SONGS ABOUT JANE (LP (Vinyl)

Maroon 5: Adam Levine (vocals, guitar); James Valentine (guitar); Jesse Carmichael (keyboards, background vocals); Mickey Madden (bass); Ryan Dusick (drums, background vocals). Additional personnel includes: Jon O'Brien (programming); Mystic, Rashida Jones (background vocals). Principally recorded at Rumbo, Can Am, The Hook Studios, Los Angeles, California. 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. [Songs About Jane was re-released on LP in a 12-track LP version in 2016.] ~ MacKenzie Wilson

• Format: Vinyl
• Genre: Rock