Mary Had A Little Amp, The Listener Chose No

The Good: Some decent tracks
The Bad: Some lame tracks, terrible execution of the stated concept
The Basics: Disorganized and esoteric, Mary Had A Little Amp fails to live up to its promise and offers instead a poorly executed musical experience.


I'm out. I began this month with the pledge to alternate my media reviews with non-media items and I'm out. I've no more electronics, no cars, no restaurants, no beauty products, no obscure household items left to review. Until I return from the trip I'm about to take, I'm all non-media'ed out! :( With that in mind, I sat down with a new disc that came across my desk called Mary Had A Little Amp. Every now and then as I explore a musical artist whose body of work I'm looking to review, I come across a weird citation for them. So, for example, when I hunted down the works of Liz Phair some months ago, I found her as the primary artist cited for Saturday Morning Cartoons' Greatest Hits (reviewed here!). Similarly, as I looked around for the many works of Madonna, I found Mary Had A Little Amp.

The by-line for Mary Had A Little Amp is "Music's Biggest Stars, Childhood's Greatest Songs." Because of the subjective nature of a disc that features Moby, Roseanne Cash, and Graham Nash alongside Madonna, Lou Reed and Laurie Anderson and R.E.M., I'll not dispute the first part. This is a pretty impressive collection of musical artists. Where the concept fails is with the second part. For all that it is or is not, Mary Had A Little Amp is hardly "childhood's greatest songs."

I write this because I was once a child and I loved listening to music. When I picked up this disc, the only songs I knew from childhood were "Pure Imagination" (many will remember Gene Wilder singing it in "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory"), "The Rainbow Connection" (from "The Muppet Movie"), and "When You Wish Upon A Star" (from "Pinnoccio," I believe). Outside that, only three of the tracks were songs I had heard as an adult. Graham Nash's classic "Teach Your Children," R.E.M.'s esoteric "We Walk" (which I had only heard for the first time earlier this year on their Best of the I.R.S. years album - reviewed here!), and "Little Star" a Madonna song from her Ray Of Light c.d. Out of fourteen songs, three were covers of songs I knew from childhood and three I encountered as an adult. This is hardly "childhood's greatest songs."

Indeed, there is a distinctly un-childlike take on several of the songs. Opening with Maroon 5's version of "Pure Imagination," the listener feels more menaced than enlightened. Maroon 5 uses reverb, creepy keyboards, and stark percussion to create a "big room" feel that has an undertone of sinister to the sound of the song. It's wonderfully dark in this presentation, but hardly wonderful for children.

Similarly, I can only believe that the musings on conformity that are struck out by the Blue Man Group and Dave Matthews on "Sing Along" are included because of the singsong rhymes presented in the song. After all, lyrically, it is an innocuous song as Matthews sings "If I pretend to be strong / Will you play along" ("Sing Along") over and over again. The thing is, he sings it with the voice of The Man, crushing individuality with conformity. This has a march quality to it that is draining, foreboding, again menacing.

That's not to say the entire album is not geared toward children. The Dixie Chicks do an upbeat sounding rendition of "The Rainbow Connection" that is wonderfully articulate and fresh. With the use of the pedal steel in the song, it takes on a distinctive flavor that is less stark than when it's been presented other times. And there's nothing wrong with Bonnie Raitt and Was (Not Was) performing "Baby Mine." It's a quiet, sad tribute to love or a child and from an adult perspective it's beautiful, though likely to go over the head of preschooler (this disc was produced to benefit preschool education).

I'll admit I winced hearing the Indigo Girls making animal noises on "Wild, Wild Party In The Loquat Tree" that were reminiscent of the B-52's "Rock Lobster." It's a fine folk tune, but again, not one I'd heard before nor would consider one of childhood's greatest songs.

And some of it is just plain pointless. Madonna's "Little Star" is a rock ballad that did not stand out on Ray Of Light and doesn't blow the roof off this disc either. "We Walk" is a weird R.E.M. tune, but also far too obscure to be considered much by children. And even my favorite track on the album, Moby's "Anchovie" a techno recreation like the many Moby has made in the past, doesn't inspire the listener to turn the disc over to a child.

Ultimately, this is a hit or miss collection of singles that vary greatly in sound and quality. We have the wonderful folk melody "Teach Your Children" which closes the album which has the utterly unmemorable "Gentle Breeze" (performed by Lou Reed and Laurie Anderson). You have Madonna's pure pop following on the Dixie Chick's country-slanted classic. The best songs reinterpret classics (like Maroon 5's creepy "Pure Imagination"), the lesser songs seem to simply be songs culled from artists that have singsong lyrics.

