Maroon 5 Albums (4)
'It Won't Be Soon Before Long'
Release Date 1/1/2007
Tracks 12
Label A&M/Octane
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
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 blue-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 rock 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 blue-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 ballads 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. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Live albums and EPs are a time-honored tradition of buying time in pop music, and Maroon 5 combine the two in their summer 2004 release, 1.22.03.Acoustic. In another time, say 1993, this would have been called Unplugged, but since MTV pulled the plug on their live acoustic show in the late '90s, bands have little option than to release their own acoustic live shows on their own. These releases now lack the Unplugged brand name, and thereby a little bit of mystique, but they're essentially the same -- the artists run through their hits and a couple of choice album tracks, tossing in either heartfelt or humorous covers to round out the set. That's precisely what Maroon 5 does with 1.22.03.Acoustic, released a few months after "This Love" became a belated hit from their 2002 debut, Songs About Jane. Since they only have one album to their name (their earlier album under the Kara's Flowers moniker is simply a part of history now), they don't have an extensive catalog of songs to draw from for their set list, which may be why this is an EP that runs under a half-hour. Even in that short time frame, they fit in five of the 12 tracks from Songs About Jane, including the hits "This Love" and "Harder to Breathe," plus covers of the Beatles' "If I Fell" and AC/DC's "Highway to Hell" (which is an electric bonus cut, not acoustic). In this stripped-down setting, the songcraft of Adam Levine and Jesse Carmichael shines through on the aforementioned hits, since the bare-bones arrangements emphasize the sturdy, tuneful writing. The spareness can work against the band occasionally, too, since, when he's backed only by acoustic guitars, Levine's vocal mannerisms are at times a bit too reminiscent of Dave Matthews, and he goes severely pitchy on "If I Fell" (not to mention the embarrassing "Highway to Hell," which offers further proof that Artie Lang is the only entertainer with a convincing Bon Scott impersonation). Still, these are minor flaws, and 1.22.03.Acoustic is overall an enjoyable way to bide time until Maroon 5 can finish their next studio album. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
The boys of Maroon 5 have certainly come a long way since their days in the indie outfit Kara's Flowers. After the band's demise in 1999, frontman Adam Levine surrounded himself with New York City's urban hip-hop culture and found a new musical calling. Maroon 5 was born and their debut album, Songs About Jane, illustrates an impressive rebirth. It's groovy in spots, offering bluesy funk on "Shiver" and a catchy, soulful disposition on "Harder to Breathe." "Must Get Out" slows things down with its dreamy lyrical story, and Levine is a vocal dead ringer for Men at Work's Colin Hay. Don't wince -- it works brilliantly. Songs About Jane is love-drunk on what makes Maroon 5 tick as a band. They're not as glossy as the Phantom Planet darlings; they've got grit and a sexy strut, personally and musically. It's much too slick to cross over commercially in 2002, but it's good enough for the pop kids to take notice. ~ MacKenzie Wilson, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Live Friday the 13th is the second live recording Maroon 5 has released since their 2002 debut, Songs About Jane, following 1.22.03.Acoustic by two years. Where that was an acoustic mini-LP, Friday the 13th is a full-blown concert, capturing a live show at the Santa Barbara Bowl, both on CD and on DVD in this two-disc set. In concert, the band sounds a bit bigger and tougher than it does in the studio, and they do deviate from the record a bit, allowing for audience interaction on their big hit "This Love," along with some improvisation scattered along the way. That doesn't necessarily mean that they rock, as their limp rendition of Oasis' "Hello" proves, but rocking isn't necessarily the point of Maroon 5 -- they're a pop band with a hint of soul, and since they're adept musicians, they do well in a live setting, letting their music breathe and sound a little looser. Consequently, Friday the 13th, in either its CD or DVD incarnations, is a good time for fans -- maybe not as intimate as 1.22.03, and certainly not something everybody needs to own, yet a good souvenir for the fans who are still patiently waiting for a new set of songs. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
