Report Card: Maroon 5 - "Songs About Jane"

[jond7699]

This cd has been out for almost two years and it is just now getting into the top ten of the Billboard top 200. It is a really good cd. I bought it last summer and I must say I was utterly shocked at how much I liked this.

1: "Harder To Breathe" A+ (100)
2: "This Love" A (96)
3: "Shiver" A (96)
4: "She Will Be Loved" B+ (92)
5: "Tangled" B (89)
6: "The Sun" B (89)
7: "Must Get Out" C (81) Very boring imo
8: "Sunday Mornings" C+ (83) Too outdated
9: "Secret" B- (85) I could keep it or leave it
10: "Through With You" B (89)
11: "Not Going Home" B+ (92) Really funky I love it
12: "Sweetest Goodbye" B- (85)

Overall Grade: B (89.75)

[singingsparrow]

"Songs About Jane" is great. The R&B and Soul bend really makes this debut album fresh and original.

1: Harder To Breathe: B (A bit mediocre as a first single, but it makes complete sense why this hit big. Plus, the story is interesting behind the song, being annoyed that they tried so hard coming up with something that sounded like a "single" and suffocating in the studio.)
2: This Love: A (A great, bouncy anthem, with Andrew Levine bringing soul in all his vocals. Gosh, the video is erotic!)
3: Shiver: B- (Many say that the whole album sounds like a boy band album. Though I disagree with 93% of what they say, this track does have a bit of the vibe. One of the more mediocre songs of the bunch.)
4: She Will Be Loved: A- (A third consecutive hit in the making. This is the obvious third single candidate that will become another anthemic ballad! This will also introduce Maroon 5 to AC!)
5: Tangled: B+ (Not much to say here, I just like it)
6: The Sun: A (Adam Levine's songwriting is at his best here and on "Sunday Morning".)
7: Must Get Out: A- (Another great single candidate!)
8: Sunday Morning: A+ (Beautiful, absolutely beautiful! Smooth Jazz would love this!)
9: Secret: B+ (A soothing, personal number with an almost eerie edge)
10: Through With You: B (Nothing very special, but love the crunching riffs)
11: Not Going Home: A- (Their closest homage to Prince and Michael Jackson.)
12: Sweetest Goodbye: A (The sweetest closure)

I'll grade by the GPA system:

4.0: A
3.7: A-
3.3: B+
3.0: B
2.7: B-
2.3: C+
2.0: C
1.7: C-
1.3: D+
1.0: D
0.7: D-
0.0: F

Let's tally them up:

1: 3.0
2: 4.0
3: 2.7
4: 3.7
5: 3.3
6: 4.0
7: 3.7
8: 4.0
9: 3.3
10: 3.0
11: 3.7
12: 4.0

Total: 42.4
Average Score: 3.54 (A-/B+)

Sincerely,
Noah Eaton

[Ragin]

I don't do the report card thing, but I'll just chime in that top to bottom this is one excellent album.

[NORTHCOAST]

Love this CD too.  Particularly like Tangled, She Will Be Loved & Harder to Breathe.  I remember trying to describe their sound to someone last year.  I said it sounded like Stevie Wonder & Justin Timberlake's offspring.  Adam has a great voice and they are good live too. 

I just saw on them on MTV where the band participated in some show where a girl had to guess which hotel room matched which bandmember.  Only caught the end, darn it. 

Buy this CD -- Added bonus:  Price!  I just saw it at Walmart for $8.72!

[billcs]

Just bought it a few weeks ago, getting deeper into it. Excellent vocal and style. Harder To Breathe is a great song but not representative of the heavy R&B/soul influence that pervades the CD.

[Matt4319]

I guess I need to listen to the album again. I bought it maybe 5 or 6 months ago. I got through "HTB" fine, of course, then thought "This Love" was decent but not great. (It's #6 on my chart this week.) I don't remember "Shiver" that well, I thought "She Will Be Loved" was horrible, and then I gave up after some of track #5.

