Bruno Mars: 24K Magic Era

[Deleted]

Nov 15, 2016 20:54:20 GMT -5 @jazzysoul47 said:

"Finesse" got me like



#rewind

It reminds me of one of my favorite Shai album cuts! It don't make no sense!

[Dreams]

The Babyface co-produced cut, "Too Good To Say Goodbye," is ❤️❤️❤️ Already one of my favorite Bruno ballads!

[Live Your Life]

The album is immaculately sang and produced, but I expected no less from him. It's not exactly as adventurous as Unorthodox Jukebox was, but I guess I shouldn't have expected that anyway, since 24K Magic has been promoted as a concept album. My favorites are the first single, "Chunky," "That's What I Like," "Versace on the Floor" and "Finesse." As for the singles, I agree that he's probably going to struggle, to some capacity. But I don't think he cares.

[SHOOTER]

I listened once to determine if it was worth the pre-order. It's definitely polarizing and with 24KM "stalling" at #5, I definitely don't see this producing multiple top-10 hits like the previous album but this $h!t is jamming! Urban and Urban AC definitely need to embrace him with open arms for this era.

[Resident_Evil]

This is EVERYTHING contemporary R&B should be. Amazing album.

[Heart Shaped Box]

Too Good to Say Goodbye has got to be one of the best he's made. Damn he took me there.

[Dreams]

The more I listen to the album the more it bugs me how one-note it is. I mean, yeah it's cohesive, and it's influenced by a wonderful era in music, not to mention that every track is, technically, (at least) solid in my book... and yet I don't love it, even though I feel I should.

I think, given he took his sweet time to make the album, he should've come with something more powerful, more exciting.

[lancey]

Like it...

[Queen of Insomnia.]

[scrohr424]

So I haven't heard it yet, but tweet sources are stating that it's expected to sell 125-175k...down from the 200k+ it was initially expected to sell. That's a sudden downgrade.

But that won't stop me from getting it and signing up for his coming tour

[Queen of Insomnia.]

All Access 60 Minutes Bruno Mars interview airs on Sunday, Nov. 20 at 7 p.m. ET/PT on CBS.

[Deleted]

Nov 17, 2016 14:20:23 GMT -5 scrohr424 said:

So I haven't heard it yet, but tweet sources are stating that it's expected to sell 125-175k...down from the 200k+ it was initially expected to sell. That's a sudden downgrade.

But that won't stop me from getting it and signing up for his coming tour

HITS mentioned it in their rumor mill as well. Annoyingly they don't specify whether that is for physical or SPS (they didn't clarify when they mentioned the 200k projection earlier either). If this projection is for SPS that is a pretty steep decline but if it's just for physical it's not really such a shock. UJ opened with 134k physical, 192k SPS.

HITS is trying to attribute it to Bruno self-managing but assuming there is a drop, I don't think that is the difference here? Bruno's promo and visibility for this couldn't be more on target.

[Queen of Insomnia.]

I'm pretty convinced he's gonna do +200k with ease. Hits has always been off with predicting Mars' #'s and there's 60 minutes Carpool Karaoke & AMAs in the 1st wk.

[DJ General]

Listening now. I love(d) 24K Magic. Chunky is awesome as well. I just can't at the album being 34 minutes lol I mean quality over quantity but still.. I'm sure he could have done more

[Heart Shaped Box]

No, seriously, Too Good to say Goodbye has to be the best song he has ever made. Holy shit he did that.

[Queen of Insomnia.]

1ST review is in.... and #surprised would be an understatement since Unorthodox Jukebox only got 2.5 stars from them.

