by antiGUY
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Screw the mainstream if you really want to get your rocks off you have to go to the underground. That's just what we plan to do with this series, take some of the best emerging bands that are out blowing away hardcore fans on the underground music scene.

Maroon 5 � Songs About Jane
Label: Octone
Rating:

Somewhere along the same time period that Disco came along and then mutated into what is considered modern day R&B, people forgot all about the amazing results of taking rock and giving it the funk and R&B treatment. It was this kind of mix that put Stevie Wonder on the map and it's just as compelling today as it was when Stevie did his rendition of the late great Clarence Paul and Henry Cosby classic "Finger Tips Part I & II". But don't look to the mainstream R&B scene for it, you'll only find watered down Disco there. Fortunately, there are bands and labels that still believe this form of music is viable commercially; Maroon 5 and their label Octone are among them.

To be honest, I was shocked when I saw a photo of the group after hearing the CD. They look like they would sound like Matchbox Twenty not the band that produced what may be one of the best true R&B records to hit the streets in years. Yeah, it's surprising that a bunch of white boys could bring the funk like this, but they do it well! Not since Steve Winwood's Traffic days has a white vocalist so elegantly produced genuinely soulful vocals.

While the entire CD is strong the two-standout tracks are the first single "Harder To Breath" and the heartfelt ballad, "She Will Be Loved". "Harder to Breath" is probably their "rockiest" tune but it's definitely funky. "She Will Be Loved" is steeped in soul but still has a crossover modern rock appeal as well.

It's ironic that it took a white group to remind us what made R&B such a magical music form until it was taken over by the major labels and bastardized by Disco. Maroon 5 is a definite breath of fresh air and a band that should be commended for bringing back a lost music form and showing us that music today can still have "soul" and be commercially appealing. The bottom line is "Songs About Jane" is an exception debut from an exceptional band! You definitely don't want to miss this one!

Maroon5 is:
Adam Levine - Vocals, Guitar
James Valentine - Guitar
Jesse Carmichael - Keyboards
Mickey Madden - Bass
Ryan Dusick - Drums

Take one listen to Maroon5's Songs About Jane (Octone Records) and you'll instantly hear what a little bit of soul can do to the heart of alternative rock.

Fronted by Adam Levine, a guitar wizard with a captivating voice and a strutting attitude, and backed by powerhouse players James Valentine, Jesse Carmichael, Mickey Madden and Ryan Dusick, the band blends elements of R and B and funk influences into their rock and roll songs. Maroon5 is not here to shove their ideas down your throat, but when Adam's belting out a tune and the band is drawing a mesmerized audience into their world, you know they mean it. Schoolmates since junior high school, Maroon5 (formerly known as Kara's Flowers) played their first show at The Whisky in Los Angeles on September 16, 1995. Hundreds gathered to see their eclectic mix of pop, punk and rock music. It was their energy onstage that made the audience take notice. By summer of 1997, Kara's Flowers had released The Fourth World, their critically acclaimed debut album on Reprise Records, and the band immediately set out on the road playing with bands like Reel Big Fish and Goldfinger. Kara's Flowers left Reprise Records in 1999 to start a new musical direction. After years of experimentation and exploration (as well as the addition of guitar wizard James Valentine), the unique melding of rock, R and B and soul emerged that now defines Maroon5's musical style. Their sound had begun to transform as the band members absorbed new influences through their college experiences. From its roots as an alternative-rock band in the tradition of acts like Weezer and Nada Surf, Maroon5 began to experiment and evolve. Hints of R and B and folk were gradually woven through the alternative rock fabric that was the band's musical base. New songs like the album's first single, "This Love," as well as "Sunday Morning," "Secret," and "Not Coming Home" reflect a sound evocative of the band's deep interest in soul music. "During the time between our record deals," Adam recalls, "I spent a lot of time in New York where I was exposed to an urban and hip-hop culture in a way that had never happened to me in L.A. It turned me on to an entirely new genre of music which has had a profound impact on my songwriting." After performing showcases for senior executives at many major labels, Maroon5 ultimately chose to sign with newly founded New York City based independent label, Octone Records. Octone Records is distributed by BMG Music Entertainment and has a Joint Venture deal with Clive Davis and J Records. The band recorded Songs About Jane in Los Angeles with producer/mixer Matt Wallace (Train, Blues Traveler, Third Eye Blind, Faith No More) at Rumbo Recorders, the same studio where such seminal artists as Guns N' Roses, Stone Temple Pilots, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, The Smashing Pumpkins and John Mellencamp have recorded some of their best work. Now based in Los Angeles, Maroon5 regularly plays to sold-out crowds at many of the city's finest clubs such as the El Rey, House of Blues and the Viper Room and have already opened for artists such as Michelle Branch, Evan and Jaron and Nikka Costa. With Songs About Jane, Maroon5 is up to the task of converting music lovers into their groove-based rock and roll world. As declared in "Shiver," "I won't be satisfied 'til I'm under your skin."