Maroon 5

[Sir Kyle]

I think we had a very small mini-discussion about the ska-ish rock band Maroon 5 within the Jason Mraz thread, but since I've heard their songs a little more lately, I've decided that we need a whole thread focused on these guys.

My thoughts on Maroon 5. Personally, I like these guys as an easy listening group more than anything else. They certainly are not hard rock (though they can skid that boundary if they need to) but rather play their music with more finesse and in my view, a slight bit more musicianship. The rhythms they employ in their songs are very catchy and not too incredibly complicated so if you pick up an instrument, you can play some of their stuff right away. :D

Also, they employ elements of many different musical instrument and that particularly tips my fancy. I enjoy hearing the occasional piano and wind instruments here and there with a breath of fresh acoustic guitar mixed in from time to time. They definitely have a decent range of musical talent and the lead singer can both sing well and seems to have a decent grasp on lyricism.

Overall, I find that these guys in Maroon 5 to be very good musicians and are, in my opinion, a breath of fresh air in an industry that is dominated by massive amounts of band clones every single day. I'm sure they don't appeal as strongly to the hard rock, metal, death metal and black metal fans that seem to populate this particular board, but hopefully a few people out there agree with me on this little subject. :)

[oshi]

I really, really, really like their song "This Love." I think they have a unique, new quality to them--and their songs are actually catchy without infecting your head! That's always a plus in my book. I also like the guy's voice a lot. He's got a good range, and uses it with a nice unpredictability.
I don't think you need to worry quite so much about people disagreeing strongly with you. As far as I can tell, this is a discussion board, not a pick-each-other-apart board. Relax! Everyone's entitled to their own opinions.
Unless their opinion is stupid. :D
oshi

[Sir Kyle]

Ehh, I'm not really worried if people are gonna disagree with me or not. I already know that someone is going to, especially over music. Music is such an aquired taste with everyone that it's impossible to please EVERYONE with any band.

And yeah, this is a discussion board and it's not supposed to be a pick-each-other-apart board, but you might be surprised what can happen. :)

[Manic Webb]

I'm just guessing, but I'm gonna assume the lead singer is a fan of Stevie Wonder. He has that that "Stevie timbre" when he sings. Most people with that type of voice learned it from listening to a lot of old Stevie songs.

Anyway, I love Maroon 5's CD. A lot of their songs are just straight-up Blues with a hint of Rock. Songs like "Tangled" and "Through With You" remind me of some of the stuff my dad's Blues band plays, only slightly harder/rougher. I was really surprised the first time I paid attention to "Tangled." It really shows how much Rock is influenced by the Blues. Of course, everything is influenced by the Blues. But that song really makes that point clearly.

I became embarrassingly obsessed with "Sweetest Goodbye." The beginning and ending sound like two completely different songs. It starts off so easy, and then progresses into something passionate.

The lead singer is a very creative writer. Whenever most people write a series of songs about one person, they always have the same subject. However, all of Maroon 5's songs (about the lead singer's ex-girlfriend Jane) have a variety of subjects. Some songs actually go through different emotions. There are angsty songs like "Harder To Breathe" or "Through With You," and fonder songs about her like "The Sun" and "Sunday Morning." Then there are sexually charged songs like "Shiver," which is probably one of my favorites on the CD.

I guess you could say I'm a fan.