ALLMUSIC:
✮ ✮ ✮ ✮

Released four years after the multi-platinum Unorthodox Jukebox, 24K Magic -- or XXIVK Magic, if you're foolish enough to go by the cover -- might as well be considered the full-length sequel to "Uptown Funk," Bruno Mars' 2014 hit collaboration with Mark Ronson. On his third album, Mars, joined primarily by old comrades Philip Lawrence, Brody Brown, and James Fauntleroy, sheds the reggae and new wave inspirations and goes all-out R&B. This is less an affected retro-soul pastiche -- like, say, The Return of Bruno -- than it is an amusing '80s-centric tribute to black radio. Sonically, '80s here means the gamut and the aftershocks felt the following decade, from the sparking midtempo groove in "Chunky," which recalls Shalamar even more than album two's "Treasure," to some full-blooded new jack swing moves. The clock is turned back a couple more decades to passable strutting James Brown-isms in "Perm," while "Too Good to Say Goodbye," co-written by Babyface, draws its structure and certain components from early-'70s Philly soul. Almost all of the material involves Mars in winking bad-boy player mode. He's often just ampin' like Bobby, yet the performances are undeniable, dealt out with all the determination and attitude of a kid who just bought a custom lavender Razz with his paper route money. Lead single "24K Magic" is a scrupulous compound of early-'80s funk tricks, another needed injection of good-time energy into commercial airwaves, but the album's true triumph is buried near the end -- not that it takes long to get there -- and scrapes the dawn of the '90s. In living color, decked out with a rattling breakbeat and zipping bassline, "Finesse" revisits the era when producers like Teddy Riley, Dave "Jam" Hall, and Dr. Freeze pushed their genre forward by fusing hip-hop to what they learned from electronic post-disco R&B pioneered by Leon Sylvers III, Kashif, and Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. Like much of what precedes it, the song is a blast. Those who want their rich and modern synthesizer funk minus flash would do well to seek Bugz in the Attic's "Consequences," Dâm-Funk's "Galactic Fun," Amalia's "Welcome to Me," and Anderson Paak's "Am I Wrong," for starters.

[Dreams]

Nov 17, 2016 15:44:42 GMT -5 Heart Shaped Box said:

No, seriously, Too Good to say Goodbye has to be the best song he has ever made. Holy s**t he did that.

I CANNOT get enough of this song. My God.

That Motowny bridge especially:

♪♫ ♪♫ ♪♫ ♪♫

Don't you give up
Girl, won't you listen?
Don't you give up
It's you that I'm missing
Don't you give up
Take my hand, I wanna go, I wanna go
All the way
If we're gonna fight this fight for better days
I know we're gonna make it
This is the chance let's take it baby

♪♫ ♪♫ ♪♫ ♪♫


Aural sex!

[Ling-Ling]

Nov 16, 2016 19:43:39 GMT -5 Dreams said:

The more I listen to the album the more it bugs me how one-note it is. I mean, yeah it's cohesive, and it's influenced by a wonderful era in music, not to mention that every track is, technically, (at least) solid in my book... and yet I don't love it, even though I feel I should.

I feel the same way. This is exactly the kind of music I grew up on and still listen to. So I feel like I should love this, but I just can't get over that hump. Every single song on here is solid, but I think when you stick so religiously to your influences (in his case obsessively), it comes off as more of a recreation or a tribute. Something just feels disingenuous, even though I don't think he is. I find myself appreciating the sounds and the technicalities of this album more than I get any true joy out of listening to it.

Maybe I'll get over it.

[Harx]

After first listen:

24K Magic - fantastic
Chunky - very good
Perm - good
That's What I Like - decent
Versace On The Floor - very good
Straight Up & Down - meh
Calling All My Lovelies - meh
Finesse - very good
Too Good To Say Goodbye - good

Now here's my prediction what next singles will be:

1. 24K Magic
2. Versace On The Floor (definetely a single)
3. Chunky (also definetely a single)
4. Finesse (just a guess, sounds less like a single than previous two)
5. Too Good To Say Goodbye (if released as a single this will probably be the final one)

[#LisaRinna]

I like "That's What I Like," I haven't heard the rest.

[jenglisbe]

Eh, this album is just okay to me. It's a step back for him in terms of progression.

[koolthing]

Honestly... never been a huge Bruno fan save for a song here and there but I'm boppin at my desk to this.

[Live Your Life]

Slant gives the album 3/5 stars:

Bruno Mars's third album, 24K Magic, is a tidy, if derivative, antidote to today's overthought, overwrought pop. Unlike his scattershot debut, Doo-Wops & Hooligans, and 2012's Unorthodox Jukebox, which tested the singer's skills in ill-fitting genres like reggae-rock and 1980s hair metal, the nine songs here are surprisingly cohesive. Mars zeroes in on R&B from the mid-'80s through the early '90s, remaining extremely faithful to the era's themes of money and sex as well as the period's fat, flattening grooves.