Indeed, checking out the liner notes, most of these songs (judging by the copyright dates) are available elsewhere. I'm not knocking the concept of either famous artists presenting childhood songs or a benefit to raise money for preschool education. The problem here is this mix. It's completely inconsistent. It is mixing recognizable songs from childhood (like "When You Wish Upon A Star") with (apparently) whatever work an artist was willing to donate to the cause (like Madonna's "Little Star") with songs that don't really relate to children ("Sing Along").

A good mix that has a theme comes together, this one does not. While it may have various styles on it: from country to techno, pop to folk, rock and roll to classical, the arrangement has to flow, one song to another in a way that makes the album come together. This does not. Cover song abuts quirky original work, folk follows folk follows folk, it's not well assembled.

Because some of these tracks may not be available elsewhere, die hard fans might have to pick this up. As a service, this is what the disc contains:
"Pure Imagination" - Maroon 5
"We Walk" - R.E.M.
"The Rainbow Connection" - Dixie Chicks
"Little Star" - Madonna
"Sing Along" - Blue Man Group featuring Dave Matthews
"Baby Mine" - Bonnie Raitt & Was (Not Was)
"The 3 R's" - Jack Johnson (it's a recycling jingle!)
"Anchovie" - Moby
"Life Line" - Nancy and Ann Wilson with the Brian Wilson Band
"Gentle Breeze" - Lou Reed & Laurie Anderson
"Wild, Wild Party In The Loquat Tree" - Indigo Girls
"How To Be Strong" - Roseanne Cash
"When You Wish Upon A Star" - Joe Henry
"Teach Your Children" - Graham Nash

Unfortunately, this disc does not execute what it promises and even without its stated purpose, it does not hold together as a meaningful musical collection. The best track is "Anchovie," the weakest part song is "Gentle Breeze."

For other compilation albums, please visit my reviews of:
Millennium ‘80’s New Wave Party - Various Artists
An Inconvenient Truth Soundtrack
Where Have All The Flowers Gone?: The Music Of Pete Seeger - Various Artists

3/10

For other music reviews, please visit my Music Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2013, 2007 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
| | |

Potentials Of Jane, Why Maroon 5's Debut Songs About Jane Deserves Your Attention

The Good: Generally decent music, Some good lyrics, Some good vocals
The Bad: Pretenses of being a harder-rocking band, Usual debut problems
The Basics: On Songs About Jane, a new band writes and sings decent songs with expected and acceptable musical limitations of a debut disc.


[Note: This was originally written four years after the debut of Maroon 5’s album “Songs About Jane!” Now, there is a tenth anniversary edition of the album! Enjoy!]

It's hard for me to believe how fast time flies sometimes. Maroon 5's Songs About Jane debuted almost five years ago with its radio success starting almost four years ago. That means I've been considering this group and purchasing their debut for almost four years. Wow, I ought to make up my mind. In my defense, Maroon 5's career thus far has been a model of the slow burn; Songs About Jane had songs on the charts from 2003 through 2005, slowly ascending, slowly descending.

Maroon 5 is a relatively new musical group, a pop-rock quintet that sounds pretty much like the ultimate garage band that has hit the mainstream. The notable difference between Maroon 5 and those kids down the street still playing in their garage (other than Maroon 5 being on the radio several times a day)? Lead singer Adam Levine can sing and the band backing him can actually play their instruments. Quite well.

Maroon 5 is pretty much the teen dream; the members of the group are in their mid-twenties and they've traveled from obscurity to being a respectable charting success. That's luck. Or talent. My argument, after listening to Songs About Jane four times, is that this is a talented group and that - unless the musical movements that dominate our culture - shift before they can get their next work out, this will not be a one-hit wonder.

The reason for that assertion is in the lyrics of Maroon 5. Lead singer Adam Levine wrote or co-wrote all twelve tracks on Songs About Jane, usually with fellow bandmate Jesse Carmichael. Carmichael and Levine wrote three of the four radio hits for Maroon 5, "Harder To Breathe," "This Love," and "Sunday Morning," with "She Will Be Loved" being written by Levine and James Valentine. The poetics of the band are thematically dominated by love, with that word coming up on almost every track. Outside that, the album has a freshness of the young lyricists that makes it something truly different.

One wonders if the boy bands of the late 90s would have survived longer had they been writing more of their own material. With Levine creating such imaginative lines as "Fresh dirt under my fingernails / And I can smell hot asphalt / Cars screech to a halt to let me pass / And I cannot remember / What life was like through the photographs . . ." ("The Sun") it's hard to imagine the group would have a shorter career than, say, the Backstreet Boys. It's truly not a comparison; despite the popular vocalizations of that prior band, they never had anything as emotively connected as "Sunday Morning," where Carmichael and Levine simply emote "Sunday morning rain is falling / Steal some covers share some skin / Clouds are shrouding us in moments unforgettable / You twist to fit the mold that I am in . . ."

