Octone
Pop Rock, 2002

Interesting, really. Maroon 5 released Songs About Jane in 2002 but it is only two years later when This Love gives the group its first commercial success. It’s probably unfair that there are now accusations hurled to them that they are just another flash-in-the-pan boy band because I understand that Maroon 5 goes a long way back before This Love rules the airwaves.

For me, Maroon 5’s Songs About Jane is packed with enjoyable R&B-infused radio-friendly pop rock tunes but the song that really gets me is the broody ballad She Will Be Loved. A too-romantic song that stands out amidst the playful songs about the woes of love that make up the rest of the CD, there is an unrestrained melancholy in She Will Be Loved that makes it very different from the other songs in this CD. The music video is gorgeous too but that’s a different story.

I purchased the CD solely for the song but the rest of the CD makes fine listening as well. Harder to Breathe and Tangled, especially, have Adam Levine growling in a might fine sexy manner. The lyrics are fun to read too, sort of like mini lad-lit stories about the ups and downs of love.

The success of this CD lies mainly in how credible Maroon 5 sounds fusing R&B with pop-rock. One can argue what they do aren’t too original or groundbreaking as countless groups in the past like Jamiroquoi have traveled down that route before, but I don’t remember Jamiroquoi sounding this good. On a side note, radio success may be this band’s worst enemy. While I do enjoy listening to this CD, I have to put it aside after a few days because I keep hearing This Love and She Will Be Loved over the airwaves until I am totally nauseated by these songs. As well-crafted as the songs on Songs About Jane are, they become very painful to listen to once radio gets hold of them and plays them to death. The catchy nature inherent in these songs crosses the line to ear-bleeding repetitiousness faster and easier than most other songs I can think of. So tread with caution, people.