Jason Mraz - Mr. A-Z
Well, finally I get around to putting down some words to review the sophomore effort from one of my favorite current artists
Actually, I think it is good that I've let it play and settle and simmer rather than haul off and write a review on this one right off the bat
Jason Mraz - Mr. A-Z: B/B+
Okay, where to begin ... well, after hearing many of the songs over the past several months in various states of production. I guess I can say that when I first heard the new album, I thought that it was a) overproduced and b) had a lot of the charm missing from it from the live, improv-d versions
The album opens with the simple yet elegant thoughts of "Life is Wonderful", now with much orchestration and extras ... it still is a wonderful track, I just wonder if it might have been better in its stripped down style
The next two tracks "Wordplay" and "Geek in the Pink" really show that JM really can write the catchy pop song and fill it with all his creative plays on words, rhymes, etc. These sound more from the WFMRTC album style, and I think that some may be disappointed that most of the tracks did not take this overtly pop direction
The rest of the album takes it in a variety of directions from the piano driven, genre hopper "Did You Get My Message?" ... the sambaish jazzy, almost Sting like beautiful "Bella Luna" ... the latin percussive "O. Lover" ... the alt mainstream rocker "Please Don't Tell Her" ... the epic sprawl of "Song for a Friend"
There really isn't a bad song among each of them, I just found that half of the songs haven't really stuck with me ... even though they are good.
I suppose I am wondering whether that should detract from my evaluation of the entire album. I guess if one was expecting another instant classic like WFMRTC, this one is a bit more expansive in terms of the musical direction, not all of it is pop or instantly catchy ... each song is good though I may not have found each to be necessarily great
Our rating: B/B+ ... if you are a fan of JM, there is a lot to like as it captures the diversity of competence that JM possesses in terms of song styles and writing. As of now, it has not sunk like a stone like the debut, but shows promise that JM won't just write to be huge
There are six really strong standout tracks here, and honestly, most artists would be hard pressed to get 2-3