Part of the success of such songs is certainly in the lyrics. The other half is the ease with which Adam Levine sings them. He has an easygoing mid-range voice that is articulate and clear. In fact, outside their debut single, "Harder To Breathe," the songs are generally slower tempo, melodic and articulate. Why Maroon 5 debuted with "Harder To Breathe" - why it is even on Songs About Jane - remains a mystery to me. "Harder To Breathe" is pretty much the archetypal "we're in a rock band, see how hard we can bang our guitars," garage band track. It underperforms when stacked next to the more mature sounds of such songs as "This Love," "The Sun," "Sunday Morning," and the quiet strummings of "Secret." Why Maroon 5 feels the need to put up such a pretense is an unfortunate mystery.

The thing is, the addition of the incongruent "Harder To Breathe," starts the album on a misstep and establishes an unfortunate set of expectations for an album that is much softer than the yelling that comes from the vocalist in that track. Moreover, it makes the listener believe that Maroon 5 is going to continue being as sloppy musically as they are on that track.

Maroon 5 is not a sloppy band. Their songs are well-constructed and producer Matt Wallace balances the music and vocals fairly well, with the result being a soft pop-rock debut. The thing is, while Maroon 5 is not sloppy, they are somewhat limited. This is a guitar, bass, drums and keyboard band and there is not a lot of musical diversity. The group has found its musical range and it sticks in that range religiously. They have found their niche and they certainly play to their strengths - which is why Levine's voice is front and center, with the instrumentals usually softly backing him up - but one may not deny their weaknesses. The band has a very specific range of notes, chords and instruments. What one hopes to see from Maroon 5 is a growth where they keep their strengths (lyrics and voice) and expand outward musically.

Listening to Songs About Jane, it's difficult to suggest that the band will not be given that room for growth. Maroon 5 is a young band, but because they are so artistically driven, they have the potential to grow and expand beyond their current limitations. I suspect they will rise to our expectations and continue to succeed. Songs About Jane is for anyone who likes soft pop-rock with understandable lyrics, decent vocals and some recognizable melodies. For those who have more mature tastes, Songs About Jane is likely to appeal to fans of The Eagles. As I evaluate this album, the album it is most like that I've heard recently is Hell Freezes Over (reviewed here!).

If a comparison to the Eagles does not give one the sense of potential, if not actualization, to recommend Songs About Jane, I'm not sure what can! The best track is the smooth, jazzy "Sunday Morning." The weakest track is certainly the opening "Harder To Breathe."

For other, similar, groups, please visit my reviews of:
“Some Might Say” – Oasis
Approaching Normal - Blue October
Exile On Mainstream - Matchbox Twenty

6.5/10

For other music reviews, please visit my Music Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2013, 2007 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
| | |

Decent Funk-Rock Defines The Pop Of Maroon 5 On It Won't Be Soon Before Long

The Good: Good sound, Some decent lyrics, Full, produced instrumentals
The Bad: A lot of derivative songs, Short
The Basics: Funky and fairly fresh, Maroon 5 returns with an album worth listening to with It Won't Be Soon Before Long!


A few years ago, I actually got around to listening to the debut by Maroon 5 Songs About Jane after years of enjoying their radio singles. I discovered a band that had a lot of potential that had created a fairly solid album with a lot to enjoy. It is almost surprising, then, that it has taken me so long to picking up their sophomore effort, It Won't Be Soon Before Long. Now that I have - and listened to it over ten times - I find myself having mixed feelings on the second outing.

More than any album I have listened to in the recent past, It Won't Be Soon Before Long is both an album of great consistency (it sounds very much like the Maroon 5 anyone might have heard on the radio) and great derivation. Almost every song sounds like it could gave been a lost song from a great '80's band. So, for example, "Won't Go Home Without You" sounds remarkably like a song by the Police (especially in the beginning of the song). Similarly, "Kiwi" sounds like a lost track by Michael Jackson.

With twelve tracks, clocking in at 40:38, It Won't Be Soon Before Long is definitely the work of Maroon 5. All of the songs are written by lead singer Adam Levine or co-written with his bandmates. The quintet plays their own instruments and Levine provides the lead vocals. As well, each song has Maroon 5 credited as a co-producer, so it does appear that the entire band was intimately involved in insuring that It Won't Be Soon Before Long.

