Maroon 5 It Won't Be Soon Before Long CD

Maroon 5: Adam Levine (vocals); James Valentine (guitar); Jesse Carmichael (keyboards); Mickey Madden (bass instrument); Matt Flynn (drums).
Thanks to steady touring and a debut album whose sales picked up at a steady clip after its release, Maroon 5 became one of the surprise break-out acts of the early 2000s. Expectations ran high for the band's sophomore release, and 2007's IT WON'T BE SOON BEFORE LONG delivers. Five years in the making, the album has the sound of a pop album that is well written and performed, painstakingly put together, and slickly and smartly produced.
Maroon 5 have come a long way from the grunge-rock flavor of their tenure as Kara's Flower's (the band's first incarnation). The group still rocks when they want to, but IT WON'T BE SOON finds M5 emphasizing smoother, melodic fare with an R&B twist. Traces of Michael Jackson, Hall & Oates, Prince, and other mainstream soul-pop icons can be heard in the mix, but Maroon 5 gives their sound a distinctive stamp, melding electronic influences, hip-hop, balladry, rock, and keen pop sensibilities. The overall vibe is stylish and sexy, and the top-shelf production glitters, but it's the songwriting that takes center stage (just check the album's first single "Makes Me Wonder").
Maroon 5's 2002 debut album, Songs About Jane, was the kind of hit that doesn't happen often in the new millennium -- a genuine word-of-mouth hit whose popularity grew steadily after its release, largely due to the sweet, sunny hit "This Love," a song sly and catchy enough to stay on the adult pop charts for years without wearing out its welcome. It also was catchy enough to engender years of goodwill. Five years of goodwill, in fact, as the band toured heavily while slowly tinkering away on their second album, finally delivering It Won't Be Soon Before Long (its title perhaps a pun on the gap between records, perhaps not) half a decade after Songs About Jane. If that delay sounds like a symptom of sophomore jitters, that's not exactly true, since during that long stretch between albums Maroon 5 worked Songs About Jane and, in a sense, that album wasn't strictly their first album, either. Maroon 5 evolved out of Kara's Flowers, a post-grunge pop band whose 1997 debut never took off, not even when their debut was reissued in the wake of Maroon's success, but it did provide the group with the foundation for their success; it's where they paid their dues and learned how to be a pop band. Traces of Kara's Flowers could be heard in Maroon's rockier moments on their debut, but under their new name, the group began to develop an infatuation with blue-eyed soul-pop, which they wisely develop on It Won't Be Soon Before Long. More than develop, they modernize it, borrowing elements of Justin Timberlake's stylized synthesized soul, but Adam Levine is wise enough to know that he's no young colt, like JT. He knows that he's a pop guy, somewhat in the tradition of Hall & Oates, but he isn't trying to be retro, he's trying to fill that void, making records that are melodic, stylish, and soulful, which It Won't Be Soon Before Long certainly is.
In every respect, It Won't Be Soon is a bigger album than its predecessor: hooks pile up one after another, there's not an ounce of fat on the songs, the production is so immaculate that it glistens. If there were lingering elements of Maroon 5's alt-rock past on Songs About Jane -- primarily in its lazy, hazy vibe -- they're gone now, replaced by the sleek, assured sound of a band that's eager to embrace its status as the big American mainstream pop band of the decade. But Maroon 5 isn't desperately grasping at the brass ring, they're playing it smart, building upon the core strengths of their debut and crafting a record that's designed to appeal to many different listeners, from teens crushing on Nelly Furtado's R&B makeover to adults looking for something smooth and melodic. It Won't Be Soon Before Long appeals to both audiences with an ease that seemRolling Stone (p.88) - 3.5 stars out of 5 -- "The devilishly memorable 'Won't Go Home Without You' combines confidence with affection..."
Rolling Stone (p.113) - Included in Rolling Stone's "50 Top Albums of the Year 2007" -- "These are vivid tunes that young girls can love and grown-ups can respect."
Spin (p.94) - 3.5 stars out of 5 -- "[They] are now dabbling in everything from nouveau disco to sleazy funk to big-band balladry. Such diversity suits them well..."
Entertainment Weekly (p.83) - "[W]hether breaking hearts brusquely or semi-sweetly as on 'Nothing Lasts Forever,' Maroon 5 score with their big, memorable, melodic hooks."
Vibe (p.128) - "[S]ome of the band's choices, particularly those of guitarist James Valentine, display a surprising derring-do, like 'Kiwi,' a fervent George Clinton-meets-George Michael workout."