[jond7699]

Matt4319 said:

I guess I need to listen to the album again.  I bought it maybe 5 or 6 months ago.  I got through "HTB" fine, of course, then thought "This Love" was decent but not great. (It's #6 on my chart this week.)  I don't remember "Shiver" that well, I thought "She Will Be Loved" was horrible, and then I gave up after some of track #5.

You really should give it another listen. It is a really good cd !!

[Ragin]

Matt4319 said:

I guess I need to listen to the album again.  I bought it maybe 5 or 6 months ago.  I got through "HTB" fine, of course, then thought "This Love" was decent but not great. (It's #6 on my chart this week.)  I don't remember "Shiver" that well, I thought "She Will Be Loved" was horrible, and then I gave up after some of track #5.

I bought way back before HTB even hit, and I shelved it thinking it was boring. When This Love hit and I loved the song, I gave it another listen and was surprised to find I really like the album a lot. It depends on the mood sometimes I think.

[Devil Marlena Nylund]

I listened to the CD a few times and while nothing sticks out at the moment, I do know that there are quite a few decent songs on it, most notably #4. It's not an A+ CD for me but better than Evanescence' as of now!

[j]

1: "Harder To Breathe"  A+  (95)
2: "This Love"  A+  (94)
3: "Shiver"  B+  (79)
4: "She Will Be Loved" A+ (93)
5: "Tangled"  A  (85)
6: "The Sun"  B+  (76)
7: "Must Get Out"  A  (89)
8: "Sunday Mornings"  A-  (81)
9: "Secret"  A  (88)
10: "Through With You"  B+    (75)
11: "Not Coming Home"  A  (86)
12: "Sweetest Goodbye"  B+  (78)

How is 92 a B+?

[jond7699]

nu said:

1: "Harder To Breathe"  A+  (95)
2: "This Love"  A+  (94)
3: "Shiver"  B+  (79)
4: "She Will Be Loved" A+  (93)
5: "Tangled"   A  (85)
6: "The Sun"   B+  (76)
7: "Must Get Out"  A  (89)
8: "Sunday Mornings"  A-  (81)
9: "Secret"  A  (88)
10: "Through With You"   B+    (75)
11: "Not Coming Home"   A  (86)
12: "Sweetest Goodbye"  B+  (78)

How is 92 a B+?

As I have stated before
A = 100 -93
B= 92 - 85
C= 84 - 75
D = 74 - 70
F = 69 and below

This was how I was graded at school

[j]

jond7699 said:

As I have stated before
A = 100 -93
B= 92 - 85
C= 84 - 75
D = 74 - 70
F = 69 and below

This was how I was graded at school

Exam questions must have been really easy then. In my old school 70 or so was an A.

[jond7699]

nu said:

Exam questions must have been really easy then. In my old school 70 or so was an A.

It was just like any other school. In fact I took 3 AP course my Junior and Senior year so no it wasn't all that easy. My schedule was filled with the hardest courses. College Bio , College Geomitry (the only class I ever failed >:( ) College Phsyics etc

[Bcacb]

I love this CD. Apparently my friend loves it, too, because I let her borrow it and I haven't gotten it back yet.

Thanks,
Ben

[Love Plastic Love]

1: "Harder To Breathe" A
2: "This Love" A+
3: "Shiver" A
4: "She Will Be Loved" A
5: "Tangled" A-
6: "The Sun" B+
7: "Must Get Out" B-
8: "Sunday Mornings" B-
9: "Secret" B+
10: "Through With You" A+
11: "Not Going Home" A
12: "Sweetest Goodbye" B+

Starts out stronger than it ends, but a very solid cd throughout.

[mst3k]

nu said:

Exam questions must have been really easy then. In my old school 70 or so was an A.

70 was an A? Must've been one heck of a grading curve... :)

[HER MINAJesty]

I have the album and I liked 'She Will Be Loved' at first, but it kinda got depressing after about 5 listens...it's sort of Coldplay-esque, IMO.