The album, which clocks in at just over a half an hour, may seem like a logical, even opportunistic stepping stone from “Uptown Funk,” which also mined robotic '80s soul, but for Mars it's nostalgic: This is the music he grew up with and—after years of well-earned, if a bit meandering, mainstream success—has finally grown into. Given the album's lack of guest features and boilerplate tearjerker anthems, Mars remains the confident star attraction throughout.

24K Magic starts with the jittering P-funk of its title track, a wash of thick bass, funhouse synths, and Mars's cocky and scattered delivery. That the song opens straight into its mammoth chorus is further proof that Mars is a sly pop alchemist, and ensuing sections where he leads a call-and-response and coaches dance breaks reveal him to be a charismatic frontman. Each song on 24K Magic has its share of sparkly entertainment value: the silky pre-choruses of “Chunky” and “That's What I Like”; the manufactured scandal of “Straight Up and Down,” where church harmonies underscore a sex ballad; the in-song skit on “Calling All My Lovelies,” where Mars rings a lover and gets Halle Berry's voicemail (even his pop-culture references are throwbacks).

Mars sometimes conjures up a musical precursor on 24K Magic and builds atop it, like when the smoky music-box vibe of “Versace on the Floor” transitions into a vibrant jungle ballad (it's like Whitney Houston by way of Miami Sound Machine). Elsewhere, he veers into copycat territory—“Chunky” recalls Michael Jackson's “Baby Be Mine” and “Finesse” is a knowing rewrite of Bell Biv DeVoe's “Poison”—and fails to add anything new to his rehashing of post-disco R&B and new jack swing. Add to that some throwaway lyrics seemingly written with a dollar store's rhyming dictionary (most culpable is “That's What I Like,” which pairs “beach house in Miami” with “Julio, serve that scampi”) and 24K Magic can at times feel especially stagnant.

The album's appeal—that Mars has evolved as an album artist, and dives deeply here into his study of a genre—is thus also what makes it a bit repetitive. At his best, Mars moves an old sound forward; he doesn't do so consistently on 24K Magic, but at least explores the work of artists common to one era. The album features the strongest set of beats and rhythmic hooks in Mars's canon to date, making it a could-be heir to gratuitous groove records like 1999, Off the Wall, and Remain in Light—if only it were as innovative. Ultimately, the album's magic is a trick everyone already knows.

Rolling Stone gives the album 3/5 stars:

Though 24k Magic is shorter than any Stooges record, human Super Bowl halftime show Bruno Mars still wears a lot of hats: giddy uptown-funk savant, bumping-and-grinding R&B time-traveler, Ashford & Simpson–esque quiet-storm balladeer. He also sounds like he's wearing airbrushed overalls too since the majority of the album hearkens back to the new jack swing and Cooleyhighharmonies of turn-of-the-Nineties charts ruled by Boyz II Men, Bell Biv DeVoe and Bobby Brown. The only thing America's greatest pastiche pop star is missing on his third album is the hooks to hang it all on.

Mars wanted Magic to recreate the nostalgic wonder of the school dances he attended in the Nineties – and his crowded productions, infectious attitude and soaring voice go well beyond "tribute" into the realm of "IMAX reboot." "Perm" is a future-shocked James Brown hip-hop hybrid that sounds like an update of please-please-pleasers Son of Bazerk; "That's What I Like" brings the silky vibes of 12 Play–era R. Kelly into the boom of modern trap; "Finesse" is a modern BBD bite down the rat-a-tat "Poison" snares. The chorus to "Calling My Lovelies" – "I got Alesha waiting/Iesha waiting/All the –eeshas waiting on me" – feels like he's writing himself into the adult epilogue of Another Bad Creation's playground romance complete with a thirsty phone call to Halle Berry's answering machine. The arrangements throughout are simply outstanding, bubbling and percolating with ADD explosions of melodic counterpoints, overdubs, subplots and funky worms.

