Maroon 5 Blog

BBC Radio 1 Reviews "If I Never See Your Face Again"

Generally speaking, the Maroon 5 songs I tend to like the best are usually the ones where they sound like a living, breathing, meaty human pop band attempting to recreate some of the more robotic, cold, hard, slamming R&B-influenced song arrangements of the past 10 years. Or to put it another way, I always liked it best when they sounded like they were auditioning to be Christina Aguilera's backing band (pre-1940s makeover).

This is close to being exactly that, in that it's upbeat, does not try to be anthemic or Coldplay-ish (we've got OneRepublic for that now, thanks fellas), and despite Adam Levine's squeaky little voice, seems to be almost entirely made out of solid backbone and beefy muscle.

And yet...

It's clear that everyone involved in this song, from the opening hi-hats to the end of the Apprentice-alike video, has tried as hard as they can to make it as brilliant a thing as it's possible to be. The band look committed and driven, ready to FUNK this MUTHA to within an inch of its LIFE, MAN. Adam suits his suit, Rihanna's got a weird lopsided quiff thing going on, and her lips are the colour of a bleeding pillarbox.

But something's missing. A song, perhaps? Some properly memorable music which sticks in the mind? A hook? A melody which starts in one place, takes you, the listener, on a little journey, and ends up somewhere else, rather than a series of fragments of tune which don't really work when strung out end-to-end across the song? Any of these things, done well, would be welcome. Sadly they are not quite here.

And it really does come to something where the lead singer of a famous band is outperformed in both the charisma AND vocal warmth stakes by Rihanna, a lady whose appeal rests in the fact that her voice is glassy and cold, and her face does not move, no matter what emotion she is singing about.

So, five points for effort, two taken off for poor attainment. See me after class, Levine...

Source: Radio 1 Chart Blog

TV Pop: No Longer Top of the Charts

Here's an excerpt from an interesting article on how bands are promoted on television from The Sunday Times (London) that mentions M5:

If you’ve never seen a band looking bored, you probably work for a living. In which case, you didn’t catch Maroon 5 on the ITV lunchtime chat show Loose Women the week before last, performing with the verve of pensioners en route to the post office.

These days, artists with an album to promote are often faced with a chilling choice — an early-morning appearance on GMTV, with that dreaded stopover on the sofa, or a performance on Paul O’Grady’s afternoon show, before a feature on dancing dogs.

“Persuading an artist to appear on these programmes can be a battle,” admits Steve Morton, who spent seven years as media director at Virgin Records before leaving to manage bands including the Hoosiers and the Automatic. “Every act wants to be on Later, alongside credible musicians, with an audience of genuine music fans. The problem starts when you sell more than 100,000 albums in Britain. To get bigger, you have to reach out to people who aren’t regular music-buyers — say, housewives who occasionally put an album in their trolley at Tesco. When the Hoosiers’ album went platinum, the only way we could reach a new audience was on shows like This Morning and Paul O’Grady. Luckily, the guys have a quirky sense of humour that works well on TV. That’s unusual. With most artists, you take one look at their face and know they desperately don’t want to be there.”

Another manager recalls hours spent last autumn trying to persuade his award-winning American rock band to do the UK chat-show circuit. “They were worried it would affect their credibility,” he says. “They were right, of course, but their album sales had hit a plateau. They were offered Loose Women or Alan Titchmarsh — try explaining to American rockers why they should play on a programme hosted by a genteel middle-aged gardener. They almost agreed to Ant and Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway. Then they discovered the band on the previous week had to dress up as elves. In the end, they did nothing and the album stopped selling.”

