It Won't Be Soon Before Long

What should we expect from Maroon 5?

So, five years have passed since the band known as Maroon 5 put out their first record Songs About Jane. A lot has changed during this time, all of us have changed and, of course, Maroon 5's musicians didn't escape this lot too. Five long years of constant tours and concerts simply can't help but leave the trace on you, whoever you are. Songs About Jane was surely a phenomenal album. Think for a moment, which of modern bands could not just stay afloat but remain topical during five years at the expense of one single debut record's force? Who were Maroon 5 before this album? – Nobody. And now their songs are familiar even to those who don't really care about the music as such. In a word, Songs About Jane gave a whole mass of splendid emotions and tunes to pass a good time with and Maroon 5 deserve big thanks for that. But what about that too prolonged break, what can one expect from the band that actually had a single studio practice? It wouldn't be that pleasant to get disappointed with this talented group - it is so easy to make a sophomore misstep. But luckily Maroon 5 put up a good show. It Won't Be Soon Before Long is a good and even excellent record, it is new indeed, interesting and what is the main thing - no less talented.

Today Maroon 5 sound modernized and stylish

The first thing to mention about It Won't Be Soon Before Long (a smart pun about the gap between the albums, by the way) is that the album is quite different from the debut. While the record still has some traces of the previous one, today the band sounds modernized and much more stylish. They took the core ideas that made them popular and cultivated a new type of sound out of it, the material is of the same breed but of refined approach. Maroon 5 are still playing funky pop rock but they made it more danceable and added a slight retro feel of late 80's. The album gets off to a hot dance-floor hit If I Never See Your Face Again. Adam Levine shows his great falsetto style and the band makes a perfect heavy funk support. The following piece Makes Me Wonder is one of the leading tracks here. It is energetic, powerful and extremely melodic. This is that kind of song you could expect from Maroon 5. There is something familiar and enormously attractive in it. Just like it was with Songs About Jane the first tracks of this album are doomed to receive an enormous radio rotation. But It Won't Be Soon Before Long has much more to offer. Wake Up Call, Won't Going Home Without You are those nuggets any Songs About Jane's fan will be happy to discover as well as the rest of the album, which simply can't disappoint you.

It Won't Be Soon Before Long is a big and strong work

Those who still doubt if It Won't Be Soon Before Long is a good record should get acquainted with an impressive list of producers who had a hand in the album's creation process. First of all these are Mike Elizondo, a long time collaborator with Dr.Dre and Spike Stent who used to work with U2, Madonna, Massive Attack, Bjork and many other high class artists. With these people Maroon 5 recorded as they said "the core of the album". After that the musicians went down to Eric Valentine's studio to work out a few remaining songs, they've chosen him because they liked his work with Queens Of The Stone Age. And finally the very last finishing strokes were done with the help of Mark Endert, a person who had mixed their first hit This Love. Such a number of different sound makers may seem unfavorable for the final result. But in reality the album is coherent and seamless. Each of them contributed those necessary cuts to emphasize different characters of the songs. But for all that, a feeling of brand mark Maroon 5 style, musicians' self confidence and understanding of what they are doing presence throughout the entire record. It Won't Be Soon Before Long is a big and a serious indeed album where the music is subordinated to the band's unique style and the sound is perfectly worked out and adjusted to the common concept. There is nothing to cavil at, Maroon 5 has simply surpassed themselves and the only thing you could wish Maroon 5 is to try avoiding such a big gap between the albums in the future.