And it's a good effort and a decent effect. It Won't Be Soon Before Long sounds good, with a strong funk-rock production sensibility. The band has strong instrumentals mixing guitars, bass and keyboards remarkably well in order to insure a virtual wall of sound when the album is being played. The strong instrumentals contrast well with Levine's higher pitched vocals that define the band's sound.

Levine is a decent writer, as well. The songs are largely about relationships on It Won't Be Soon Before Long and most of those relationships are in the process of being torn apart. I'm not saying this is a great break-up album, but between the infidelity leading to murder on "Wake Up Call" to the apathy toward the relationship exhibited on "Goodnight Goodnight," none of the musical protagonists seem to be keeping it together well. The singer is abandoned after affairs on "Not Falling Apart" and rails against the love he once had on "Makes Me Wonder." Maroon 5 is irked about the state of relationships with women on It Won't Be Soon Before Long! Despite how the album sounds musically, this is not a happy, upbeat pop-rock album.

For example, on "Goodnight Goodnight," - one of the quieter tracks on the album - the musical protagonist is in the process of leaving. Levine's lyrics are straightforward and heartfelt with lines like ". . . I've licked my wounds but I can't ever see things getting better / Something's gotta change / Things cannot stay the same / Her hair was pressed against her face her eyes were red / With anger enraged by things unsaid / And empty beds / And bad behaviors" ("Goodnight Goodnight"). Levine creates a clear portrait of the last stages of a relationship where the participants are simply burning their bridges. It works well in the softer sounding song as well, creating a genuine sense of loss.

Despite some of the final tracks that seem to muse on whether breaking up or not is the right direction, the album opens with the direct approach. Opening with "If I Never See Your Face Again," the tone is set by the defiant and angry tone with "Sometimes you move so well / It's hard not to give in / I'm lost I can't tell / Where you end and I begin / It makes me burn to learn you're with another man / I wonder if he's half the lover that I am." There is both an anger and an ambivalence in the lines that works well for the conflicted mood of that sort of moment and it makes for a surprisingly decent song.

It is also worth noting that Maroon 5, despite the relative youth of the members, seems to be a more adult band. The lines are more about the complexities of relationships than the young moon-eyed joy of falling in love. As a result, a lot of the lines are overtly sexual and even their big radio hit "Makes Me Wonder" contains some swearing. But again, the album seems to be geared toward adults, so this ought not to be much of a problem.

What is a problem is the way the album comes together, specifically in the end. After a pretty decent run of mostly funky, upbeat-sounding tracks, the album hits "Better That We Break," a melancholy little ballad with the depressed refrain "It's not right not okay / Say the words that you say / Maybe we're better off this way / I'm not fine I'm in pain / It's harder every day/ Maybe we're better off this way / It's better that we break." This song work perfectly to close off the album, especially with the trademark three-syllable version of "every" that calls back to their big hit "This Love" from their debut. It beautifully bookends the album and ends it with the soaring, expressive crescendo that the album needs.

However, like the Crash Test Dummies album God Shuffled His Feet (reviewed here!), It Won't Be Soon Before Long does not end with its first logical end point. Instead, there is a second album ending song, "Back At Your Door." This is somewhat redundant given the quality and sense of closure that comes from "Better That We Break."

Another drawback is in how monolithic the vocals are. Generally Adam Levine has a higher pitched voice than most rock and roll lead singers and the result is that it creates a trademark sound. Unfortunately, because he stays very safe in his higher range on almost every track, the album has a slightly monotonous sound after many spins. Still, it's better than most anything else on the radio these days!

Part of the reason for this is the instrumentals. Levine's vocals are backed by a very rich sound that includes bass, keyboards, and multiple guitars (one of which Levine himself plays). As well, the drums on It Won't Be Soon Before Long are remarkably pronounced. In fact, on "Won't Go Home Without You," the drums and keyboard mix in a way that keeps the percussion vital and essential to the sound of the piece. Despite the somewhat predictable rhyme scheme of the song, it sounds great and makes for a very classic pop-rock song. In fact, anyone who loved the music of the 1980s will find the song has a familiar quality to it.

Anyone who wants a decent pop-rock break-up album will find something to like on It Won't Be Soon Before Long. The songs are pretty solid and my "recommend" is much stronger than the star rating.

The best track is "Not Falling Apart," I'm not terribly fond of "Little Of Your Time" because of the repetition of the title line an inordinate number of times.

Those who like Maroon 5 or It Won't Be Soon Before Long might enjoy:
One Night Only - The Bee Gees
Drops Of Jupiter - Train
Then: The Early Years - They Might Be Giants

7/10

For other music reviews, please visit my index page by clicking here!

© 2011, 2008 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.

| | |