Read the full article at timesonline.co.uk

Maroon 5 Rock the Hell Out of 'Good Morning America'

We're not ashamed to admit that Good Morning America's Morning Concert Series is one of our summertime pastimes (it is arguably, by the way, less crowded than the Today show performances) — or that today at 8:30 a.m. we made our way to Bryant Park to witness Maroon 5, with their suntans, shades, and shagga-rific hairstyles, serenade lucky fans and commuters. The band opened with "If I Never See Your Face Again," joined not by Rihanna, guest vocalist on the album, but the aroma of freshly cut grass instead. Between songs Adam Levine's lucky makeup artist mopped the sweat from his brow and retouched his face as he flashed the thumbs-up to stagehands and joyous front-row tweens. Things, however, took a turn for the odd as balloons of various shapes were released: stars, peace signs — and crosses that made us wonder whether someone was trying to tell us that God loves Maroon 5 and the squeaky-clean crowds they attract. (A television producer, perhaps?) Between the crosses and Levine constantly throwing his thumbs up, we were reminded of “Buddy Jesus” from Dogma. Our musings, though, were interrupted by young girl's gleeful cry of "It's the broken-smile song!," the opening bars of "She Will Be Loved," and a massive crowd sing-along that was probably heard up in heaven. —Lauren Salazar

Source: nymag.com   Photo: by Jenn

Critics Weigh In on Maroon 5's American Idol Performance

"Adam Levine is such a compelling front man - the completed Top 3 should take notes about what it looks like for a lead singer to captivate a crowd." -The Trades

"They sound pretty good, although Adam Levine's voice seems higher during this performance than it usually does. I hope he didn't pick up an addiction to helium while on tour. That happens sometimes. Oh, and Peter Gabriel wants his suit back." -Express

"They did a decent job, even if the instruments were still on mute." -PhillyBurbs 

"Adam Levine looks like a waif model. I've seen better shoulders on a wire hanger and those arms are the size of pipe cleaners. Thankfully, he can sing." -MusicHelpWeb

"Adam Levine sounded like Mighty Mouse with an extra dose of helium. And somehow I liked it. Maybe because he’s sexy. By the way, did anyone notice the eyebrow action? Hot. And then he started talking like he’s in a falsetto. And he never knows where he is. Someone needs to send him a request for the Traveler IQ on Facebook. That’ll learn him." -North by Northwestern

"I'm not a big Maroon 5 fan, but Adam Levine kind of won me over with his personality. Didn't see that coming." -BuzzSugar

When Good Rappers Collaborate with Lame Rockers

Image details: MTV's New Year Of Music served by picapp.com

by Ben Mathis-Lilley | Slate Magazine

Top-notch rappers have a history of puzzling collaborations with cheesy rock 'n' rollers. Off the top of my head, I could recall a number of otherwise-respectable rappers who'd worked with middle-of-the-road top-40 types: Kanye West ("Heard 'Em Say" with Maroon 5's Adam Levine, "Homecoming" with Coldplay's Chris Martin), Jay-Z (who released a version of his song "Encore" remixed with instrumentals and vocal tracks from Linkin Park's "Numb") and Dr. Dre (who brought in Gwen Stefani to sing the hook for Eve's "Let Me Blow Your Mind").

Those bands have recorded some memorably hummable singles but don't have much musical range and seem to almost purposefully employ instrumentation and vocal effects indistinguishable from all the other bands working in their already well-trod genres. (Fall Out Boy seems the most promising—I could see them making an album I really liked—and while Linkin Park is never going to be my thing, they're not bad at what they do. Maroon 5 is elevator music from the depths of hell). But these bands' songwriting and production tendencies, I realized, are beside the point. They're not in the studio to write and record a double album with a rapper; they're stopping by for a day to lay down vocals for a single.

They're seen by their hip-hop collaborators, I think, as living samples, picked out of the musical spectrum because their voices have some distinctive quality that Kanye West or Dr. Dre want on their track. Stefani has spoken about recording and rerecording her two lines on "Let Me Blow Your Mind" for hours before Dr. Dre was satisfied. He was perfecting a Sassy Temptress effect, just as Kanye used Chris Martin to add a little Gripping Melancholy to his track about returning to his hometown of Chicago. Adam Levine has an indisputably fantastic voice for the wistful soul of "Heard 'Em Say". In fact, our civilization would be better off if he sang only hooks and covers, though his projects should still be subject to regulatory oversight. [Ouch!! - Emily]

This is not to say that rappers have always gotten that balance right—there was a steep learning curve. While some of the examples previously cited were significant hits, the more distant history of the rap-rock crossover includes a lot of disasters; matchups like Slayer/Ice-T and Pearl Jam/Cypress Hill. Those bands are all more sonically distinctive and technically adroit than Maroon 5, but the results of the collaborations fail for an obvious reason: Rather than featuring one distinctive element of a band's sound in a backing beat, the entire group goes full blast while someone raps. It sounds like what happens when a band's MySpace page starts playing while you've already got iTunes open.