But while his funk game is strong and swagger is stronger, Bruno's acclaimed hook-writing (which has garnered four Number Ones for himself and tons of co-writes on other chart-toppers) has seemingly taken a backseat. Lyrically, it seems like he's trying to recall the Nineties subliminally via breadcrumbs scattered throughout the record, saying "freaking me" (Silk) or "nice and slow" (Usher) or "ain't nobody" (LL Cool J via Chaka Khan) or "damn" (Mr. Show sketch Two Plus One Minus One). If it’s intentional, it scans as cloying; if it's accidental, it scans as lazy. "Versace on the Floor" is the umpteenth tribute to Marvin Gaye's "Sexual Healing" in an era that didn't need them from Wiz Khalifa, Nelly, Wale or Kygo. Lead single "24k Magic" is already drooping its way back down the charts and it's not impossible to understand why when compared to the sugar-coated bombast of "Uptown Funk" or "Locked out of Heaven."

So, 24k Magic may not be the most glittering display for Bruno Mars the pop star, but fans can rest assured it is a shining moment for Bruno Mars the producer, arranger and nostalgia curator. Nothing on his level of success gets to look or sound or feel like this – no diggity, no doubt.

Entertainment Weekly gives the album a B+:

“Put your phone down, let’s get it, forget your Instagram and your Twitter,” Bruno Mars howls on “Perm,” an irresistible James Brown-style throwback from his new album. He’s long been pop’s time-traveler-in-chief, the guy who scored six No. 1s in five years thanks to a love of analog-era soul and one helluva Police impression (2012’s “Locked Out of Heaven”). But after achieving world domination with the inescapable “Uptown Funk!” Mars is embracing that role more than ever. 24K Magic, his third LP, swings from ’70s funk to ’90s R&B to ’80s torch songs with arrangements as opulent and over-the-top as the bling he brags about.

Mars’ approach is meticulous, if not obsessive. There’s not a single kick drum or bass lick out of place, and his arsenal of vintage synths could make even the Stranger Things composers jealous. That level of attention to detail can often lead to self-indulgent albums, but Mars shows restraint in other ways. With only nine songs, there’s not an ounce of fat on Magic, and nearly every track sounds like Top 40 gold.

24K Magic’s brief run time is a wise move for other reasons: Mars’ odes to penthouses and popping bottles can get old quick. In fact, the only real obstacle to enjoying his nonstop dance party might be his own persona. Mars can be devilishly funny — like on “Calling All My Lovelies” (which features a special guest appearance by Halle Berry), when he tells a hard-to-get love interest, “I got Alicia waiting, Ayesha waiting, all the -eshas waiting on me.” But he also tells women to smile more and gets pissed when a girl won’t drop everything for him. A one-percenter with jerky attitudes about women? That may not be what people want to hear in this new Trump Nation, but tune out the crasser moments and you’ll find Mars delivers what many fans need now: an escape.

[Kishi KCM]

After a four year wait and lots of anticipation, I'm underwhelmed on the first listen.

As someone who grew up listening to A LOT of 80's and 90's music, especially R&B, a lot of the production and lyrics on this album seems so repetitive and familiar.

There was a sonic and lyrical progression from DW&H to UJ, but this just seems like a regression and a rehash of classic R&B jams. Nothing seems new or refreshing.

Maybe it'll get better on the second and third listen.

[vann]

I didnt like the album as thought I could...for me the songs sound pretty similar and I couldnt see a variety that I was hoping for. "Too Good To Say Goodbye" is my favorite.

[Zach]

About half way through the album and I find it good so far. Not overwhelmingly so, but pretty good.

[wavey.]

Omg. So short and perfect. I keep Chunky & Lovelies.

[B-Boy]

Besides the first two tracks, I'm loving "Too Good To Say Goodbye" and "That's What I Like".

[Zach]

Yup, I definitely see why people are loving Too Good To Say Goodbye.

[Kishi KCM]

My ranking of the songs and the artist(s) they remind me of...

1. Calling All My Lovelies (Prince)
2. Straight Up And Down (Bobby Brown, Freddie Jackson)
3. Finesse (BBD)
4. Too Good To Say Goodbye (The Jacksons, Boyz 2 Men)
5. That’s What I Like (Usher)
6. Versace On The Floor (Michael Jackson, Isley-Jasper-Isley)
7. Chunky (Michael Jackson, The Time)
8. 24K Magic (Gap Band, Zapp, Cameo)
9. Perm (James Brown)