/rock scene.

So, what makes Maroon 5 different from every other band out there who's trying to make it big? A lot. These five guys are extremely talented as musicians. So talented, that you can hear hints of Lenny Kravitz, U2, Prince, Stevie Wonder and even Jamiroquai sprinkled throughout the tracks on the CD, but they've still managed to seamlessly mix those influences together and transform it into their own sound. In addition, Levine’s strong and unique voice effectively convey the story about his relationship with Jane, whomever she may be, and all of the ups and downs that come along with it. It’s very familiar territory.

Because of the uniqueness of their sound and the intricacy of their melodies, it will be interesting to see if Maroon 5 makes an impression with mainstream radio audiences. They bring a breath of fresh air to an industry that’s dominated by pre-fabricated, carbon copy artists. If their sound catches on, they could very easily start a new trend within the music world.

The only room for improvement that I can see with Songs About Jane is for the guys of Maroon 5 to aim for a CD that can harness and flaunt the energy that they put into their live performances. I had the privilege of seeing them live at the beginning of May, and they completely blew me away. If they can channel that energy into their second CD, it should be amazing.

Maroon 5's debut CD, Songs About Jane, presents the listener with a uniqueness that's hard to find on today's music scene. With guitar riffs and bass lines that are intricate and gripping, followed hooks that just won't let you go, it's easy to lose sight of the fact that this is a new band. The interesting thing to think about is the fact that they can only improve from here. I would definitely recommend this CD to anybody who likes pop, rock or soul music - or anybody who is looking for something a little bit different.