In these last days of the record business as we know it, established indie-rockers are as good a sales bet as anyone else. So why not get the best rap acts and the best indie acts in the studio together?

Read the full article at slate.com

Adam & Kanye performing "Heard 'Em Say" on SNL in October 2005

What a Concert's Worth

by Melissa Ruggieri

This week, a few friends who closely follow the music industry e-mailed me to kvetch about the top ticket price for George Michael’s upcoming tour—$250 in most markets.

Is he really still popular enough to fill arenas, especially at that price?

A far bigger annoyance to me came with the release announcing the Counting Crows/Maroon 5 show at Nissan Pavilion in Manassas on Aug. 16.

What semilogical person is going to spend $126—the top ticket price for the best seats on these two middling acts? (Other reserved seats are $33.75, $60.75 and $65.75, with lawn tickets for $30.50). And if you’re driving to the show, factor in $30 more for gas.

Sure, Counting Crows had solid success in the early to mid-’90s, and their new album, “Saturday Nights & Sunday Mornings,” is highly listenable with a few repeat-worthy tracks. But guys, these aren’t exactly the glory days of “Mr. Jones.”

As for Maroon 5, let’s just say it’s no secret in music circles that the band’s fall tour was a major flop. The blame there lies mostly with concert promoters who got greedy and tossed the band into arenas, when they’re still a theater-level act.

And sticking newcomer Sara Bareilles on the bill does nothing to add to the value of the ticket. It’s doubtful many people plan to spend $60-plus for a good seat to hear her sing her debut hit, “Love Song.”

By the way, that tour kicks off July 25 at Virginia Beach Amphitheater, but prices haven’t been announced.

So, for the people who will shell out the big bucks for any of these acts, let me ask you this: Do you think it’s worth it? And what is the most you would spend on a concert ticket?

Source: Stafford County Sun

Who Picks the Opening Act?

When bands and singers go on tour, who decides who the opening act will be? Do they have any say, or is it up to the record companies?
—Heather, Pittsburgh

E! Online Replies: You mean what masochist decided to pair Maroon 5 with a bunch of killer Swedes so talented they've been snacking on Adam Levine like a jar of pickled kippers every time they hit a new town?

Probably the band's label. No sane musician or agent would ever pit Maroon 5 up against an opening band as strong as the Hives. Unless the musician or agent is also into dog fighting and bear baiting, in which case everything makes sense.

Maroon 5 and the Hives share the same label, A&M/Octone. Oftentimes, when you see two wildly varying talents touring together, the only reasonable explanation is that the label suggested it. Can't confirm that 200 percent in the Maroon 5 case, but labels often have a hand in such pairings, so I'm throwing it out there.

Bands that are still unknown, or acts that are very, very popular, often have more freedom, music marketers and promoters tell me.

Source: eonline.com

Concert Promoters Get Reality Check

Here's part of an article on artists having to cancel arena shows and move to smaller venues that mentions Maroon 5 and the Denver show:

But perhaps the biggest act is Maroon 5, which plays the Fillmore Auditorium Monday and Tuesday. The L.A. pop- rock band originally announced a single show at the Pepsi Center, only to reschedule for two at the Fillmore Auditorium, which holds 3,600, vs. the Can's 18,000.

"It must not have been selling well, plain and simple," said legendary former concert promoter Barry Fey. "They must have been sure it was going to bomb, and now they just want to recover whatever they can. That, and the act doesn't want to be embarrassed."

Peter Ore, regional vice president of booking for Live Nation, declined to comment.

Moving Maroon 5 to the Fillmore makes sense for Live Nation, which owns the venue outright. At the Pepsi Center, Live Nation would have needed to rent the space from owners Kroenke Sports, and would not have shared in coveted receipts from food and alcohol sales.

"The difference is night and day," said Square Peg's Steinberg. "It's very cost-effective. I'm sure that Live Nation was aggressive about the deal that moved the show down, and obviously the band doesn't want to play an empty room.

"You see a band playing an empty room and there's definitely a vibe that it's over, and nobody wants that. Everybody wants to play a packed room."

Source: Denver Post

Info About James' House in Los Feliz

LOCATION: Edgemont Street, Los Angeles, CA 

PRICE: $2,389,000 (list price) 

SIZE: 2,092 square feet, 3 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms

DESCRIPTION: The Steel House by Neil M. Johnson, AIA, 1960. Inspired by the Case Study program, this mid-century modern is a true expression of the clarity and sophistication of contemporary architecture. Sited above the street on its own knoll, the 1-story structure has head-on downtown city lights views, open plan, private pool, and 3-car parking. Private and tranquil setting on a large lot. Thi is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to own a world-class piece of architectural history.

In June of 2006, Mister Valentine purchased this house in Los Feliz which sits right under the Griffith Park Observatory. Although property records do not disclose the purchase price, an older listing for the property indicates the house was listed for $2,389,000. The sleek and sexy modernist house was built in 1960 and is accessed up a private driveway that terminates in a motor court with a sleek carport for three cars.

Source: realestalker

L.A. Times Reviews "It Won't Be Soon Before Long"

Gents are now dressed up for a night on the town.
by Ann Powers, Los Angeles Times, 05/22/2007

For a band that sold more than 4 million copies of its first album, Maroon 5 sure gets called "irritating" a lot. The rep is partly because of singer Adam Levine's busy, successful pursuit of L.A.'s most visible young blonds, but it's also because the band deploys its Wild Cherry-flavored dance hits with such sweat-free competence that rooting for them feels superfluous.

At least that 2002 debut has a few raggedy moments; now Maroon 5 has suited up in formal wear and gone in for the kill. "It Won't Be Soon Before Long," the band's sophomore outing (in stores today), is an icy-hot blend of electro-funk and blue-eyed soul that works its cruel streak with the confidence of Daniel Craig's James Bond.

Even after 50-plus years of mixed-up musical legacies, any white artist who takes on rhythm and blues has to figure at an angle that proves he or she is not just another thief. Being a sexy creep is a good one, turning musical appropriation into just one aspect of a lifestyle that's all about sophistication and moral compromise. This prose is more sustainable than Jamiroquai's one-love cheerfulness, which ends up seeming naive, or Justin Timberlake's chocolate-beneath-the-skin insiderness, which is hard to sustain.

The Daryl Hall of "Maneater" is a sexy creep; so is Roxy Music's Bryan Ferry, Police-era Sting and, of course, Mick Jagger as was Michael Hutchence of INXS. Levine finds his own way into this role by doing away with the treacly tendencies that marred Maroon 5's earlier work and reveling in the seamy, bitter, obsessive side of romance.

He's taken his band with him down this coolly lit corridor. On aggravatingly danceable tracks such as "A Little of Your Time" and the single "Makes Me Wonder," guitarist James Valentine and bassist Mickey Madden re-investigate the moment when New Wave rock got the funk, spewing out lines that mix the former's edgy concision with the latter's joint-popping rhythmic genius. New drummer Matt Flynn keeps everything crisp and organized, and keyboardist Jesse Carmichael has a grin playing Trivial Pursuit with Prince and Michael Jackson lifts.

"Can't Stop" might be the best Michael Jackson simulacrum ever, not only because it emulates the fallen master's fetishes - rock guitar, hyper-tense rhythms, little melodic flourishes that simulate loss of control - but because the lyric, about the physical experience of sexual thrall, careens into the kind of self-exposure that made "Billie Jean" and "In the Closet" fascinating. "Kiwi" is derivative of Prince, but one can't help wondering if the title is an homage to Hutchence, because it has that predatory feel that made the Australian singer a top-notch nightcrawler.

Of course, there are ballads, also catchy but even more thematically unnerving, because they're all about the sentimental frisson of breaking up or getting caught doing wrong. (This is where the band gets its Sting on, referencing "Every Breath You Take" repeatedly).

Will girls swoon to this stuff? Not if they're wise. But many are not. By mastering musical and emotional ruthlessness, Maroon 5 has made a deal with devil, and its powers will be hard to resist.